The boardroom was weirdly silent when I walked in. What happened to the blabbering? I was more used to their always having something stupid to throw at me rather than nothing. The silence though....carried weight. It felt like a sound that was made of suffocating perfume, custom-made suits, and of tension so thick, I feared it'd snap someone's neck if they breathed too loudly. I took my seat, having an uninterested look on my face. I wasn't interested, honestly. All I wanted was one day of sleep. But that seemed to be nothing but delusional ever since I assumed the position as CEO. The hell was I saying? It's been that way ever since the Hales found me and claimed me as their heir. My ring finger had a fresh band of silver that glared up at me as if it was surprised that I'd worn it. Thirteen board members sat around the glass table, all complete. The exact thirteen who'd tried to make me look foolish. Quinn was standing near the window with his arms crossed and an unreadable

We were very close to my penthouse when my phone rang. Grandpa. "Hello?""My boy! I forgot to tell you earlier, but tonight's our monthly family get-together dinner. We're expecting you," he spoke, sounding all jolly. I pinched the space between my brows. All I wanted was my bed. I felt tired. I needed my complete eight-hour sleep, and from how the night was starting off, I had a feeling I wouldn't get past the regular 3 hours. "What are you talking about, Grandpa? I'm busy....."I spoke tiredly. "A man can never be too busy for family. You'll learn that with time. Now, I'm expecting you to be here in about....." he trailed off, probably to check his watch. "30 minutes. Ciao, grandson!"And he hung up on me. "Classic old master Hale," Quinn chuckled. "Turning the car around?""Is that supposed to be a question?"I groaned, facepalming myself with both hands. "Grandpa seems to be after my life at this point."★It didn't take too long to reach the Hale estate. It was completely da

_____Like I said before, the POV switches are only going to be in very few chapters, after which we switch back to our ML's POV. This chapter is based on Steven's POV. Enjoy!_____The air felt calm against my skin. Way too calm and quiet. I couldn't help but feel like the day was hardly going to be a good one. With my fingers hovering over the keyboard, the screen's cold glow bounced off polished glass and half-finished espresso. The internal database of the company flickered under my gaze, with columns of communications that'd been timestamped unfolding like confessions. Every keyword that'd been flagged and programmed into the sweep by Quinn illuminated red. Divest. Q4 irregularities. Projections that had been undervalued. But if everything, just one name kept repeating in different shades of red. Sasha Ng. You see, since she was the personal assistant to the CFO, it was only normal that she was on a low profile. It was why we found nothing on her records. But we'd been kee

I was thankful to have caught her in time. Her weight folded against like something so fragile, trying to hold its shape together. I looked down at her. There was a dark bruise peeking out just past her sleeve and another one at the corner of her temple. "April, "I called out in a low growl, but I got no answer. She was too light. Featherweight if I may say. I scooped her up, getting on my feet. "You're back....."I could hear Quinn's voice behind me but I didn't look back. "Your car's closer. Drive by car back to the penthouse."He didn't question me — more like I didn't give him the chance to cause the next minute I was out of the company and sliding into the driver's seat with her nestled at the back. I zoomed off. As I rode through the busy roads, I kept glancing at the back, trying to see if she'd at least move a finger. Nothing. From what I'd seen before she fainted, something hit her head. And I refused to believe that the bruise was just a bump from some fall because I

Guess who finally got the current location on some girlfriend boxing bastard? Yeah, I did. And so help me God that I wasn't going to act all violent, because I was so damn ready. Not that I'm judging anyone, it's just....my spite for anyone who's un-fucking-reasonable enough to even raise his hand on a female was on a high level. I walked through the bar's warped door and the strong stench of spilled beer, fried grease and dreams that'd been shattered hit me. The place smelled of small lives and ambitions even smaller. Translation? The exact kind of place he'd crawl to the moment he had nobody to exert his weak dominance on. Truthfully, I didn't belong in a place like this, and everyone in the room probably knew that. People turned to catch a glimpse of me, toning down their voices. A group of men tried holding gazes with me but ended up backing down and shuffling further into the shadows. I didn't even have it in me to hold long talks. My goal was clear as day. Find him. Get th