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All Chapters of Contract with the Cold CEO: Terms of Possession: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

58 Chapters

31

"Right," she says, forcing her focus back to reality. "We need to figure out what happened to my mother. If whatever forced her to flee is still out there, they might come after me next."Maribel steps away from the counter, remembering a detail about the house. "I almost forgot... my father kept an emergency vault of corporate documents up in the attic."Searching an attic in a locked estate without electricity after dark is a dangerous game, but Maddox pulls two high-powered tactical flashlights from his coat pockets. The two of them climb the narrow pull-down stairs, ducking under the low ceiling as they begin sorting through stacked storage crates. A leak in the old roof had damaged more than half the cardboard boxes, leaving moisture-stained papers sticking together in rotted bundles.Maribel watches as Maddox balances his large frame on a rickety folding camp chair that groans under his weight. He pulls out damaged financial file after damaged file, tossin

Last Updated : 2026-08-28

32

Maddox Sterling backed Maribel Westbrook into the mattress. With her aching chest and slick palms, she believed she was going to faint right on the spot. When she pulled back slightly, the entire Executive Residence Wing room spun on its axis.“Maddox,” Maribel panted, her heart slamming against her ribs.He chuckled, his voice a low vibration in his chest. “We’ll go slow.”“It’s going to hurt.”“It will at first, but it’ll feel a lot better real fast, babe.”“Alright.” She blew out a shaky breath, staring up into his intense gaze.“We don’t have to—”“No, I don't want to wait anymore,” Maribel interrupted, her voice firm despite her trembling hands. “I want to be with you.”The corner of his mouth lifted in a dark, possessive smirk. “You have no idea how much I want you.”At least here in this secluded sanctuary, Maribel knew they wouldn't have to worry about Briar Kensington or Keaton Waverly barging through the door. Maddox shoved her gently onto the plush bedding. Something sharp

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

33

“Stop, Maddox. You're really not making me feel any better.”“Alright,” he softened his tone, pulling his hand back to the wheel. “You're not just worried about Briar Kensington and her elitist friends. It's Keaton Waverly, isn't it?”Maribel sucked in her bottom lip tightly. Where did Keaton think she had been all this time? And what about her friends at the institute? They must have thought she was ruined or expelled. Maddox had been absent from the board meetings too. Would Keaton put two and two together and realize they were together? Maybe Briar took her toxic corporate gossip to another level and informed the entire Sterling Business Academy.“He’s bound to find out eventually, babe.”“I know,” Maribel sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. “I just don't want you two to get into a massive confrontation. I also don't want to lose Keaton as a friend.”“Maybe you don't get it,” Maddox said, his voice dropping an octave as his hand left her thigh and gripped the leather steering

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

34

Tessa Whitmore slammed her hand down directly onto Maribel Westbrook’s desk in the open bull-pen of the Sterling Executive Institute.“Belle! Oh, you are so dead!” Tessa practically bounced on her heels.“Ouch,” Maribel rubbed her eyes, blinking up at her friend’s wild expression. “What did I even do?”“You disappeared, that’s what you did,” Maisie Langford’s crisp voice cut in as she stepped into the room.“Right... long story?” Maribel offered a tense, nervous chuckle.“Uh-huh, and we have time to hear it. Though maybe not right now, because we have to be at the Sterling Estate main floor for the corporate breakfast.” Maisie slipped her tailored blazer over her shoulders.“At the main estate?” Maribel turned back to Tessa, her eyebrows pulled together.Tessa shrugged, her shoulders dropping. “Yeah, well, right outside the main executive dining hall. The cafeteria in the residence wing caught fire yesterday and completely ruined the primary storage space and most of the catering inve

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

35

“Let me out right now, Maddox!” Briar crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her eyes flashing with rage.“Not until you fully accept that Maribel is the only woman I’m with now,” Maddox said, his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. “You can pick any executive heir you want from any partner firm in the Sterling Corporate District.”“I don't want just any firm, Maddox! We had a binding corporate agreement between our families!”“The agreement is officially dead. Don't you get it, Briar? She’s the only one I want.”“She’s a nobody, Maddox! An intern’s daughter! You know exactly what your father thinks about her!”“I don't give a damn what Conrad thinks,” Maddox growled. His fist slammed heavily into the metal locker behind her, making the steel echo through the room.“You should care! Because if it’s not me, my father will make sure it’s someone else from the Sterling board. No one in high society will ever accept a penniless girl, and you know it.”“Fine by me,” Maddox stepped clos

