All Chapters of The CEO Beautiful Regret : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

*Vivienne*The iron ladder shook violently under our weight. Rust flaked off the rungs, falling into my eyes and sticking to my wet skin. My fingers were entirely numb, locked into a painful cramp around the cold metal. If I let go, it was a fifty-foot drop straight onto the roof of Julian’s moving train.Above me, Dominic climbed with a brutal, steady rhythm. His massive frame blocked the faint light filtering down from the ceiling grid."We’re at the sub-floor," Dominic whispered down to me.He stopped climbing. I reached up, my hand brushing against the wet leather of his boot. Just above his head, a heavy steel grate blocked the exit of the shaft. Through the narrow slits of the metal, a clinical, white fluorescent light poured down.Dominic didn't try to pry the grate with his bare hands. He braced his broad back against the brick wall of the shaft, raised his right leg, and drove his boot directly into the center of the metal mesh.The weld lines snapped with a loud pop. The gra

*Vivienne*Marcus didn't wait for Dominic to catch his breath. He spun around with the heavy iron bar still in his hands and drove a powerful kick into Dominic's injured thigh. Dominic let out a painful groan as his weakened leg gave way beneath him. He dropped to one knee on the wet metal floor of the moving train while Marcus stood over him, breathing heavily. His face was covered with sweat, and there was something frightening in his eyes. "You should have stayed in the river, Dominic!" Marcus shouted. "You don't belong in this world. You're already a ghost!"The train shook violently as it raced through the tunnel. I crawled across the slippery floor, struggling to keep my balance. My hands slipped on the wet steel until my eyes caught a loose nylon strap hanging from the side of the server rack. Without thinking twice, I grabbed it, wrapped it tightly around my hands, and rushed toward Marcus from behind. I threw the strap around his neck and pulled with all the strength I ha

*Vivienne*Red laser dots rested on Dominic's chest without moving. The air smelled of wet concrete and burnt wires, but my father stood in front of us as if he were attending another business meeting instead of standing inside a ruined underground tunnel."You planned all of this," I said. My body was exhausted, but my anger kept me standing. "The merger... pushing me out of the company... making Marcus steal my patents. It was all part of your plan."My father calmly adjusted the cuffs of his expensive suit.He didn't look like someone who had just escaped a collapsing tunnel. He looked calm, confident, and completely in control."Business is about bringing everything together, Vivienne," he said in a cold voice. "The Sterling family business was falling apart. Your ex-fiancé was too weak, and your stepmother was too greedy. They were easy to manipulate. But you..." He looked straight at me. "You always wanted to prove you were smarter than everyone else. You refused to let me handl

Vivienne*The smell of burnt gunpowder and spilled scotch hit my throat, making me gag. Under the desk, my hands slid through wet, sticky glass shards."Don't move," Dominic breathed into my ear. His hand was flat against my shoulder, pinning me to the floorboards.In the hallway, the elevator bell dinged again. The doors didn't close."Victoria?" Arthur’s voice was thin, trembling from somewhere near the door. "Victoria, get up."There was no answer. Just a wet, heavy slide of fabric against the wall as Victoria’s body settled onto the carpet."You missed, little brother," Dominic called out into the dark. His voice didn't come from where we were sitting; he had thrown his voice toward the shattered bookshelf, utilizing the echo of the empty room.A rapid double-tap of gunfire answered him.The bullets punched clean through the mahogany front of the desk, just inches above our heads. Wood splinters rained down onto my neck. I clamped my teeth together to keep from screaming, my finge

*Vivienne*The metal railing couldn't stop the SUV.It smashed straight through the old iron barrier with a loud screech. The front of the vehicle tipped over the edge, and the front wheels spun helplessly in the air. Far below us, the dark water of the East River crashed against the bridge."Jump!" the driver shouted as he threw his door open.But there was nowhere to go.The SUV leaned forward, and the back wheels lost their grip on the wet road. In the next second, we were falling.For a brief moment, everything was silent.My stomach lurched as we dropped through the air.Then something slammed into the SUV.Instead of falling into the river, the back of the vehicle caught on one of the bridge's thick steel cables. The sudden stop threw us forward with incredible force. The SUV crashed against the bridge supports, crushing the passenger side.My head hit the headrest hard, and my vision blurred.When I looked again, I realized we were hanging in the air.The SUV was trapped betwee