All Chapters of Trapped by the CEO: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

65 Chapters

Chapter 1: The Storm and the Stranger

Five Years Ago.Lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the penthouse suite of the Grand Hotel in a blinding flash of white.Maya Lin stood frozen in the center of the room, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She was a waitress, a nobody. She belonged in the banquet hall forty floors down, serving hors d'oeuvres to bored socialites. She did not belong here, in the private sanctuary of the hotel’s most mysterious guest."Service elevator error," she muttered to herself, clutching her silver tray with white-knuckled fingers. "Just turn around, Maya. Just leave."She took a step back toward the door.Click.The sound of a safety catch being released echoed in the silence."Take one more step," a voice growled from the shadows, "and you won't make it to the door."Maya gasped, the tray slipping from her numb fingers. It hit the marble floor with a deafening crash, sending champagne flutes shattering in every direction."I’m sorry!" she cried, throwing her hands

Chapter 2: The Genius and the Job Offer

Five Years Later.The scent of burnt toast and impending doom filled the tiny, one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.Maya Lin sat at the scratched kitchen table, staring at the stack of envelopes in front of her. Red ink. Overdue. Final Notice. Eviction Warning."Okay," she exhaled, rubbing her temples where a headache was beginning to throb. "I can fix this. I just need one yes. Just one."She looked at her laptop screen. She had applied to thirty jobs in the last week. Twenty-nine had rejected her. Being a college dropout with two kids and a five-year gap in her resume didn't exactly scream "hire me.""Mommy?"Maya looked up, forcing a bright smile onto her face. "Hey, sweetie. What’s up?"Mia, her five-year-old daughter, waddled into the kitchen. She was wearing a tiara made of tin foil and a tutu that had seen better days. But it was her eyes—piercing, icy blue—that made Maya’s heart ache. They were his eyes."Leo is doing the clicky-clack thing again," Mia announced, pointing a chub

Chapter 3: The Coffee and the Code

The first three hours of Maya’s new life were a blur of terror and caffeine."Wrong," Julian said, dropping a file onto his desk with a heavy thud. He didn't even look up at her. "The Font is Arial. I asked for Helvetica. Reprint it.""Yes, sir," Maya said, grabbing the folder. Her hands were shaking, but she forced herself to keep her voice steady."And Ms. Lin?""Yes?""My coffee is cold. Fix it."Maya looked at the cup on his desk. It was still steaming. She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw the scalding liquid right onto his perfectly tailored suit. But then she thought of the eviction notice on her kitchen table. She thought of Mia’s worn-out shoes and Leo’s desire for a real computer."Right away, sir," she said through gritted teeth.She hurried out of the office, her oversized heels clicking on the marble floor.He is a monster, she thought, furiously pressing the button on the espresso machine in the break room. The man who held me during the storm... that man is dead. Th

Chapter 4: The Hacker in Pyjamas

The drive to Brooklyn was suffocating.Maya sat in the back of the sleek black limousine, her hands clenched so tightly in her lap that her knuckles turned white. Beside her, Julian Thorne was a statue of ice and rage. He stared out the tinted window, his jaw clenched, tapping furiously on his phone."Sir," Maya tried again, her voice sounding thin and brittle. "I really think we should let the police handle this. Going there personally seems... dangerous.""I don't wait for the police," Julian said, cutting her off cold. "This hacker breached my personal firewall. He touched Project Alpha. I want to see his face before I hand him over to the feds."Maya swallowed a lump of terror. You’re going to see his face, alright. And it looks exactly like yours.The car slowed down as it entered her neighborhood. The sleek corporate towers of Manhattan were gone, replaced by crumbling brick buildings, graffiti-covered walls, and overflowing trash bins.Julian looked out the window, his lip curl

Chapter 5: The Glass Fortress

Ten minutes is not enough time to pack a life.Maya moved like a whirlwind, shoving clothes into two battered suitcases. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely work the zippers."Mommy, are we going on vacation?" Mia asked, clutching her stuffed bunny, her eyes wide with confusion."Sort of, baby," Maya lied, her voice tight. "We’re going to stay at... at a very fancy hotel for a while. It’s for my work.""I don't want to go," Leo said from the corner. He wasn't packing. He was standing guard over his backpack, which contained his tablet and his tangle of wires. "That man is bad news. I checked his public profile. He has a reputation score of—""Leo, please," Maya begged, stopping to cup his face. "I need you to trust me. We have to go. Just for a little while. I won't let anything happen to you."Leo looked at her, his dark eyes—so like his father's—filled with skepticism. But he nodded. "Okay. But I’m keeping my servers encrypted."Maya turned to her own closet. She grabbe

