All Chapters of The Ties That Binds : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

“Savannah, don’t move.”Jackson’s voice cut through the dim corridor like a blade, low and commanding. Savannah froze mid-step, her hand hovering over the carved doorknob of Harrison Sterling’s private archive room. She’d come here alone, heart pounding, desperate to uncover the truth behind the documents Delilah had leaked the ones that could destroy both Jackson’s company and their contract marriage.But she wasn’t alone.She turned slowly. Jackson stood at the far end of the hallway, his tie undone, his hair disheveled, his chest rising and falling as if he’d sprinted through the mansion. His eyes usually controlled and cool were blazing with something between anger and terror.Savannah straightened. “I wasn’t going to open it. I just ”“You were,” he said, closing the distance between them in long, urgent strides. “And if you had, everything would’ve collapsed tonight.”Her throat tightened. “Jackson, your father is hiding something. Those forged leases? Those dates? If he explain

“You shouldn’t be here.”The words cut through the tension-thick air even before Savannah fully stepped into the dimly lit foyer. Jackson’s voice echoed from the shadows, deep, strained, and nothing like the man she had seen hold steady in boardrooms, in crises, in the crosshairs of his father’s cruelty. This voice was frayed, raw. Unraveling.Savannah froze, her fingers tightening around the rail where she stood. “Jackson?” she whispered.He stepped out from the half-light, his face drawn tight, jaw clenched so hard she could see the muscle ticking. His tie was loosened, his shirt rumpled, and for the first time since she’d known him, Jackson Sterling looked haunted.She moved closer. “What happened?”He didn’t look at her at first. His eyes stayed fixed on some invisible point beyond her shoulder as if staring at the shape of a decision he didn’t want to make.Finally: “Grayson found another breach.”Savannah’s pulse stumbled. “Another?”Jackson lifted a file from the hall table and

“Where were you?”Jackson’s voice cracked through the dimly lit penthouse like a blade. Sharp. Controlled. Yet vibrating with something dangerously close to panic. Savannah didn’t turn immediately. She stood near the glass wall, her fingertips grazing the cold surface, watching the city lights flicker beneath her like a restless heartbeat.“Answer me,” he growled.Savannah exhaled slowly. “I stepped out for air.”“At midnight?” He moved into her space, heat radiating from him. “With everything that’s happening? You think I’m going to believe you just needed air?”Savannah finally faced him, her eyes dark, glossy, storm-filled. “I needed space, Jackson. From you. From all of this.”His jaw ticked. “Savannah ”“No.” She held up a trembling hand. “You don’t get to question me when you’re the one keeping secrets.”Jackson flinched, just barely, but enough for her to catch it. A reminder that truth, when spoken aloud, finds its mark.Savannah stepped past him, her voice low, brittle around

“Jackson… the door.”Savannah’s voice trembled, barely audible over the rising hum of the servers. Jackson was already there, pulling at the reinforced steel handle, muscles straining, jaw locked in fury.It didn’t budge.Cole checked the panel beside it, fingers flying across the keypad. “It’s no use. Harrison activated Level-4 lockdown. Nothing opens without his override.”Savannah’s heart slammed against her ribs. “So what do we do?”Cole swallowed. “We don’t panic. We find another access point.”Jackson turned, eyes blazing. “Which one?”Cole hesitated. “Sub-level three. But it’s ”A sharp alarm blared overhead.Then another.The tower lighting shifted from blue to a pulsing crimson.Jackson’s voice hardened. “What is that?”Cole’s expression changed fear, pure and unfiltered. “That’s… a purge sequence.”Savannah’s pulse stopped. “A what?”Cole backed away from the console. “It wipes the servers. All records, all logs… and anything in the rooms below Level 5 gets shut down. Perman

The alarm pulse washed over them in red waves, each flash cutting through the cold server room like a warning heartbeat. Savannah’s chest tightened as the steel door sealed with a slow, heavy grind, the mechanical lock clicking into place with a finality that made her stomach twist.Cole cursed under his breath. “This is bad. This is really bad.”“Focus,” Jackson snapped, stepping toward the locked door, inspecting the bolts, the frame, the emergency release panel. “There has to be a manual override.”“There isn’t,” Cole said, voice shaking. “Harrison had this part of the tower redesigned last year. These rooms are meant to withstand a full breach. Fireproof, bulletproof, blast reinforced.”Savannah’s blood ran cold. “He built a trap.”Jackson turned from the door, his jaw tight, eyes dark. “He built a prison.”The red lights continued pulsing, illuminating the fear on Cole’s face and the determination on Jackson’s. Savannah felt her heartbeat sync with the alarms steady, fast, relent