Semua Bab Three Billionaire Alphas on Their Knees: Bab 21 - Bab 30

The pale light of early morning filtered through the half-open blackout curtains, casting a warm golden stripe diagonally across the lounge's carpet.Darcy's lashes fluttered slightly as she surfaced from a deep, heavy sleep.Physical sensation returned before conscious thought. Her back was pressed into the soft sofa cushions, her arm slightly numb from staying in one position too long. And the hand that had gripped hers through the night was still there, fingers interlaced with hers, palm to palm, holding her as if she might disappear the moment he let go.Warmth seeped steadily through their joined hands.Darcy shifted her fingertips slightly, trying to pull free. But the man beside her had already opened his eyes.Asher lay on his side on the chaise, his black suit rumpled from the night. The sharp, predatory edges of his features had softened slightly in the morning light. His dark gold pupils were clear now, with no trace of last night's bloodlust or chaos. They reflected her ima

The first day of the isolation order. The Risk Control Director's office was eerily quiet.Darcy held her bone china coffee cup, her fingertip tracing the rim absently. The automated risk control models on her desk were running efficiently. Every directive from the top-floor CEO's office came through encrypted channels, cold, precise, stripped of any personal touch. No casual remarks. No lingering pauses. Just data and signatures.This should have been the rhythm she was most accustomed to."I used to handle risk control data alone with much higher efficiency than this." Darcy made a cool, clinical assessment of herself.But clearly, things had gone off course.Only six hours had passed, yet the room felt unnervingly cold. The usual extra-strong black coffee in her hand tasted somehow more bitter than before. The silence pressed in from all sides, heavier than it had any right to be.What stung her pride even more was that she'd unconsciously chosen the window seat today.Because the v

The second kiss ended far more slowly than the first.Darcy's fingers remained loosely curled in the front of Asher's damp black shirt as he finally lifted his head. His palm stayed locked firmly at her waist, heat seeping through the fabric between them, yet he refrained from pulling her back in. For several long seconds, the only sound in the dim training room was their shared, uneven breathing, intermingled with the thick, reassuring scent of fir that filled the air.Darcy drew a slow, grounding breath and leaned back just enough to catch his eye.“Alright, Mr. Kingston,” she murmured, her amber eyes gleaming with a cool, dangerous spark. “On-site review complete. Your judgment appears to have survived the isolation test. The Risk Control Director's overtime is officially over.”Asher let out a low, gravelly laugh. The heat in his dark gold eyes hadn’t faded, but it had settled into something far more deliberate. He unclasped his hand from her waist, giving her space to step back, t

The panoramic conference hall at St. Cross headquarters was strung tight as a drawn bow. Every seat was filled, every face carved from stone. The air itself felt heavy, pressed down by the weight of centuries-old grudges and freshly sharpened knives.Holographic projections of over a dozen old-guard lords and shareholders from Eurodia and several North American territories loomed in a cold semicircle overhead. They had not gathered simply to investigate a financial irregularity. They had come prepared to remove her.Darcy stood before the main display, watching the authentication data scroll past with surgical focus. Typing cadence, authorization timing, historical signature patterns, device-response sequences—even the characteristic pauses between the stages of her emergency reviews. Every detail had been captured, catalogued, and presented as indisputable proof that she had personally authorized the release of the USD 300 million.On the surface, it was devastating. Darcy remained mo

“System Security Protection Unit, secure this area! Director Darcy Clark is suspected of writing anomalous code into the core Risk Control system. Under St. Cross Emergency Security Regulations, a temporary high-risk isolation review is authorized!”Outside the deepest monitoring corridor of St. Cross headquarters, piercing red alarm lights flashed against cold marble.The Second Elder stood at the entrance to the main control platform, backed by the Compliance Monitoring Unit. Several armed security officers fanned out across the passage, their identification beams sweeping over Darcy and Asher as they approached.Darcy had been woken less than twenty minutes ago, Asher’s black suit jacket still draped over her shoulders, carrying his lingering warmth and the subtle scent of fir.She studied the blocked corridor, her gaze shifting from the security team to the Second Elder’s tightly controlled expression. They had moved faster than she expected.Asher took half a step forward, stoppin