All Chapters of The Ceo’s Unwanted Claim: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The boardroom was a theater of war disguised as a glass box.Evelina pushed the heavy doors open. The smell of faint smoke clung to her fingertips, a secret perfume of rebellion.Inside, the air was frigid. Twelve men in expensive suits sat around a table long enough to land a plane on. At the head sat Dante. He leaned back in his leather chair, one hand resting on the table, his face a mask of bored, lethal intelligence.To his right stood Bianca.She was mid-sentence, pointing at a projection screen filled with charts and acquisition targets. She looked flawless, commanding, and utterly confident.“The Asian market requires a more aggressive approach regarding the ceramic imports,” Bianca was saying, her voice crisp. “We have identified a supply chain in Macau that…”She stopped.The heavy door clicked shut behind Evelina.Every head in the room turned. Twelve pairs of eyes landed on the woman in the cream suit who had just interrupted the Director of Operations.Bianca’s eyes narrow

EvelinaSunday morning in the penthouse was quiet, but it wasn't peaceful. It was the silence of a held breath before a scream.I sat on a stool at the kitchen island, the cold marble seeping through my sleeves, chilling my palms. In front of me sat the black burner phone, silent and dark, like a small, sleeping bomb.I was wearing a soft cashmere sweater Dante had selected for me—a pale blue that made me look fragile, delicate. It was a costume for the performance he was about to orchestrate.Dante stood behind me. He wasn't touching me, but I could feel the heat radiating from his body, a wall of dominance pressing against my back. He was drinking coffee, the ceramic cup clinking softly as he set it down."It is time," he said. His voice was calm, devoid of the threat he had issued the night before. But the threat was there, hanging in the air like smoke.Make her believe you are in heaven.I stared at the phone. My hands were shaking. I clasped them together, squeezing until my knuc

"Careful," Bianca warned, her smile vanishing. "Accusations require proof. I have the system logs. What do you have? A nice suit and a bad attitude?""Enough," Dante’s voice cracked through the air like a whip.We both fell silent.Dante closed the file folder. He stood up.He walked to the screen, staring at the timestamp.User: E_THORNE.He knew I was with him at 6:45. He knew I didn't have remote access. He knew, logically, that Bianca was lying. That she had likely logged in as me from the Archives room to sabotage me.It was petty office politics. A claw-back of power.But Dante didn't turn to Bianca. He turned to me.And his eyes were freezing."It is gone," Dante said."Dante, she’s lying," I pleaded. "Check the security cameras in the hallway. I wasn't there!""I do not care about the cameras," Dante said. "I care about the result."He walked toward me."I told you to be competent. I told you to be an asset.""I am! I found the bust!""And then you lost the proof," Dante said.

“And Bianca?” he asked.“She’s gone,” I said. “After she told me I was a pet you’d eventually put down.”Dante walked toward the desk. He picked up the file, flipping it open. He scanned the first page, then the second. His eyes moved fast.He closed the folder.“She is trying to frighten you,” he said. “It is a standard tactic.”“Is she wrong?” I asked. My voice trembled, just a little. “Am I just entertainment for you? A dog you’re teaching to fight?”Dante looked up. He walked around the desk, moving toward me.I held my ground. I refused to back up.He stopped in front of me. He was so tall. He loomed over me, blocking out the light from the window. The room felt suddenly small, the air too thin to breathe.“You are not a dog,” Dante said softly. “Dogs are loyal. Dogs love unconditionally.”He reached out. His hand hovered near my face, then settled on my shoulder. The weight of it was immense.“You… you are something else entirely. You are a liability that I am turning into an ass

“Call me.”I reached for the card.Dante’s hand clamped down on my wrist. Above the table. Visible.He stopped my hand inches from the card.“She won’t need that,” Dante said to Tanaka. His smile was terrifying. “Evelina doesn't make calls. She answers them.”He picked up the card himself. He didn't give it to me. He slipped it into his own pocket.Tanaka blinked. The politeness faltered. He saw it then—the steel behind Dante’s eyes. The absolute refusal to share even a scrap of attention.“I see,” Tanaka said quietly. “You are… very protective of your staff.”“I protect my assets,” Dante corrected.He didn't let go of my wrist. He held it for the rest of the meal, pinning my hand to the table.The ride back was suffocating.Dante didn't wait until we were in the penthouse. As soon as the partition in the limousine went up, he turned on me.“You wanted to take it,” he accused. His voice was low, vibrating with a dark, ugly energy.“It was a business card,” I said, rubbing my wrist wher