All Chapters of The contracted heart : Chapter 71

The penthouse was unusually silent that evening. The city lights shimmered across the walls in fragmented patterns, reflecting off the glass surfaces like shattered promises. Vanessa stood at the balcony, arms crossed, staring into the distance, trying to steady the whirlwind of thoughts that refused to be tamed. Alexander had returned from the office hours ago, exhausted, but he hadn’t joined her. She wasn’t sure whether to feel relief or worry.The events of the past weeks weighed heavily on her. The internal sabotage, the whispers within the company, Helena’s relentless manipulations,all of it had pushed them to the edge. And now, with the contract deadline looming closer with every passing day, Vanessa felt the tension in their carefully constructed world fray at the edges.Her phone vibrated on the glass table behind her. She picked it up, seeing an encrypted message from Collins: “There’s been a breach. Unauthorized access to the fin