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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Strangers After Midnight : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

106 Kabanata

Chapter 70 Drawing the Line

The tension in the living room was thick enough to suffocate. Zane’s eyes darkened, the muscle in his jaw twitching violently as he processed her words. He wasn’t used to being told no, especially not by the woman he had spent the entire night trying to protect, reclaim, and fuse into his very existence. To him, stepping back was a surrender he couldn't afford."Mag-isa?" Zane repeated, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly register. He took a step closer, completely crowding her space, his shadow falling heavily over her. "You think I’m going to let you walk into that boardroom alone while my father and Veronica tear down everything you built? Hindi mo sila kilala, Mich. Sila ang kaharap mo, pero ako ang target nila. Gagamitin ka lang nila para makaganti sa akin.""Alam ko!" Mich shouted back, her voice cracking as she finally let her emotions spill over. "Alam kong ako ang ginagawa nilang pain! Kaya nga kailangan kong pumunta doon bilang may-ari ng Serafina Studios

Chapter 71 Into the Lion’s Den

The corporate tower of Serafina Studios had never felt so cold. As Mich stepped out of the elevator and into the executive hallway, the usual bustling energy of her creative team was completely absent. Instead, an eerie, heavy silence hung over the floor. Employees whispered in hushed tones, their eyes darting toward her with a mix of pity and anxiety. They already knew. In the corporate world, bad news traveled faster than light.Atty. Santos was waiting for her outside the main boardroom, his expression grim as he adjusted his glasses. "Ms. Mich, mabuti at nakarating ka. Kanina pa sila nagkakagulo sa loob. The Delos Reyes group brought their top tier legal council, and they aren't just looking for a compromise—they want a full asset freeze."Mich took a deep, stabilizing breath, smoothing down the front of her sharp, tailored blazer. The warmth of Zane's touch from earlier that morning still lingered like a phantom sensation against her skin, but she locked that vulnerabil

Chapter 72 The Shield of Counterattack

The tension inside the boardroom reached a fever pitch. Veronica’s sharp, condescending smile widened, expecting Mich to crumble under the weight of the public humiliation she was threatening. The board members remained silent, waiting to see if the young CEO would break.But Mich did not blink. Instead, she leaned back slightly, her posture radiating an icy calmness that catch Veronica off guard."Isang public scandal na ibabase sa mga pekeng balita at anggulo, Ms. Delos Reyes?" Mich asked, her voice carrying a steady, echoing authority across the room. She slowly slid her gaze toward the board members who were leaning toward Veronica’s side. "Bago ninyo pirmahan ang asset freeze na iyan, hayaan ninyong ipaalala ko sa board ang Section 9.1 ng ating Corporate By-laws."Atty. Santos instantly caught on, pulling out a separate leather-bound folder and opening it with a crisp snap. "Under Section 9.1, any board member who votes to freeze assets based on unverified, non-adju

Chapter 73 The Sovereign’s Judgment

The silence that followed Zane’s declaration was absolute, broken only by the sharp, panicked breath that escaped Veronica’s lips. The board members sat frozen in their leather chairs, their faces turning completely pale. The Villanueva Group’s backing was the sole anchor of Veronica’s leverage; with that anchor severed, the entire foundation of her threat was collapsing in real-time."Zane... anong sinasabi mo?" Veronica stammered, her voice losing its icy corporate edge, replaced by a desperate, trembling pitch. She stood up, her pristine white suit suddenly looking like a surrender flag. "You can't dissolve the merger. Your father—""My father no longer holds my proxy," Zane interrupted, his tone dead, cold, and utterly final. He walked to the head of the table, placing his large hands flat against the mahogany surface as he leaned slightly forward, towering over her. "I warned him last night, and I warned you through my lawyers. You thought I was bluffing because of a pi

Chapter 74 The Aftermath of the Storm

Mich held onto him, her fingers digging into the expensive fabric of his charcoal blazer. The solid, rapid thumping of Zane’s heart against her cheek was the only thing anchoring her to reality after the whirlwind that had just swept through the boardroom. For a long, uninterrupted minute, neither of them spoke. The corporate tower around them felt vast and empty, stripped of the immediate danger but heavy with the consequences of what had just transpired.Slowly, Mich pulled back just enough to look up into his dark eyes. The lethal, terrifying rage that had paralyzed the board members just moments ago was entirely gone, replaced by a deep, exhausting vulnerability meant only for her."Zane, ang buong pamana mo..." Mich whispered, her voice trembling as she reached up to gently touch his jawline. "Ang Villanueva Group... iyon ang buhay mo. Iyon ang binuo mo nang ilang taon. Paano ang mga kumpanya mo? Paano ang relasyon mo sa pamilya mo?"Zane let out a low, breathy chuc

