All Chapters of Betrayed by design: Chapter 41 - Chapter 48

48 Chapters

Coalition Building

Elena Voss didn't waste time which Sloane noticed right away, she moved from one task to the next without hesitation. She seemed ready to move on after years of keeping quiet and keeping to herself. She called Sloane two days after they met."I have been thinking," Elena said without greeting her first. "The dossier you received, whoever put it together dug into more than just my life."Sloane was at her desk, where she had been working since five in the morning with documents in front of her. It was still dark outside. She straightened in her chair."What do you mean?" she said. "There’s too much information in that document for it to have come from one source. The financial, timeline and everything.” Elena paused. “And if they went that far, they weren’t only looking into me.”Sloane looked at the photograph of Elena still pinned to the corner of her document board. "Elena Voss," Sloane said. "Yes," Elena confirmed. "If someone thought the pattern was important enough to put toge

Lila’s Doubt

The restaurant was everything Lila used to dream about, she hadn’t grown up thinking about fancy place. But later in her twenties, while eating takeout with Sloane in a small apartment, she sometimes imagine elegant dinners with a man who truly wants her. Now she was living that picture and she was miserable. Nathaniel sat across from her, eating quietly and taking his time. He was the type of man who liked everything under control. His dark hair was starting to gray at the sides, and he had the kind of looks and confidence that naturally drew attention which Lila had spent years drawn to.Tonight, though, he barely looked at her and it felt as if he had already moved on but only going through the motions out of habit.“You seem quiet,” Lila said. Nathaniel looked up quickly, just a quick acknowledgement that someone has spoken. “I’m thinking,” he said. “About?” “Work.” He returned to his plate. “Nothing you need to be involved in.” Lila picked up her wine glass and held it in h

Board Maneuvers

Sloane saw the story on her phone first on a Wednesday morning. A notification from a financial news app she had set up years ago alerted her to any mention of Vance Industries or her name. She was standing barefoot in the penthouse kitchen, still wearing the clothes she had slept in. The coffee was brewing while the morning light slowly filled the city outside.She tapped the notification and read the headline. Then she placed her phone face-down on the counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, and read it again. This time, she leaned against the counter and stood quietly.People close to Vance Industries have expressed concerns about the COO’s recent behavior. They cited poor decision-making, frequent absences, and actions that several people connected to the board described as disruptive.She took a few more sips of coffee, turned her phone face down, and headed to her room to get dressed.Claire was already at her desk when Sloane walked out forty minutes later, she’d seen it too.

The Tabloid War

Sloane was in the middle of a call with Harriet when Claire showed up at the office door. She held up her tablet and whispered, “This is important.”Sloane held up one finger.Harriet was outlining the legal process for challenging the board vote and Sloane followed every word, but she couldn’t ignore Claire’s expression. It was obvious that whatever she was reading on the tablet was a big deal.“Harriet,” Sloane said, when there was a small break in the conversation. “Let me call you back in five minutes.”“Everything all right?” Harriet asked.“I’ll find out in five minutes.”She hung up and looked at Claire. “Show me.”Claire walked over to the desk and placed the tablet in front of her.The headline was boldly written:UNSTABLE HEIRESS ABANDONS DUTIES FOR BODYGUARD FLING — EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS INSIDE.Two photographs were attached below, Sloane looked at them quietly for a few seconds.The first photo was taken from a distance and looked slightly blurry, showing a man and a woman stan

Unexpected Ally

Sloane sat at her desk with the documents neatly arranged in front of her and her third cup of coffee growing cold beside her. She was working on the timeline Harriet needed by morning which required her full attention and making it easy to lose track of time and forget about everything else, it was one of the few things in her life that still felt uncomplicated.A call came on a Sunday evening and Sloane recognized the number immediately, but she hesitated for a second before answering.“Mr. Grey,” she said.“Sloane.” Harrison Grey’s voice came through the line. He was the longest-serving member of the Vance Industries board, seventy-four years old and the one person in the entire composition of the company’s governance structure whose name she had not marked with a question or a worry when she’d gone through the list because she did not know where he stood.You could never tell what Harrison Grey was thinking. His respect had to be earned, his support wasn’t guaranteed, and he rarel

Damon Returns

Sloane Blackwell stood at her window of her quiet office with a cup of tea, watching the city thirty floors below move without her. She was still wearing her charcoal blazer, and her dark locs were pinned up. The day had been full of meetings and phone calls. She had also spoken with her lawyer, who warned her about a legal motion Marcus Hale’s team was preparing.She had assured Harrison that she wasn’t afraid, but she kept her exhaustion to herself.There was a soft and hesitant knock on the door, which was unusual. Most people who came to see Sloane were board members, lawyers, and executives who are always confident and direct.She turned toward the door.“Come in.”The door opened and Damon Cross walked through it, he looked the same and completely different at the same time.The sleeves of his navy shirt were rolled up to his elbows. For Damon Cross, who was always neatly dressed in professional settings, it stood out.Sloane did not move from where she was standing.“You have

Reluctant Partners

She called Elena first who arrived twelve minutes later, in a cream blouse and wide-leg trousers and her blonde hair pinned at the nape of her neck, she took one look at Damon standing on the far side of Sloane’s office and didn’t say a word.Coming from Elena, that said a lot.“He stays,” Before Elena could respond, Sloane said, … “For now.”Elena put her portfolio on the side table and sat down across from Sloane, crossed her legs and looked at Damon. Her face was calm, but she didn’t look impressed.“Elena,” Damon said.“Damon,” Elena said, giving him a look that said she wasn’t convinced.Sloane spread the contents of the folder across her desk. “Here’s the situation,” she said in a steady, businesslike tone. “Damon has proof linking Marcus to Nathaniel’s holding company. We also have a witness who understands how the company operates, we need to contact that witness without Nathaniel finding out and we have to move before the board meeting at the end of the month.”Elena leaned

Threat Escalates

Sloane received a call at 5:47 a.m.She had already been awake for about twenty minutes which wasn’t unusual anymore. She rarely slept through the night, often waking up too early and lying in bed and unable to stop her thoughts from racing.Her phone lit up on the kitchen counter, it was Elena.Elena never called before six in the morning unless something was wrong. Sloane answered before the phone could ring a second time.“What happened?”“It’s Harrison,” Elena said with a shaky voice. “He’s at St. Clement’s. They’re saying it was a car accident.”Sloane was already off the stool.“They’re saying,” she repeated. “What are you saying?”There was a short silence."I'm saying Harrison has taken the same route home for eleven years," Elena said. "He doesn't speed but his car was found at the bottom of an embankment on a road he had no reason to be driving that night."She paused for a moment."I'm saying I've known Harrison for a long time, Sloane."Sloane was already in her bedroom, t

1 2 3 4 5

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP