บททั้งหมดของ Bought by the Devil CEO: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

The city forgot quickly.That wasn’t cruelty. It was efficiency.By the end of the week, Sofia Calder’s name had been folded into process footnotes, filings, schedules measured in months. The appetite moved on. Something else replaced the spectacle. Something louder.Inside the penthouse, quiet stayed.Not the anxious quiet that waited for impact. The kind that allowed breath to settle into its natural rhythm. I noticed it first in the mornings how I reached for my phone without bracing. How the silence no longer asked for explanation.Adrian noticed it later.He stood at the window, coffee untouched, watching the city perform its indifference. “I used to measure days by threat,” he said. “What might arrive. What I needed to stop.”“And now?” I asked.“Now I’m noticing what doesn’t,” he replied.We moved through the apartment without choreography. No roles. No protection drills. Elena had reduced her presence to check ins, contingency only. The world had recalibrated.“So,” Adrian sai

The committee didn’t knock twice.They sent an email formal, neutral, impossible to ignore. No accusation. No urgency. Just an invitation framed as cooperation.Request for clarification. Voluntary appearance.“Voluntary,” Adrian repeated, reading over my shoulder. “That word always lies.”“It doesn’t lie,” I replied. “It advertises power.”We arrived separately.That was their first instruction unspoken, but obvious. Separate entrances. Separate waiting rooms. The kind of choreography that pretended to be procedural while testing alignment.The building was modern in the most forgettable way. Glass. Steel. Neutral colors meant to suggest transparency without revealing anything.I sat alone at a long table. Water. Notepad. Recorder already on.Director Hale entered with two others no introductions beyond titles. No smiles.“Thank you for coming,” he said. “We’ll keep this brief.”Brief was never true.“You understand this is not an investigation,” he continued. “It’s a review.”“Revie

The committee didn’t follow up with questions.They followed up with structure.The email arrived at 9:03 a.m. sharp attachments, schedules, and a tone so neutral it felt rehearsed. No urgency. No pressure. Just inevitability disguised as procedure.“They’re formalizing,” Adrian said, scanning the document. “This isn’t curiosity anymore.”“No,” I replied. “This is containment.”We sat side by side at the table, laptops open, silence heavy but focused. The request was simple on paper: disclosures, timelines, cooperation parameters. Nothing unreasonable. Everything invasive.“They want access,” Adrian said.“They want precedent,” I corrected. “Access is just the tool.”Elena joined us minutes later, eyes already narrowed. “This is a soft freeze,” she said. “They won’t say it, but they’re limiting movement.”“On him,” Adrian said.“And on you,” she added, looking at me. “Visibility cuts both ways.”I read the last page again. “They’re offering protection.”Adrian’s jaw tightened. “From w

The hearing wasn’t called a hearing.It was labeled a forum open, moderated, live-streamed. Transparency with a controlled pulse. No raised voices. No accusations. Just questions designed to bruise without leaving marks.I arrived alone.That was intentional. Cameras loved symmetry, and they’d been denied it. I took my seat at the long table, nameplate centered, water untouched. The moderator smiled the way people did when they thought civility was a weapon.“Thank you for joining us,” she said. “We appreciate your willingness to engage.”“I appreciate the public record,” I replied.A flicker crossed her eyes. Then she nodded.The first questions were gentle background, principles, procedural familiarity. I answered plainly, without performance. I didn’t sell competence. I demonstrated it.Then the turn.“Some have suggested,” the moderator said carefully, “that your recent visibility coincides conveniently with regulatory relief granted to affiliated entities.”I leaned forward sligh

The split didn’t announce itself.It appeared in tone.Morning analysis segments softened their language. Afternoon panels hardened it. By evening, the conversation had fractured not into camps, but into interpretations. Support didn’t look like loyalty. Criticism didn’t look like hostility. Everything sat in the gray.“That’s dangerous,” Elena said, watching a clip replay. “Gray gives people permission to project.”“And projection breeds certainty,” Adrian added.I scrolled without reading comments. I didn’t need to. The pressure had shifted from credibility to character.“They’re asking why you care so much,” Elena continued. “That’s the pivot.”The invitation arrived just after noon.Private. Discreet. Off the record.Dinner.“No,” Adrian said immediately.“Yes,” I replied.He turned to me sharply. “That’s exactly what they want.”“They want reaction,” I said. “This is reconnaissance.”Elena hesitated. “It’s risky.”“So is not knowing,” I replied.The restaurant was chosen for its