Chapter 6: A Game of Shadows

The plastic packet hit the glass coffee table with a sound that echoed like a gunshot in the silent penthouse.Maya stared at the DNA swab kit. Her throat went dry, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she thought Julian must be able to see it through her blouse.You can’t be serious, she whispered, her voice trembling.I am always serious, Maya. Julian’s voice was smooth, dark, and terrifyingly calm. He walked around the table, closing the distance between them until he was towering over her. You claim the father is dead. You claim there is no record of him. Yet you have a son who shares my intellect and a daughter who has my eyes.He leaned down, placing a hand on the back of the sofa, boxing her in.Coincidences happen, he murmured, his face inches from hers. But I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in data. And I intend to get it.Maya’s mind raced. She was a software engineer, trained to solve logic puzzles, but this was a trap with no exit code. If he swabbed Leo,

Chapter 7: The Shark in Stilettos

The morning sun hit the penthouse windows with the force of a spotlight, waking Maya from a restless sleep. She sat up, her hand instinctively going to the pillow next to her. Leo and Mia were still asleep, tangled in the high-thread-count sheets. Leo was clutching his tablet like a teddy bear. The chip. Maya reached under Leo’s pillow and retrieved the small silver rectangle. It felt cold against her skin. This wasn't just a stolen piece of tech anymore; it was a master key to the global economy. If Julian knew she had it, he wouldn't just fire her. He would bury her. She needed to hide it somewhere he would never look. She went to the bathroom and quickly dressed in her "assistant disguise"—the drab grey suit. She wrapped the chip in a tissue and tucked it securely inside the lining of her bra. It was a cliché, but it was the only place on her body she could guarantee Julian Thorne wouldn't be patting down. At least, she hoped not. "Okay team," she whispered, waking the kids.

Chapter 8: Fever in the Dark

The penthouse was silent, but the air felt heavy, charged with the kind of electricity that comes before a lightning strike.It had been six hours since the DNA test. Six hours of agonizing waiting.Maya paced the length of the guest bedroom. Leo and Mia were fast asleep, oblivious to the fact that their lives hung in the balance of a chemistry lab result.Maya stopped in front of the mirror. She was still wearing her grey pencil skirt and white blouse, but she had unbuttoned the top button. Her hand went to her chest, pressing against the fabric. She could feel the hard, rectangular outline of the prototype chip hidden inside the lace of her bra, resting right against her skin.It was burning her."I can't breathe," she whispered to herself.She needed water. She needed air. She needed to escape the suffocating quiet of this room.She opened the door and crept into the hallway. The penthouse was dim, lit only by the city lights filtering in through the massive glass walls. She made h

Chapter 9: Blood and Lies

The morning sun did not bring relief. It brought judgment.Maya stood in the center of the massive walk-in closet in the guest room, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She looked exhausted. Dark circles bruised the skin under her eyes, a stark contrast to the pale fear etched into her features.She reached up and touched her chest. The hard, rectangular outline of the prototype chip was still there, hidden inside her bra. It felt heavier today, like a stone dragging her down into deep water.She had survived the kitchen. She had survived Julian's hands on her skin, his breath against her neck, the way he had looked at her like a starving man looking at a feast. But she had only survived by telling a lie.A boyfriend.She closed her eyes, groaning softly. Why did she say that? Julian Thorne was a possessive, territorial alpha. Telling him another man had touched her wasn't a shield; it was a red flag to a bull.Mom?Maya jumped, spinning around. Leo was standing in th

Chapter 10: Lockdown

The steel door slammed shut with a finality that made Maya's bones ache.She spun around, slamming her palms against the cold, unyielding metal. The holding cell was located deep within the sub-basement of the Thorne estate. It was entirely concrete, lit by a single, harsh fluorescent bulb. There were no windows. No furniture. Just a drain in the floor and a camera watching her from the corner.Let me out! Maya screamed, her voice cracking as she pounded on the door. You cannot do this! Julian, please!Silence answered her.She slid down the door, pulling her knees to her chest. She had lost. The master key was gone, and with it, any leverage she had to protect her family. Julian thought she was a corporate spy, a thief who had seduced him simply to steal his empire.But the worst part was not the cold concrete or the fear of prison. The worst part was knowing that her children were upstairs, entirely at the mercy of a man who had just looked at her with pure, unadulterated hatred.Up

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