All Chapters of The Night Before Christmas: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

Desmond’s POVThe moment the lockdown command was activated, the entire Whitmore Holdings building entered controlled containment.Across the operations floor, segmented security protocols began cascading through every connected department while executive lift access shut down one floor after another beneath Valencia’s internal override authority. Emergency exits sealed automatically. Surveillance routing redirected towards Kingsley’s isolated monitoring system. Communication restrictions followed immediately afterwards.Nobody moved casually anymore.Because everyone inside the room understood the same thing now.The ghost inside Whitmore Holdings was real.And for the first time, they had stopped running.Daniel enlarged the trace projection again across the central screen while streams of live routing data continued updating beneath the active profile.FREDERICK WHITMOREEXECUTIVE CLEARANCE VERIFIEDJames stared at the screen with visible disbelief. “How is that profile still recog

Desmond’s POVDarkness swallowed the underground office instantly after the monitor died.The surveillance feed vanished together with the overhead lighting, while the hidden chamber beneath Whitmore Holdings fell into abrupt silence, broken only by the low mechanical groan moving somewhere through the structure above us. For several seconds, nobody spoke. The sudden blackout altered the atmosphere completely, stripping away the illusion that tonight had ever been under our control.Kingsley reacted first, drawing a tactical torch from inside his jacket while James moved instinctively towards the hidden entrance with his weapon already raised.A narrow beam of white light sliced through the darkness.Dust drifted slowly through the underground office while long shadows stretched across the concrete walls surrounding us. The old photographs scattered across Fred Whitmore’s desk looked almost distorted beneath the shifting light, fragments of a dead family trapped inside somebody else’s

Aria’s POVThe fire alarms continued screaming throughout Whitmore Holdings long after the explosion underground.Smoke drifted through the executive archive floor while emergency responders flooded the building beneath flashing red lights and controlled security barricades. Valencia personnel coordinated evacuation routes alongside firefighters moving equipment through the corridor, while tactical teams sealed every access point connected to the hidden chamber beneath the archives.The entire building felt wounded.Exposed.For years, Whitmore Holdings had projected stability and power. Tonight, it looked like the inside of a collapsing lie.Earlier, we were going to meet Jane, but the paramedics came, and we waited to be examined.I stood near the far side of the executive floor while paramedics examined the cuts along Desmond’s shoulder and neck beneath the harsh emergency lighting. Dust still clung to his black shirt and coat, while traces of dried blood darkened the fabric near h

Aria’s POVThe apartment suddenly felt too quiet. Not peaceful but wrong.Hailey stood between us, holding her teddy bear, while complete innocence rested across her face, completely unaware of the tension that had frozen the entire room after her mention of Evans Grant.Dead men did not visit children.My pulse began tightening slowly beneath my ribs while Desmond crouched slightly in front of her, keeping his expression calm despite the sharpness settling into his eyes.“When did Uncle Evans come here?” he asked gently.Hailey looked between both of us before answering casually.“Earlier.”“How much earlier?”She shrugged lightly. “Right after I had my supper.”I exchanged a glance with Desmond.The timing alone unsettled me immediately because neither of us had informed anyone outside Valencia about our location tonight after leaving Whitmore Holdings.Desmond kept his tone even.“What did he want?”“He was looking for you.”My throat tightened faintly.“And what happened after tha

Desmond’s POVSleep never truly came after the pregnancy revelation.The private apartment remained unnaturally quiet throughout the rest of the night while Valencia personnel continued removing surveillance devices from the apartment below. Every recovered transmitter, hidden camera, and manipulated network feed only reinforced the same reality repeatedly inside my mind.We had never been alone.Even now, standing near the bedroom window overlooking the dark city hours before sunrise, I could still hear fragments of Daniel’s earlier report replaying themselves with dangerous clarity.Eight listening devices.Two hidden visual systems.A falsified live surveillance feed looping pre-recorded footage back into our own security network.Professional work.Not improvised.Planned carefully enough to remain invisible for weeks, possibly longer.Behind me, Aria slept lightly beneath the dim bedside lamp, though even now her rest looked fragile. One hand remained curled near her stomach unco