All Chapters of I teamed up with my ex-husband’s rival Alpha: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Julian’s povI threw the crystal whiskey glass against the stone wall of my office.The glass shattered into a hundred jagged pieces. The costly amber liquid stained the white carpet. I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling as pure anger boiled in my veins.Greg, the head software engineer for Vanguard Corporation, flinched violently. Greg was a tall, nervous Beta who sweated too much. Right now, a dark wet patch stained his shirt. He stood near the door, holding his digital tablet like a shield."I do not want to hear excuses, Greg!" I roared at him.. "You have a team of twenty engineers! You are telling me none of you can unlock a single development server?""Alpha, please," Greg stammered, shrinking back against the door. He pushed his glasses up his nose with shaking fingers. "The code is bizarre. It is a dynamic lock. Every time we try to bypass it, the root code shifts and changes its own password. We have never seen anything like this."I gripped the edge of my mahogany

The next afternoon, the Obsidian software development floor buzzed with focused energy.Engineers typed rapidly on glowing screens, their fingers flying across keyboards in a rhythmic clatter. Carter stood at the front of the room, directing data traffic on the vast digital whiteboard. Maya sat at her security terminal, monitoring the external firewalls with sharp, eagle-like focus.I rubbed my neck. My eyes burned from staring at the bright monitors all morning."I need coffee," I announced to the room, stretching my arms above my head. "Real coffee. Not the machine water from the breakroom."Maya did not look up from her screen. Her red hair was tied back in a neat twist today. "There is a cafe across the street. The roasted bean place. Take a security guard with you.""I am just going across the street, Maya," I said, grabbing my suit jacket from the back of my chair. "It is broad daylight. I will be fine.""Take a guard," Maya repeated. Her tone left no room for argument. "Alpha’s

The next morning, the tension inside the Obsidian headquarters felt thick and sharp.The Vanguard global launch was now only few days away. The clock was ticking down without mercy. Every single department in our building was working at maximum speed to ensure our rival system was ready to deploy.I sat in my quiet office, staring at lines of complex green code on my dual monitors. I tried to focus my mind on the digital architecture, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the bookstore. I kept seeing the man in the brown jacket, the calm way he blended into the crowd, and the dark ink of the coiled snake on his wrist.The threat was still out there, hiding in the shadows of the busy city.A quiet knock on my door pulled me out of my racing thoughts.Maya walked into the office. She carried a sleek silver laptop under one arm and a small paper bag in her other hand. She walked over to my desk and set the bag down next to my keyboard."Turkey and Swiss on rye," Maya said crisply. "You m

(Julian’s POV)I stood by the glass windows of my penthouse office, looking out over the city lights.My head pounded with a dull, persistent ache. The Vanguard launch was only a few days away, and the pressure was building from every side. But I was not a weak man. I built this empire, and I refused to let a bitter ex-wife tear it down.A quiet knock sounded on the glass door.Greg, my head software engineer, walked into the office. He looked pale and exhausted. Dark circles hung under his eyes, but he held his digital tablet with a tight grip."Alpha," Greg said, stopping in the middle of the room."Give me good news, Greg," I warned him, turning away from the window. "Or do not speak at all."A nervous, relieved smile spread across Greg’s face. "We made a breakthrough, Alpha. We did not crack the core root code yet, but we bypassed the outer dynamic shell."I stood up taller. "Explain.""Sienna’s lock is complex," Greg said, tapping his screen. "But she built it to defend against

The drive to the Vanguard estate felt like a journey backward in time.I sat in the back seat of the sleek black Maybach. Dominic sat next to me. A convoy of four dark SUVs drove in front of us and behind us. The Obsidian tactical team was on high alert. Davis rode in the front passenger seat, his eyes scanning the road.I looked out the tinted window. The towering glass skyscrapers of the city center slowly faded away, replaced by the lush green trees of the Vanguard territory.My stomach tied into a tight knot. I lived on these lands for five years. I knew every street, every pack house, and every security gate. I used to drive these roads feeling small and invisible. Today, I was returning with an army."You are very quiet," Dominic observed softly.I turned my head to look at him. He wore a sharp charcoal suit. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were sharp and focused."I am just thinking about the last time I was here," I said, my voice steady. "Julian threw my suitcase into t