All Chapters of The CEO Beautiful Regret : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

*Vivienne*The gas gauge needle rubbed against the red line.The van engine made a low, spitting noise every time the tires hit a deep puddle on the mountain highway. Outside, the fog was gone, replaced by thick, black woods that seemed to press against the glass."We are running out of fuel," Dominic said.His hand was tight on the wheel. He kept his head tilted back, trying to stay awake, but his eyelids were heavy. The blood from his temple had stained his collar dark brown."How much further?" I asked."Ten miles," he said. "Maybe less. The turnoff is right past an old logging bridge. It has no sign."In the back seat, Clara stirred. The metal gurney creaked as she shifted her weight. "Vivienne? The machine... it’s making a sound."I whirled around.The heart monitor box next to her gurney was blinking yellow again. The rhythmic beep had slowed down."The remote battery," I said. My palms went instant sweat. I reached for the small black box plugged into the wall. The little light

*Vivienne*My finger tapped the plastic key.The router screen flashed a violent blue. A single line of digital white text rolled across the small display: LEDGER SYNC IN PROGRESS. DO NOT REBOOT."The countdown started," Dominic said from the chair. His voice was a dry rattle. He was gripping his burned arm against his ribs, his face slick with sweat under the cabin lights."How fast?" I asked. My eyes were glued to the status bar. It was moving like a snail. Five percent. Eight percent."The satellite has to bounce the encryption key through three banks in Zurich," Dominic gasped. He tried to stand, but his knees shook, and he slid back into the wooden chair. "The moment it hits the second bank, the Bureau’s security grid flags the signature. Vance will see the coordinates on her screen."In the corner, Clara was already off the gurney. She was holding the portable oxygen tank by its metal handle, her small body shivering in her oversized sweater. "Vivienne, I hear something." I fro

*Vivienne*His hand slammed into my shoulder.The heavy fabric of my jacket ripped. He was massive, his chest wide like a wall. He threw me backward onto the hard dirt right next to the granite post. My head hit a tree root. A sharp pain shot through my skull, making my eyes blur."Vivienne!" Clara screamed.The man did not look at her. He kept his eyes on me. He dropped his knee straight into my stomach, driving all the air out of my lungs. I choked, my hands clawing at his thick leather sleeves. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move."The drive," the man growled. His voice was low, like gravel rubbing together. He raised the steel knife, the long blade hovering two inches above my throat. "Where is it?"My right hand fumbled in the mud. My fingers hit a heavy, loose rock near the base of the border stone. I gripped it, my knuckles turning white."I don't... have it," I choked out."Lie again and I cut your sister first," he said. He didn't look at Clara, but he pointed the knife towar

*Vivienne*The heavy steel jaws of the bolt cutter bit into the iron chain outside the gate.A loud metallic snap echoed down the stone tunnel. One link broke, dropping into the gravel with a heavy thud. The gate rattled."One more," the mercenary outside grunted.I looked at Dominic. The electronic key fob was small in his bloody left hand. The single red button glowed faintly in the dark."Dominic," I whispered, my voice barely a breath. "What does that do?""When we built the data vault down here," Dominic said, his teeth gritted against the pain, "the company wanted a total wipe fail-safe. If the facility was compromised, we didn't just delete the servers. We buried them.""Buried them?" Clara asked. She was leaning against my side, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps."The ceiling," Dominic muttered, looking up into the pitch black above us. "The first fifty yards of this tunnel are held up by old timber frames from the forties. We packed the support pillars with commercial

*Vivienne*The numbers hit zero.The green light on the router died. The old computer monitor flickered once, turned bright white, and then went completely black. A single line of text appeared in the center of the dark glass: SYSTEM TERMINATED.The mercenary with the shotgun did not move. He stood in the broken doorway, the cold river wind blowing his dark hair across his face. His knuckles were white around the grip of his weapon, but he wasn't aiming it anymore. He was staring at the dead screen like he was looking into an open grave."You're lying," he whispered. His voice was lower now, the French-Canadian accent thick and shaky. "You can't delete forty billion dollars. It doesn't just disappear.""It didn't disappear," I said. I stood up slowly from the dusty floor, my legs shaking. I kept my bloody thumb pressed flat against my jeans. "It went to five hundred different public accounts. Red Cross. Children’s hospitals. Food banks in the south. It’s split into pieces too small f