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

36

Maribel Westbrook stares down the dark, polished corridor of the Silvercrest Private Vault, her pulse hammering against her ribs as Maddox Sterling keeps his heavy hand anchored firmly around her waist. The cool, controlled atmosphere of the corporate vault feels miles away from the chaos of the Sterling Executive Institute dining hall, yet the high-stakes battle for her freedom follows her into the shadows."I can't believe this," Maribel says, her voice echoing softly off the reinforced steel walls. "What kind of an archaic rule is that anyway? Who writes a board clause like that to begin with?"She stops abruptly, turning to look up at Maddox, who has been listening to her frantic pacing for the last five minutes. He rolls his head to the side, his dark eyes tracking her every movement with possessive intensity."I mean, high-ranking executives usually appoint administrative liaisons, but is a mandatory board requisition really necessary?" she demands.Maddox shakes his head, his j

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

37

“You’re not going to turn this into a bloodbath,” Maribel says, her voice echoing off the reinforced steel walls of the vault.Keaton Waverly’s nostrils flare, a bitter, dangerous smirk twisting his sharp jawline. “Maribel. I’m going to completely destroy him.”Keaton closes the distance in two broad strides. Maddox shoves Maribel violently out of the line of fire, sending her tumbling straight into Wesley Mercer’s arms. Wesley catches her by the shoulders, locking her firmly in place. Keaton swings a heavy fist, but Maddox ducks smoothly beneath the blow, driving a brutal counter-punch deep into Keaton’s midsection. A broad-shouldered corporate associate from the Waverly faction charges forward, slamming his full weight into Maddox’s back. That single violent opening is all it takes for the rest of the executive guards to swarm.“Stop this right now!” Maribel screams, her chest heaving as she fights against Wesley's grip.Wesley pulls her further back toward the marble archway. The e

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

38

Maribel Westbrook sits on the edge of the plush king-sized bed inside Keaton Waverly's private executive suite at the Sterling Estate, her eyes locked on the heavy mahogany double doors. She has been trapped inside the room for a full twelve hours now, her phone confiscated and her corporate status stripped down to that of a helpless pawn. A junior staff member had delivered a tray of lunch hours ago, but the food sat untouched, turning cold under a silver dome. Maribel couldn't bring herself to swallow a single bite. She had paced the room until the soles of her feet throbbed, weighing every possible escape route. The three-story drop from the balcony meant instant, bone-crushing injury, and the reinforced doors were far too solid to break through by sheer force.Her only window of opportunity would come when someone unlocked the suite to deliver dinner, and she knew it would likely be Keaton returning from his emergency board meeting. She had every intention of defending herself, bu

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

39

Keaton Waverly stands near the heavy glass windows of Dr. Lenora Fairchild's private corner office at the Sterling Executive Institute, his jaw clenched as he stares out over the expansive courtyard. Callan Waverly, his father and the former chief executive officer of the Waverly Group, stands beside the mahogany desk, swirling a single rock glass of scotch. Callan’s hair is heavily salt-and-pepper, and though years of grueling boardroom battles have lined his eyes, his physical presence remains sharp and imposing. Keaton runs a tense hand across his face, exasperated. His father could not have picked a worse afternoon for an unannounced corporate inspection. Keaton urgently needs to confront Sloane Everhart, and even more critically, he needs to check on Maribel Westbrook, whom he locked inside his private executive suite for her own safety."You look entirely overwhelmed, son," Callan says, taking a measured sip of his drink and letting out a low, amused hum."I am," Keaton replies

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

40

Maddox Sterling stands in the private, high-end gym of the Sterling Executive Institute, slamming his bare, taped knuckles against a heavy leather punching bag until blood seeps through the cloth wraps. The sound of his impacts echoes like rapid gunfire across the polished concrete floor. Beckett Rowley steps up behind him, grabbing Maddox’s shoulder and forcibly yanking him back."Maddox, drop it!" Beckett commands, his voice tight with concern. "What the hell is wrong with you today? Take a breath. Someone is here to see you.""Tell them to get lost," Maddox snarls, his breath coming in jagged, furious gasps. He flexes his bloody hands, his eyes dark with unbridled rage. "I need to tear something apart.""Are you finished throwing your little tantrum, Sterling?" Ellis Hawthorne asks, strolling into the private gym with a cool, mocking smirk playing on his lips.Maddox turns his glare toward him, his jaw set hard. "What do you want, Ellis? This is the absolute worst time for your gam

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

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