All Chapters of The CEO’s Secret Heiress: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

POV AitanaThe muffled murmur of the hotel bar could not drown out the frantic rhythm of my own heart, pounding loud and wild in my ears. The glass of whiskey before me had grown slick with condensation, tiny droplets sliding down its sides to pool upon the dark wood of the bar counter. I wrapped my fingers around it tight, feeling the biting cold seep into my skin and settle deep within my bones, fighting to keep my hands from trembling so violently anyone might notice.I had only just fled yet another devastating battle within the walls of my family’s mansion. My uncle Magnus had cornered me in his study, shouting threats and lacing every word with thinly veiled warnings. To the Ferrer clan, he had made perfectly clear, I was nothing more than a disposable piece on their corporate chessboard, a token to be moved wherever it suited them, all to safeguard the fortunes of the family food empire. I was exhausted, suffocating. The very name Ferrer felt like a noose, drawn tighter with ev

POV AitanaTime seemed to stand still inside the boardroom. The air grew so thick and heavy that even drawing breath felt like an almost impossible effort.There he stood.Sebastian Belmonte.Six years had done nothing but sharpen that commanding aura of power and intimidation about him. He was no longer simply the promising heir I remembered from that forbidden night; he had become the living embodiment of corporate triumph, a predator perched undisputed at the very top of the business food chain. He wore a tailored charcoal suit that broadened his powerful shoulders, his tie knotted perfectly, his dark hair combed back in flawless, sharp precision.But what pierced me like a shard of ice was his gaze. In those dark eyes there remained not the faintest trace of the warmth, passion, or vulnerability I had known that dawn in the hotel suite. They were two bottomless wells of absolute cold, calculating, unreadable.“Aitana… you are late,” my uncle Magnus’s voice cut through the silence,

POV AitanaThe metallic chime of the elevator doors opening onto the executive floor rang in my ears like a judgment. I held Selene’s small hand tight, her tiny fingers squeezing mine with innocent curiosity.Bringing my daughter to Belmonte Group headquarters was the very last thing I would ever have chosen to do, but Marta her caregiver had fallen suddenly ill with fever early that morning leaving me with no alternative. I had barely one hour to deliver the audit file and sign the final clauses guaranteeing my independence before the restructuring board made decisions in my absence. My plan was simple and precise, leave Selene in the private guest lounge on the administrative floor, a quiet secluded area furnished with toys for executives’ children, finalize the paperwork with Attorney Morales, and be gone from this skyscraper before Sebastian even set foot inside the building.“Mommy this building is huge,” Selene murmured, tilting her head way back to gaze up at the glass ceilings

POV AitanaThe black ink pen weighed a ton between my fingers. Before me, resting upon Sebastian’s glass desk, lay the executive transition agreement alongside an addendum requiring confidentiality and mandatory residence. Every clause, drafted by the Belmonte Group’s legal team, functioned as yet another lock designed to keep me within reach, to ensure I never strayed one step beyond his sphere of control.I lifted my gaze. Sebastian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the city skyline with both hands tucked into his trouser pockets. His broad back cast an imposing shadow across the entire office, a dominating presence that left no room for argument.“You need not stare at it with such suspicion, Aitana”, he said without turning around, his voice low and steady in a way that raised goosebumps along my skin. “There are no hidden traps here. Only safeguards. Safeguards ensuring my daughter receives the security she deserves, and ensuring you do not vanish again as though you

POV AitanaI tucked Selene’s pink fleece blanket snugly around her shoulders, making certain it reached her chin. The room might have stepped straight from a child’s dream: walls washed in soft pastels, a canopied bed strung with warm fairy lights, and a row of brand-new plush toys arranged with perfect care by the penthouse staff.Selene was already fast asleep. Her steady breathing filled the quiet, and she clutched the stuffed bear Sebastian had handed her personally earlier that evening, before leaving for his meeting. Seeing that gentleness from a man whose very presence commanded such power twisted something sharp and aching deep inside my chest.I leaned down and kissed her warm forehead.“Everything will be all right, my little one”, I whispered close to her ear, swallowing the fear that threatened to break me. “Mommy will never let anyone take you away.”I stood carefully so as not to make a sound, then stepped out and left the door ajar just enough to keep watch over her.Th