All Chapters of THE CEO'S SECRET INDULGENCE: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

The corridor outside the council chamber was quiet, the kind of quiet that only existed in the fortress when everyone was either working or avoiding someone more powerful than themselves. Deborah and Luther walked side by side, not too close, not too far, their usual careful distance restored now that they were outside the privacy of the council room.They were discussing territory reports and guard rotations when they turned into one of the less-used hallways that led toward the strategy offices. The moment they stepped into the corridor, Deborah stopped walking.Aston was standing near the window at the far end.Lysander was beside him, arms crossed, his expression already dark.Neither of them looked surprised.Which meant they had been waiting.Luther immediately understood the situation, but he didn’t step away from Deborah. That alone confirmed everything the two brothers needed to know.Aston pushed himself off the wall slowly. “I was wondering how long it would take before we

The day started like any other.The fortress was loud in the mornings—guards changing shifts, servants moving quickly through the halls, messengers carrying documents from one office to another, and the younger brothers already beginning their quiet competitions for influence and attention. From the outside, it looked like a well-organized empire.From the inside, Deborah knew it was controlled chaos.She was in her office early, reviewing supply reports when Lysander walked in without knocking. He did that often—only a few people in the fortress could enter her office without permission.“You’re going to ruin the door if you keep opening it like you own the place,” Deborah said without looking up.“I practically do,” Lysander replied, dropping into the chair across from her desk.She finally looked at him. “You’re in a surprisingly calm mood today.”“I’m not here to fight,” he said. “Relax.”“I am relaxed,” she replied calmly, then returned to her papers.Lysander watched her for a m

The storm didn’t stop. By nightfall, the rain had turned heavier, pounding against the fortress walls, echoing through the corridors like a constant warning. Inside, the atmosphere had shifted again, subtle, but undeniable.More people knew. Not everyone. Not yet. But enough.And in a place like this, “enough” was dangerous.Deborah stood alone in her office, staring at the map spread across her desk. The candles flickered with each distant rumble of thunder, shadows moving across the walls like silent observers. She hadn’t touched the reports in front of her for several minutes.Her mind wasn’t on territory disputes. It was on risk.A soft knock broke the silence.“Come in,” she said.The door opened, and Adrian stepped inside.Deborah straightened slightly. “I assumed you would come first,” she said.Adrian closed the door behind him. “I needed to think before I spoke.”“That’s why you’re still alive,” she replied calmly.He almost smiled at that, but his expression remained serious

Every corridor had a purpose, every guard had a route, every door had a reason for being open or closed. From the outside, it looked like an impenetrable structure of stone and iron, but inside, it was something far more complex, a network of loyalty, power, fear, and control.And Deborah stood at the center of it all.By midmorning, the fog had lifted, leaving the fortress courtyard bright but cold. From the upper balcony outside the strategy room, Deborah watched the guards change formation. She didn’t just watch them, she memorized patterns, timing, posture, discipline. She noticed when someone walked too fast, too slow, looked around too often, or avoided eye contact.Nothing escaped her attention.Behind her, the door opened quietly.“You’re looking for something,” Luther said.“I’m always looking for something,” she replied without turning.He stepped beside her and followed her gaze toward the courtyard. “You think the leak is among the guards?”“I think the leak is wherever

The next few days passed without another attack, and that alone made everyone more uneasy instead of relieved. The fortress continued operating as usual, shipments moved, guards rotated, meetings were held, and reports were filed, but beneath the routine, tension slowly tightened like a rope being pulled from both ends.Deborah did not change the routes, just as she had decided. Everything remained predictable, structured, and calm on the surface. She wanted whoever was behind the sabotage to believe that the fortress had stopped adapting and returned to routine. Predictability would make them confident, and confidence would eventually make them careless.That morning, Deborah sat in her office reviewing reports when Adrian knocked once and entered without waiting for a response. He rarely interrupted her unless something mattered, so she immediately set the papers aside and gave him her full attention.“There has been movement near the southern border,” Adrian said. “Not an attack, n