All Chapters of Sweet Revenge, Mr. CEO: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

48 Chapters

Chapter 11: The Inside Man

Serena’s POVThe grand epiphany I’d had last night about keeping my enemies close and pretending to be their best friend had sounded incredibly poetic in the dark. It was a flawless, ironclad strategy. The only minor design flaw was that it would require me to be pleasant to people I wanted to destroy, which was quite low on my to-do list. "Mama! Look!"Anika thundered down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen, practically vibrating. She was wearing mismatched unicorn pajamas, a single neon-pink sock, and a head of curls that looked like she’d personally lost a fight with static electricity. She pointed an accusing finger at her own bare right foot."My other sock vanished. It’s completely gone."I looked from her panicked face down to her left hand, where the missing pink fabric was currently clutched in a tight fist.I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it didn't just get recruited into a secret sock army?"Annika blinked, looked down at her hand, and slowly uncurled her fingers.

Chapter 12: The Keys To The Fortress

Serena’s POV"Well, well," Vivian said, her voice dripping with that familiar, artificial sweetness. "If it isn't the famous Elena Reyes."The words slid through the grand lobby like oil on water, while the speaker looked immaculate in her cream suit, a perfect portrait of class. Seeing her up close felt like a sudden, violent drop in air pressure. My chest tightened, a phantom ache blooming behind my ribs.If anyone had told me a year ago that Vivian Hart—the woman I had shared late-night takeout with on the floor of my office, the woman whose company I couldn’t bear to be away from that I even ensured her whose public relations firm did everything for Rhodes—would be the one to orchestrate my ruin, I would have laughed in their face. I would have spat on them for even suggesting it. We hadn't just been business associates; we had been best friends. Or so I had stupidly believed.Every instinct I possessed screamed at me to reach out, grip the lapels of that expensive coat, and dema

Chapter 13: Conspiracy of One

Killian’s POVI watched the revolving glass doors spin, and Elena disappear into the streets, leaving nothing behind but the ghost of her presence. "Killian, darling, are you even listening to me?"Vivian’s voice cut through the fog in my mind, pulling me back to the reality of where I stood. I forced my eyes away from the exit, down to where Vivian’s hand was still resting on the lapel of my jacket. She was smiling, her eyes bright with excitement, completely oblivious to the fact that my heart was currently hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal."I asked if we should try that new French bistro on Fourth," Vivian continued, her fingers sliding down to straighten my tie with an affectionate, possessive little tug."Right.," I muttered, my voice sounding incredibly hollow to my own ears. I cleared my throat, forcing a tight smile onto my face as I tried to steady my breathing. "Yeah. Let's do that.""Perfect." She looped her arm through mine, her body pressing tightly again

Chapter 14: A necessary kindness

Serena’s POVRevenge, I was discovering, required an irritating amount of patience.I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the guest bedroom, adjusting the fit of my dress and reminded myself that I had to be relaxed or I would lose the war before it even began. Killian had already retreated from me because of the perfume incident and if I kept pushing like that, he would eventually build walls so high I couldn't get close enough to strike.And walls were difficult to destroy from the outside.I looked at my outfit. It was appropriate. I had purposely avoided anything overtly dramatic or seductive; there was no plunging neckline, nothing designed to turn heads or scream for attention. I wore a tailored, ankle-length knit dress in a muted olive tone. It clung elegantly to Elena’s frame without being loud, paired with a gold chain at the collarbone. I looked exactly like what I was supposed to be: a supportive, elegant wife accompanying her husband to a business dinner.I picke

Chapter 15: A dangerous kind of familiar

Serena’s POV“Reservation for Elena Reyes,” Dominic told the hostess, his hand resting at the small of my back.“Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes.”The hostess led us through the dimly lit dining room toward the veranda. La Cantina de la Luna hadn’t changed at all. The warm amber glow of the lanterns still created that distinct, secluded atmosphere I used to seek out after sixteen-hour days at the firm. We were seated at a table near the edge of the balcony. Below us, a courtyard-style floor was illuminated by string lights, where a few couples were already moving to a low, rhythmic acoustic guitar.“Wow, this really is a beautiful spot,” Dominic remarked, unfolding his linen napkin. “Good eye, Elena.”“Thank you,” I murmured, keeping my voice smooth as I took a sip of the ice water the waiter had poured.Five minutes passed. Then ten. I kept my posture relaxed, but internally, my senses were on high alert.And then, they arrived.I noticed Killian the exact moment he stepped onto

