Claimed by Her Father's Shadow 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 10

Alex sat alone in the dim office long after the last employee had left. Rain still tapped against the windows like impatient fingers. The city lights below blurred into streaks of gold and red.He couldn’t stop replaying it.Her soaked blouse clinging to skin he had no business imagining. The way she’d lifted her chin and thrown his words back at him. “Only when they stare like that.”He’d stared. He was still staring, in his head, at the memory of her mouth forming the challenge.His fist came down on the desk. Not hard enough to crack anything. Just enough to feel the sting.“Fuck,” he muttered.He shouldn’t have leaned in. Shouldn’t have brushed her hand. Shouldn’t have let the words slip out: “I could teach you a few things.”Patrick’s voice echoed from last week’s call.“She’s back in town, Alex. Struggling after that boy, and won’t talk about it. I’m worried she’ll spiral again. You’re moving to Evergreen Ridge anyway. Keep an eye on her for me? You’re the only one I trust with

Alex stayed in the office long after Bridget left. The rain had stopped, but the air still felt heavy, charged. He could still smell her. Something citrus-sharp and clean, lingering on the chair where she’d sat. He could still see the flush on her cheeks when Jake walked in, the way her shoulders stiffened, the way she’d looked at Alex afterward like she was daring him to do something about it.He hadn’t.He’d let her walk out.Now the silence was suffocating.He paced once, twice then stopped at the window. Pressed his palm to the glass. Cold seeped into his skin, but it did nothing to cool the rage still simmering under his ribs.Jake’s smirk. The casual way he’d said “She always comes around.” Like she was a habit he could pick up again whenever he felt like it.Alex’s fist clenched.He pulled out his phone, and found her number.Typed: *Meet me at the mansion. Now.*Sent it without explanation.He didn’t wait for a reply. He grabbed his keys and left.The drive to Evergreen Ridge

Bridget walked into Ridge Enterprises at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday like she was stepping onto a minefield.The lobby security guard gave her the same polite nod he’d given her every morning this week, but today it felt like he knew. Like everyone knew. She kept her head down in the elevator, staring at the polished steel doors instead of her reflection. She didn’t want to see the faint mark Alexander had left on the side of her neck last night. It was barely visible under concealer, but screaming to her.The twenty-third floor was already humming. Phones ringing softly, keyboards clacking, the low murmur of early-morning strategy calls. She dropped her bag at the small desk outside Alexander’s office. He’d assigned her on Monday with a curt “This is yours now” as he pretended to organize files while her pulse hammered.His door was closed. No light under it yet.She opened her laptop, pulled up the market analysis spreadsheet he’d emailed her at 1:14 a.m. Subject line: *Preliminary due d

Thursday morning felt like walking into a room where everyone had already read the script except her.Bridget arrived at 7:55 a.m., coffee in hand, eyes scanning the lobby for any face that didn’t belong. No Jake. No suspicious shadows. Still, the envelope from yesterday sat folded in her bag like a live grenade.The elevator ride up was silent except for her own breathing. When the doors opened on the twenty-third floor, Marcus, the CFO who’d once teased Alexander about her ‘wet T-shirt contest vibes’ was waiting at the coffee station. He raised his mug in greeting.“Morning, Callahan. You’re making the rest of us look bad showing up this early.”She forced a smile. “Gotta earn my keep.”He leaned in conspiratorially, voice low. “You and the boss seem… in sync lately. Late nights on that Acme deal?”Her stomach twisted. “Just doing my job.”Marcus chuckled. “Right. Just the job.” He winked, then walked off whistling.Favoritism. The word lodged in her throat.She dropped her bag at h

Bridget stepped out of Alexander’s office and closed the door with a soft click. The hallway stretched ahead like a gauntlet. Her thighs still trembled, the ache between her legs sharp and insistent, a private reminder of how roughly he’d taken her just minutes ago. She could still feel him, hot, thick, filling her completely. Could still hear his growled ‘I love you’ vibrating against her skin.She made it back to her desk on autopilot and sat down carefully. Opening the Acme file, the numbers blurred into nonsense. All she could think about was pizza at her father’s house tonight. Alexander there. Patrick smiling like nothing had changed. Elena’s wine. The four of them around the same table where she used to draw while they laughed about old deals and bad golf swings.Marcus appeared at the edge of her cubicle, coffee mug in hand, grin too knowing.“Still breathing after the boss’s morning deep dive?” he asked, leaning against the partition. “You two were locked in there a while.”