All Chapters of Bound to the Ruthless CEO: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Matthew's povThe press conference hall was already overflowing when Rachel and I stepped onto the stage. Camera flashes exploded like lightning, and reporters shouted over one another.“Mr. Kane!”“Mrs. Kane!”“Did Rachel forge the Raphael documents?”“Are federal investigators involved?”“Is Kane Corporation distancing itself from the scandal?”None of them waited for answers, they wanted reactions, fear, anger, and a mistake. They weren’t going to get one. I pulled out my chair and sat down without a word. Rachel took the seat beside me, exactly where she belonged.The room slowly quieted, people expected me to open with a statement, instead, I looked toward Antonio.“Begin,” I said.He connected a laptop to the massive screen behind us, the headline accusing Rachel remained frozen on the display. Then, with a single click, it disappeared, and a forensic report replaced it.The room stirred, one reporter frowned. “What is this?” the reporter asked. Antonio answered before I could,

Rachel’s POVThe estate was already awake long before I stepped into the hallway.Staff moved quietly through the marble corridors, security teams rotated shifts. Somewhere downstairs, I could hear Antonio barking instructions into his phone while the intelligence department argued over the latest data recovered from my mother’s hard drive.Life inside Kane Estate never slowed. Not even after discovering that my mother had known this day would come. I paused outside the study, my fingers tightening around the mug of coffee I’d forgotten to drink, the image of my mother’s face lingered stubbornly in my mind.“If you are watching this, Rachel… it means I ran out of time.”Those words had followed me through the night. She had looked straight into the camera, straight at me, not frightened, not defeated, Just… determined.As though she had accepted that one day I would have to finish whatever she had started. A quiet sigh escaped me, somewhere between learning my mother might still have b

Matthew’s Point of viewMorning arrived with the kind of pressure that could be measured in stock prices, breaking news banners, and the number of armed guards standing outside my headquarters.By the time my car pulled into the underground garage of Kane Corporation, my phone had already vibrated twenty-three times. Investors, board members, foreign partners, all wanting the same thing. Control.The elevator doors opened onto the executive floor, where controlled chaos greeted me. Assistants hurried between offices carrying folders, security personnel spoke quietly into their earpieces. Large television screens mounted along the hallway displayed the same footage from every news channel.Rachel, my wife has become the city’s favorite headline, “Rachel Kane’s connection to the Raphael scandal raises new questions.” “Heiress or mastermind?” “Will Kane Corporation survive another controversy?”The anchors repeated the same carefully chosen words, each report feeding the next until specu

Rachel’s Point of ViewBy the time we reached one of Matthew’s secure safe houses on the outskirts of the city, night had begun to settle over the skyline. The building looked ordinary from the outside.A modest two-story estate hidden behind tall stone walls, nothing about it suggested it belonged to one of the most powerful men in the country.I had learned that was Matthew’s way, the safest places rarely looked important. The convoy rolled through the gates before they immediately closed behind us.Armed guards swept the perimeter while technicians carried evidence cases inside, the wooden box from the church disappeared into the estate’s forensic room under heavy escort.No one took chances anymore, not after today’s attack.Antonio checked his watch before turning to Matthew, “I need to coordinate with the cyber team.” he said.Matthew nodded, “Go.” he said. “I will have the next decryption report within the hour,” Antonio said.Without another word, Antonio disappeared down a h

Rachel’s Point of ViewThe question lingered between us, “Would you have ever chosen me?”I stared at our joined hands, searching for an answer that refused to come. A few months ago, I probably would have answered without hesitation.Back then, my future had not been tangled in secrets, hidden tunnels, encrypted videos, and men willing to kill for whatever my mother had left behind.Back then, Matthew Kane had simply been the ruthless businessman I had been forced to marry. But nothing was that simple anymore, I slowly lifted my eyes to Lucas, “I do not know.”The words came out barely above a whisper. His shoulders dropped ever so slightly, but he did not let go of my hand, “I wish I could give you a better answer.”“I know,” he replied.“My life has changed.” I said. “I know.” He replied. “I have changed.” I said. That confession surprised me as much as it seemed to surprise him, because it was true. The woman I had been before this marriage felt like someone I barely recognized