Lahat ng Kabanata ng RISING FROM THE ASHES: The CEO’s Regret: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

Jessica’s Pov I looked in the mirror, and I could barely recognize myself. I was no longer wearing the cheap clothes of a common waitress. I was wearing a gray skirt and a white silk blouse that just fits me perfectly, I looked sharp and professional. With my hair rolled into a sleek bun, the wound on my head had gone down, I had used makeup to cover the scar. I looked so pale and exhausted from all those 5years of suffering and stress from working in the factories and drinking black coffee just to stay awake. To everyone in Luther Corp, I was just a new hired executive assistant hired by Marcus to handle his high security files. No one knew about my history with Davis Vance, and I was the one that designed the core algorithms running his entire tech company. They didn’t know I designed that on the cracked screen of my old laptop while he slept in his college apartment peacefully. I heard a knock on the door “Who’s there?” I yelled. “Ms Jessica?” a soft voice called ou

Jessica’s POVThe leather seats of Marcus’s private Maybach moved quietly as the vehicle drove through the neon-lit downtown core. Outside across the tinted glass, fading the towering digital billboards of the financial district.I looked at the physical folder resting on my lap. Inside were the land registry deeds for Sector 7, an undeveloped waterfront plot currently owned by the municipal port authority. Tomorrow night, it was going up for public corporate auction."Davis's internal logistics team just spent the last three hours running diagnostics on their server logs," Marcus’s voice broke the silence of the cabin.I turned my head. He was sitting beside me, his legs crossed,he held a glass of scotch in his hands, he looked quiet and calm."Did they find anything?" I asked, a small smirk touching my lips."Nothing," Marcus replied, taking a slow sip. "My cybersecurity division regularly wipes the digital footprints of the Luther Corp terminal every sixty seconds. As far as the Va

Davis’s POV"Davis? Davis, you're hurting my arm."Valerie’s sharp whisper cut through my ears, but I couldn't move. My fingers were locked like iron claws around her wrist, my knuckles white, my eyes glued to the entrance of the ballroom.It was her.I wasn’t hallucinating. It wasn't a trick. Standing at the apex of the grand marble staircase, draped velvet and diamonds that cost more than my first three corporate offices combined, was Jessica.The woman who had spent the last five years scrubbing grease off plates in a diner was now walking into the city’s most exclusive elite auction on the arm of Marcus Luther. She didn't look like a victim. She didn't look like the broken, bleeding girl I had left on the floor of my gala a week ago. She looked like a queen returning to claim a throne she had built with her own bare hands."Who is that woman?" Valerie’s father, the tech tycoon Arthur Sterling, demanded, his heavy brows furrowing as he watched the crowd part for Marcus. "Luther has

Jessica’s POVThe penthouse at the top of the Luther Estate was wrapped in a serene, quiet luxury that felt entirely detached from the financial warfare happening in the streets below. Large, minimalist windows showed the city under a blanket of grey morning clouds, but inside, the air was warm, smelling of fresh espresso and lavender."Mama, look! The giant house has a garden on the roof!"Catherine’s joyful voice echoed from the terrace doors. She was wearing a brand-new, soft pink cotton dress, her dark curls bouncing as she pressed her face against the glass, pointing at the manicured greenery outside. Her skin had lost that translucent, sickly pale tint from the slums; the elite medical specialists Marcus had brought to the mansion had spent the last three days stabilizing her respiratory levels with targeted therapies I could never have afforded on a waitress's wage."Don't press your nose against the glass, sweetie," I said softly, walking over to her and wiping a small smudge

Jessica’s POVThe surveillance feed on the monitor in Marcus's private study showed the iron gates of the Vance estate swinging open. Davis’s black sports car roared up the gravel driveway, kicking up loose stones in the pouring rain."He’s running to Helen," I said, leaning over the back of Marcus's leather executive chair, my eyes fixed on the screen.Marcus sat still, a dark phone held to his ear. He looked at me, his expression completely unreadable but radiating absolute control. "The offshore wire blocks are in place, Jessica. The moment he attempts to access the Cayman routing numbers, the compliance triggers I set up with the federal anti-money laundering task force will activate.""He doesn't know that," I murmured, a slow, cold thrill expanding in my chest. "He thinks he can still save himself. He still thinks money solves everything."On the screen, Davis burst through the front doors of the mansion, his coat soaked with rain, his face distorted in a desperate, wild rage. H