جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

“Are you going to tell them it’s my fault, or are you going to wait for them to ask?” I asked, slamming the financial brief onto the mahogany table so hard the heavy glass coasters rattled.Across the room, Ethan didn’t even blink. By lunchtime, the same financial journalists and sycophantic analysts who once praised Ethan Blackwood as a visionary genius were demanding to know whether he had completely lost control of his company. The market didn't just correct itself; it panicked. Blackwood Group’s shares continued their steep, sickening fall, stripping millions of dollars off the corporate valuation with every passing hour. Telephones in the executive suite rang endlessly in a relentless chorus of corporate terror, and institutional investors flooded the investor relations department with frantic calls questioning Ethan’s judgment, his stability, and his right to remain at the helm. By noon, the panic had escalated far enough to force the board of directors into calling another eme

"Is that a joke, or are you trying to ruin me?" I slammed the confidential report down onto the mahogany surface, the paper sliding past the edge of Ethan’s pristine desk.Ethan didn't blink, his gray eyes locking onto mine as the heavy silence of the home office wrapped around us. The digital file glowing against the dark screen felt heavier than any corporate contract I had ever read. The name behind the investment company belonged to someone Ethan had spent years believing he could trust. We sat side by side under the harsh glare of the desk lamp, tracing the digital paper trail through a maze of anonymous subsidiaries and offshore registries.At first glance, the enterprise appeared entirely unrelated to Blackwood Group, masked behind layers of corporate shell entities designed to hide the true beneficiary. But as we dug deeper into the encrypted metadata, further financial records revealed direct connections to Ethan’s father.Ethan stared at the screen, the color draining entir

I stared at the name on the document and felt the entire story rearrange itself in my mind. Ethan snatched the manila folder from his former mentor, Arthur, his fingers gripping the cardboard hard enough to bend the edges. The pages inside were filled with corporate filings and offshore accounts, but the signature at the bottom of the funding authorization stopped us both cold. Victor Hale. Ethan’s jaw locked so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. He knew that name instantly. Victor was an aggressive, vindictive investor who had spent years nursing a bitter grudge after losing a massive infrastructure deal to Ethan’s grandfather. Arthur adjusted his glasses, his expression grim as he leaned forward across the desk. He explained that Victor had spent years waiting for the right moment to weaken the Blackwood family from the inside out. Ethan’s dark eyes flashed with sudden fury as the pieces finally connected. The malicious leaks and the board sabotage weren't recent retaliation. T

"Look at this," I said, spinning my phone around so the screen faced him directly.The single sentence glowing against the glass sat there with brutal simplicity, leaving no room to doubt the lengths Ethan’s enemies were willing to go. A dark, suffocating rage washed over his features instantly, his jaw locking so tight a muscle twitched sharply in his cheek. He snatched his own device without a second word, issuing sharp, clipped commands to his head of security to double the detail around me and lock down every residential protocol. Panic spiked hot and fast in my chest, my mind racing past my own safety to the people who mattered most."My mother," I whispered, the thought of my family becoming collateral damage making my breath hitch painfully in my throat. "What about them?"Ethan captured both of my hands in his, his grip unyielding and fierce enough to anchor me. "They’re already covered. My security team is moving to secure them right now."I forced myself to swallow the ter

"You're not going alone."My voice cut through the quiet hum of the executive suite, sharp and unyielding as I stepped directly into his path before he could reach the exit. Ethan paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob, and turned slowly to face me. The tired lines around his eyes only deepened the heavy frustration radiating from his frame."I have to meet him, Aria," Ethan said, his voice dropping into that low, stubborn register that signaled he had already locked his mind in place. "It's the only way to get the missing evidence before tomorrow morning's final vote.""It's a trap, and you know it," I fired back, my fingers curling into tight fists at my sides as the sheer recklessness of his plan made my chest ache. "Victor doesn't negotiate fair. He's luring you out there to finish what he started in the boardroom.""I know it's dangerous," Ethan admitted quietly. He closed the distance between us, his large hands coming up to grip my shoulders in a firm, grounding hold th