All Chapters of HIS SECRET ADDICTION: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Alex's PovEleanor died at 3:47 AM with Damien holding her hand and me standing uselessly in the corner.I shouldn't have been there. But when I'd tried to leave, Damien had grabbed my wrist without looking away from his grandmother."Stay," was all he said.Afterward, Damien sat perfectly still, not crying, not speaking."I'm sorry," I whispered."She liked you." He finally looked at me. "She made me promise to fight for you. She changed her will last week. Left you ten percent of her shares in the company."I felt like I'd been punched. "What?""She said you'd need leverage against the board." He laughed bitterly. "Even dying, she was playing chess.""I can't accept that.""You don't have a choice. It's done."The next seventy-two hours blurred together. Funeral arrangements, lawyer meetings, board notifications. Damien moved through it all like a robot. I tried to give him space, but he kept pulling me into meetings, introducing me as "Eleanor's choice for the board."Catherine cor

Alex's POVCatherine's suicide note was three pages long and named my father."This doesn't make sense," I told Detective Chen, reading it for the third time. "My father's been out of my life for fifteen years. He's a construction worker in Ohio. How would he even know Catherine?""We're looking into it." Chen pulled up a file on her laptop. "When's the last time you spoke to him?""I was twelve. He walked out after my mom died, and I went into foster care.""And you never wondered why he left so abruptly?""He was an alcoholic who couldn't handle single parenthood. There wasn't a mystery.""Maybe there was." She turned the screen toward me. "Richard Parker. That's your father?"I looked at the photo. Older, grayer, but still him. "Yes.""He's been working as a consultant for Ross Industries for eight years. Facility management, building contracts, vendor relationships."My stomach dropped. "That's impossible.""It's in the employment records. Catherine hired him personally." Chen pul

Damien's POVMy phone rang at six in the morning. Marcus first, then Sophie, then four board members in succession."Emergency meeting," Richard Sterling's voicemail said. "Today. Noon. Non-negotiable."Alex was already awake when I came back to the bedroom. He'd seen the article on his phone."Person of interest," he said."It'll be corrected.""When? After the board votes you out? After I lose my job?" He set the phone face down. "Reeves got that information from somewhere, Damien. Someone fed it to him.""I know.""Who benefits from my name being in that article?"I sat on the edge of the bed. "Jordan Li submitted a formal complaint to the board yesterday. He claims you've been receiving preferential treatment on the rebranding campaign. That your relationship with me compromised the professional integrity of the project."Alex was quiet for a moment. "How long have you known?""Sophie told me last night. I didn't want to add to everything else.""So Jordan went to the board, someo

Damien's POVMarcus canceled my nine o'clock. I found out when I arrived at the office and Ethan handed me a revised schedule with a note attached in Marcus's handwriting. *You haven't had a day off in four months. Go home. I've handled everything. Don't call me.*Sophie had co-signed it. Literally. Her signature was at the bottom.I stood in the elevator holding the note.Alex was still at home. I'd left him drinking coffee and reading something on his tablet, relaxed in a way he rarely was during the week. I took the elevator back down.He looked up when I walked in. "Forgot something?""Marcus cancelled my day.""Cancelled your day," Alex repeated."Apparently I've been difficult to work with lately and everyone collectively decided I needed to leave the building." I loosened my tie. "Sophie signed off on it."Alex set his tablet down slowly. "So you have a free day.""We both do. I checked your calendar. Ethan already moved your eleven o'clock.""Ethan is going to get himself prom

Damien's POVVictoria showed up at the office Monday morning without warning.She walked into my office at seven thirty carrying two coffees and sat down across from my desk without asking. My sister had a way of entering spaces like she owned them, which she technically did, thirty percent of the company anyway."We need to talk about the press," she said.I took the coffee she offered. "Good morning to you too.""The Maya story is contained. The rebranding numbers are excellent. But the article about you and Alex hasn't gone away. It's actually picking up secondary coverage." She pulled out her tablet. "Business Insider ran a piece yesterday. Forbes has something scheduled for Wednesday. They're not negative, but they're asking questions about workplace relationships and power dynamics.""Sophie already drafted the conflict of interest policy.""I know. I read it. It's airtight." She set the tablet down. "That's not the problem. The problem is you haven't said anything publicly. No