Chapter 75 The Tremors of the Empire

While the quiet safety of the penthouse welcomed Mich and Zane back into its warm embrace, the rest of the financial district was burning. By 1:00 PM, the news of Zane Villanueva’s sudden, total divestment from the Villanueva Group hit the stock market like a category-five hurricane. Financial tickers bled red as panic selling ensued. The merger with the Delos Reyes group, which was supposed to solidify a multi-billion-peso monopoly, was now dead in the water.Inside the grand, high-ceilinged office of the Villanueva headquarters, Mr. Villanueva stared at the plummeting numbers on his monitor. His face was dangerously flushed, his breathing shallow with a mixture of disbelief and pure, unadulterated fury.The heavy double doors of his office burst open, and Veronica walked in, her composure completely gone. Her eyes were red from crying, her pristine white suit now looking wrinkled and disheveled. "Mr. Villanueva! Tell me this isn't true! Zane pulled everything out? He disso

Chapter 76 The Preemptive Strike

The quiet inside the penthouse didn't last long. By late afternoon, the media went into a complete frenzy. Speculative headlines began popping up across entertainment blogs and news sites, dropped like breadcrumbs by the Delos Reyes PR team. They were painting Mich as a homewrecker and a corporate saboteur who had seduced the crown prince of the Villanueva Group into ruining his own family's legacy.Mich stared at her tablet, her heart sinking as she watched the narrative twist in real-time. "Zane... lumalabas na ang mga artikulo. Sinisimulan na nila akong sirain sa publiko."Zane, who was standing by the glass window with a phone pressed to his ear, didn't look surprised. He murmured a final instruction to the person on the other line and slid the phone into his pocket. He walked over to Mich, gently taking the tablet from her hands and setting it face down on the table."I told you, Mich. I’m not going to let them control the narrative," Zane said, his voice terrifying

Chapter 77 The Public Reckoning

The live broadcast cut to a commercial break, but the damage to the Villanueva empire was already irreversible. Within seconds of Zane’s final words, social media exploded. The internet, which had been primed to vilify Mich, instantly pivoted. Clips of Zane’s fierce, unedited declaration trended number one worldwide. The narrative had shifted from a sordid corporate scandal to a high-stakes rebellion against a tyrannical patriarch. As the technical crew silently packed up their gear—the skeleton crew moving with hushed, efficient speed to exit the penthouse before the paparazzi arrived—the air inside the room remained electric. Mich stood frozen by the edge of the kitchen counter, her phone vibrating endlessly against the marble surface. She looked at Zane, who was calmly unclipping the lapel microphone from his shirt. Her voice, when she finally found it, was barely a whisper. "Zane... ginawa mo talaga." Zane stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow acro

Chapter 78 The Counter-Strategy

The air inside the penthouse grew frigidly cold. Mr. Villanueva's move was low, desperate, and incredibly dangerous. By attacking Zane's mental stability, his father wasn't just trying to save the family stock; he was trying to legally weaponize the medical system to strip Zane of his autonomy and force him into submission.Mich's hands shook as she looked at the official press release. "Zane, kapag naglabas sila ng legal order para sa evaluation, pwedeng pumunta rito ang mga awtoridad. Gagamitin nila ang kapangyarihan nila para magkalayo tayo."Zane didn't flinch. He slowly set the tablet down on the coffee table, his movements deliberate and entirely devoid of fear. "Hindi nila magagawa 'yan, Mich. My father thinks he’s the only one who knows how to manipulate the system, but he forgets that I’ve been running his operations for the last seven years. I know every judge, every high-ranking official, and every loophole he has ever used."He turned to face her, his hands s

Chapter 79 The Fractured Pillars

The response from Zane’s legal team dropped like another bombshell onto the already chaotic news cycle. When the court-stamped, certified medical clearances from the independent medical group were published online, the Villanueva Group’s narrative shattered instantly. The public, now fully invested in this corporate thriller, saw the family’s press release for exactly what it was—a desperate, malicious attempt to silence a dissenting heir.By 6:00 PM, major news anchors were openly questioning the integrity of the Villanueva Group's board. The company's stocks, which had been fluctuating, took another massive dive, plunging by nearly twenty-two percent in a single day.Inside a private, heavily guarded VIP lounge at a luxury hotel downtown, Mr. Villanueva sat in a leather armchair, staring at the televised reports. The room was dead silent except for the frantic murmurs of his PR advisors whispering in the corner. His face was no longer just flushed; it was pale with the rea

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