جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 50

I had barely finished reading the headline when the woman in the photograph became the reason I suddenly questioned everything Ethan had promised me.My fingers turned cold against the edges of the newsprint. I stood frozen in the middle of the glass-walled lobby, reading the bold black ink over and over until the letters blurred together. The article went into sharp, precise detail, announcing that Ethan Blackwood was quietly preparing to marry high-society heiress Victoria Vance. According to the reporter, the alliance was directly tied to securing vital international backing for the Blackwood Group's upcoming board vote.My stomach dropped into a sickening abyss. Did he know? Was this the real reason he kept our relationship hidden in the shadows? Was last night’s quiet promise just a sweet lie to keep me patient while he negotiated a corporate marriage?I folded the newspaper with trembling hands and forced my feet to move toward the executive elevators. Every step felt like walki

"You are running out of options, Ethan," a sharp, raspy voice boomed from the speakerphone on the mahogany desk.Ethan didn't even blink. He stood behind his desk, adjusting his cuffs with cold, deliberate precision while three senior board members hovered over him like vultures."I have plenty of options, Arthur," Ethan said, his voice deadly quiet. "None of which involve taking orders from you.""The board is in absolute chaos!" Arthur shouted back, his voice crackling through the line. "The leaked photographs from last night are everywhere! The press is having a field day, and our primary investors are threatening to pull their funding by the end of the day! You let a personal distraction destroy our public image!"I stood near the door, my fingers digging into the edge of my tablet. Every word felt like a slap to my face. Ethan had chosen me last night. He had held my hand, looked into my eyes, and promised that we would face whatever came next together. But looking at the sheer r

"Not Marcus," Ethan said, his voice flat and completely stripped of warmth.He stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass in his top-floor office, staring out over the city skyline with his back turned to me. His shoulders were rigid, locked tight under his tailored suit jacket."He's been with the Blackwood Group for over fifteen years," Ethan continued, turning slowly. His dark eyes were shadowed with a heavy mixture of disbelief and suppressed rage. "My father trusted him with his life, Aria. Marcus was the one standing right beside me the day I took over this company."I stayed on my side of his massive mahogany desk, keeping my posture calm and my hands folded neatly over my tablet. I kept my voice steady, stripped of any hesitation. "I know how hard that is to swallow, Ethan. But trust should not replace evidence."Ethan clamped his jaw shut. He walked toward his desk, every step tight with controlled anger. Marcus Vance was more than just a senior executive on the board; he was a man

"Look at this," I said, dropping the heavy envelope onto the center of Ethan’s desk.The photograph resting on top didn’t serve as a warning about me; it was a direct threat pointed at someone standing much closer to us.Ethan didn't ask questions. He leaned over the polished wood, his shoulder pressing against mine as his dark eyes locked onto the glossy prints scattered across the surface. Every image had been taken from inside Blackwood Group. There were shots of us walking past the security turnstiles, images of us standing near the floor-to-ceiling windows of the executive suite, and close-ups of our hands almost touching during private meetings."Someone spent a lot of time following us," Ethan muttered, his jaw tightening."Keep looking," I said, sliding the top three prints aside.Underneath our pictures lay another angle entirely. The lens was focused on the glass corner of the atrium, capturing Vanessa in sharp detail. She was standing near the emergency stairwell, leaning c

"We need to talk about security, Aria. Real security."Ethan’s voice dropped into that low, flat register he used when he had already made a decision and expected no argument. He stood by the tall glass window of his office, his back to the city lights, hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets.I didn't look up from the tablet in my hand. "I told you, my apartment is fine. I have a security fob, and the building has a doorman.""A doorman who let a package containing a direct threat past the lobby yesterday," Ethan snapped, turning around. His jaw was tight, the muscles ticking under his skin. "I am not playing games with this, Aria. The people who are trying to get to Blackwood Group don't care about collateral damage anymore. The threat has become personal.""And so has my life," I said, setting the tablet down on the desk with a sharp click. I stood up, meeting his gaze head-on. For weeks, I had let him shield me, ducking behind his broad shoulders every time a new corporate cris