Chapter 16: A Memory Trap

Serena’s POVI set my glass down slowly, fighting the urge to grin at Killian’s obvious discomfort. “My angle? Is there a problem, Killian? Was it wrong of me to suggest a dinner to appreciate our new business partners?”Killian let out a short, disbelieving breath, a look of frustration crossing his features. He looked at me as if he were trying to read a language he used to speak but had suddenly forgotten.I tilted my head, letting a flicker of offense touch my expression. “Did I do something to upset you?”“What?” he muttered, clearly thrown off by how quickly I had turned the tables on him.“You hired me for a crucial project, Mr. Rhodes,” I began, narrowing my eyes at him. “Killian,” he corrected automatically. “Call me Killian.”“Fine. You hired me for a project, Killian. And then, completely without warning, I find out from Louisa that you no longer wish to communicate with me directly. You’ve routed everything through assistants.” I leaned forward the same way he had. “And n

Chapter 17: The Audit

Serena’s POVThe bluetooth indicator on the dashboard blinked to life just as I pulled into the underground parking structure beneath Rhodes Incorporated headquarters.“Tell me it’s not too early in the day to say I love you,” Chloe announced through the speakers before I could even say hello. “Because I absolutely do.”A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. I eased the car into a parking spot and killed the engine.“What happened?”“What happened?” Chloe repeated dramatically. “Vivian Rhodes happened. Well. Vivian Hart technically, but not for long.”My grip tightened slightly around the steering wheel.Rhodes.The name should never have belonged to Vivian in the first place.And if I had my way, it never would.“She called me this morning. Me, Elena.” Choke continued, “Do you understand? She wants me to style her entire little millionaire socialite circle for the gala next month.” She sucked in a breath. “And if everything goes well, she wants me to handle her wedding dress too.

Chapter 18: What are your motives?

Serena’s POV“Tell me something, Elena.”David began without shifting his stance.“But where did you learn to think like that?”For a moment, my mind stalled.Not outwardly. Outwardly, I held still and remained composed.But internally, an irrational flash of panic that made no sense and yet arrived fully formed.It was absurd.David Chen didn’t know who I really was. He was observant, yes but not supernatural. Not delusional. And even if he were, he wouldn’t believe Serena was standing in front of him in a different life, wearing a different name.He didn’t know.He couldn’t know.I exhaled slowly through my nose, forcing my body to obey that logic instead of the instinctive spike of tension.The feeling passed.Then I met his gaze again and let a calm smile settle into place.“I just look where the numbers tell me to look, Mr. Chen,” I replied. “A thorough audit doesn't require magic, just patience.”“Patience is a rare commodity in this building,” David murmured, his eyes narrowing

Chapter 19: The Heartbeat Test

Serena’s POVThe elevator groaned once, a deep, metallic complaint from somewhere above us, and then the lights went out, plunging us into total darkness. “Fuck,” Killian muttered, his deep voice slicing through the pitch black. “This tower is supposed to have a redundant backup generator. This shouldn't be happening.”I shifted my weight, intending to lean against the handrail behind me to wait out the inevitable reset. But as I took a breath to speak, my lungs refused to cooperate.I inhaled.Nothing happened.Air entered my chest, but somehow, it never reached where it was supposed to go. It caught in my throat, thin and sharp, expanding into a tight, crushing knot.What the hell?I wasn't afraid of elevators. I never had been. In all my years of work, I had navigated sixteen-hour workdays in skyscrapers, ridden rickety freight lifts in industrial warehouses, and been trapped in a stalled car at the firm for forty-five minutes without so much as a spike in my pulse. I didn't suffer

Chapter 20: What could possibly go wrong?

Serena’s POVThe frantic pounding in my chest had slowed down, synchronized with the steady rhythm of Killian’s heartbeat beneath my hand. The panic was gone, leaving behind an empty canvas of pure, unadulterated awareness of how close he was. The counting stopped.Neither of us spoke.“Better?” he whispered.“Yes,” I managed, my voice finally sounding like my own.“Good.”Neither of us moved. Neither of us stepped back.The crisis was over, and logically, that should have been the cue to pull my hand away, to laugh off the incident, and try to regain a semblance of normalcy. But unfortunately, with my head clear and my lungs full, all I could think about was the fact that my hand was still pressed against his chest. And Killian was looking down at me with a terrifying, unreadable intensity; the exact same way he’d looked at me on the dance floor at La Cantina de la Luna. The silence between us grew heavier than the darkness had been, vibrating with a pull that made my skin tingle

1 2 3 4 5

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP