All Chapters of The Ceo’s Unwanted Claim: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The morning was not spent in silence. It was spent in motion.Dante didn't give Evelina time to recover from the humiliation of the inspection. At 07:00, he hauled her out of the residence and into the armored car. They were going back to Aubert & Fils, not to the boardroom, but to the vault."The acquisition is signed," Dante stated as the car tore through the streets of Geneva. "Now we secure the physical assets. You will inventory the restricted storage."Evelina sat rigid, wearing a black pencil skirt and high collar blouse he had selected. "I am not your secretary.""You are the only one who knows what is real and what is fake," Dante said. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at his phone, his leg bouncing slightly. A rare sign of tension. "I don't trust Aubert’s inventory list. I trust your eyes."They arrived at the warehouse district. The Aubert facility here wasn't a fancy office; it was a fortress of corrugated steel and concrete.Dante marched her inside. The air smelle

The armored car tore out of the industrial district, tires screeching on the wet pavement.Evelina sat huddled in the corner of the leather seat, her hands clutching the torn fabric of her skirt where Dante had ripped it. She was shaking, not from cold, but from the residual adrenaline of the violence in the warehouse.Dante sat on the other side. He was staring out the window, his jaw locked so tight a muscle feathered frantically in his cheek. He looked like a man holding back a landslide."You lied to him," Evelina whispered. The silence was choking her; she had to break it. "You told him I was your wife."Dante turned his head slowly. His eyes were black voids."I told him what he needed to hear to keep him breathing," Dante said. His voice was a low, rough rasp. "If I hadn't claimed you... if I hadn't established a boundary he couldn't cross... I would have killed him, Evelina. Right there on the concrete."He looked at his own hands, flexing his fingers as if remembering the urge

Evelina woke up to the sound of a heartbeat that wasn't hers.It was slow, steady, and heavy, a rhythmic thud against her ear. She was lying on her side, her face pressed against a wall of warm, hard muscle. A heavy arm was draped over her waist, pinning her to the mattress. Her legs were tangled with thick, hairy limbs that felt like iron bars.Memory crashed into her. The shower. The soap. The cold command to sleep.She was in Dante’s bed. She was in his arms.She lay freezing, afraid to breathe. The morning sun was filtering through the cracks in the metal shutters, casting thin bars of light across the room. It illuminated the dark hair on his chest, the scar on his shoulder, the terrifying relaxation of his sleeping face.He looked human when he slept. That was the worst part. He didn't look like a monster; he looked like a man who was finally resting after a long war.Evelina tried to shift, just an inch, to relieve the cramp in her shoulder.Dante’s arm tightened instantly. He d

The steak was perfectly cooked, rare and bloody, but to Evelina, it tasted like ash.She sat at the kitchen island, the grey wool dress scratching at her neck, eating because he had told her to. Dante stood on the other side of the marble, leaning against the sink, watching every bite. He hadn't touched his own food. He fed on her obedience.The silence in the penthouse was absolute. The metal shutters were still down, sealing them in a timeless, artificial twilight.Evelina put her fork down. The heavy silver clattered against the china."I’m finished," she whispered.Dante looked at the plate. Half the steak was gone."Adequate," he decided. He reached out and took the plate away, sliding it into the sink.He walked around the island. The air pressure in the room seemed to drop as he encroached on her space. He stopped behind her stool, his hands gripping the backrest, trapping her between the marble counter and his body."You completed the inventory," Dante said, his voice low, vibr

“Evelina,” Bianca repeated, testing the name on her tongue. “Welcome to Valenti Capital. I’m Bianca Rossi. Director of Operations.”Rossi.Evelina glanced at Dante, then back at Bianca. “Related to Luca?”Bianca’s smile tightened. “His sister.”Of course. The cold, dead eyes ran in the family.“Bianca manages the logistical side of the collection,” Dante said, his voice bored. “She handles the transport, the insurance, the… storage.”“I handle the things that matter,” Bianca corrected softly, her eyes still fixed on Evelina. “While Dante handles the… aesthetics.”She stepped closer to Evelina. She was tall, taller than Evelina in her heels. She smelled of expensive perfume—something heavy, floral, and cloying.“That’s a lovely suit,” Bianca said. She reached out and touched the lapel of Evelina’s jacket. It was a violation of personal space, a power move disguised as a compliment. “Silk blend? It’s very… sturdy. Good for heavy lifting.”Evelina stiffened. “It’s cream silk.”“Oh,” Bianc