Chapter 81: Pressure Lines

Allen liked private rooms.Rooms where the air didn’t move unless he allowed it to.The first meeting was at noon. Glass walls. City skyline behind him. Sunlight cuts sharp lines across the table.Lydia Grant scutts him, spine straight, silk blouse immaculate, fingers wrapped too tightly around her water glass.Allen smiled gently. The kind of smile he used at charity galas.Lydia Grant preferred chamomile. He remembered that. He always remembered things that made people feel chosen.She sat across from him in his private office, the blinds half-drawn, light cutting soft stripes across the table. The room smelled faintly of leather and expensive cologne.“You look tired,” he said gently.She smiled politely. “It’s been a long quarter.”“It has.” He watched her fingers wrap around the cup. “Volatility does that.”“I wanted to check in personally,” he continued. “There’s been… movement.”Her lashes lifted slightly. “Movement?”“Yes.” He leaned back. Relaxed. “Minor shareholders reconsid

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Chapter 82: Not Far Enough

The office felt different at night.The city lights bled through the glass walls in long silver streaks, turning the boardroom table into a blade of black marble. Allen stood at the head of it, jacket off, sleeves rolled precisely to the same height on both arms. Evelyn Carter sat to Allen’s right, legs crossed, hands folded loosely in her lap. She looked almost bored. Her eyes, though—were sharp. Studying, filing things away.“Sit,” Allen said.Derek did.He placed his phone face down on the table without being asked. His pulse thudded behind his ribs, but his face was steady and neutral.Allen didn’t sit.“I’ll keep this brief.” His voice was even, polished. “There’s movement in the shares.”Derek tilted his head slightly. “Movement is normal. We’re in Q4.”Evelyn’s lips curved faintly. “Not this kind.”Silence stretched. Derek felt it—like a wire tightening between them.Allen leaned forward, palms flat on the table. “Minority shareholders are being approached.”Derek didn’t blink

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Chapter 83: Misalignment

Allen didn’t believe in coincidences. He believed in patterns. And patterns always revealed themselves if you were patient enough to let people think you weren’t watching. The consultant had been his idea. He’d wanted someone neutral. Foreign and detached. Someone who didn’t belong to any existing loyalties inside the company. Someone who would ask questions without emotional hesitation. He hadn’t told anyone the real purpose. Audit internal corruption, track information flow. See who flinched. The first week, nothing. The second week, movement. Ownership records accessed. Minority shareholder projections requested. Board structure hypotheticals drafted. None of it is illegal, but none of it is accidental. Allen stood in the consultant’s now-empty office, staring at the bare desk. He remembered the conversation from last night with unnerving clarity. “You didn’t disclose Frankfurt,” Allen had said quietly, sliding the printed file across the desk. The consultant’s face had

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Chapter 84: Cornered

The boardroom smelled faintly of polished wood and tension. Afternoon sunlight sliced through the tall windows, painting sharp lines across the table. Derek sat rigidly, hands clasped in front of him, while Chris leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing, aware the air itself seemed to press against them.Allen’s footsteps echoed as he approached the head of the table. He carried a slim folder, and for the first time in weeks, his expression was unreadable—less the casual mask he often wore, more the kind of calm that unsettles even the most confident men.“Derek,” Allen began, voice even, deliberate, “thank you for joining me.”“I—of course,” Derek said, voice steady but thin, betraying the first hint of unease.Allen flipped open the folder and let it rest flat on the table between them.“I want to discuss shareholder interactions,” he said softly. “You’ve been active in recent weeks—unofficial meetings, before any public instability.”Derek stiffened. Chris is tensed in his chair.Allen

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Chapter 85: Family First

Chris stood near the kitchen island, sleeves rolled up, fingers braced against the marble like he needed something solid beneath him. Derek paced—slow at first, then restless, like a man trying to outrun a thought that kept circling back. Mia hadn’t moved in three minutes. She was still by the window, phone in her hand, the screen dark now. She is heading back to England tomorrow. The word sat in her chest like a stone. Derek stopped pacing. “How bad is it?” She swallowed. “Grandma didn’t want to scare me.” A breath. “Which means it’s worse than she said.” Chris’s jaw tightened. Grandma Morris had said Nathan had Pneumonia. The image of him—laughing, stubborn, refusing milk when he was crying—hit her so sharply she had to press her fingers against her lips. “I need to go,” she said quietly, no one argued. Derek dragged a hand down his face. “Of course you do.” Chris finally pushed away from the counter. He walked toward her slowly, like she might break if he moved too fas

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Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Regret: Too Late to Love: Bab 81 - Bab 85

Chapter 81: Pressure Lines

Chapter 82: Not Far Enough

Chapter 83: Misalignment

Chapter 84: Cornered

Chapter 85: Family First