2026-04-05 23:58:52
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 107. UNWANTED COMPANY
The elevator ride down to the fourth floor felt longer than usual.Zachary stood in the corner, arms crossed, watching the numbers tick downward on the small display above the doors. Beside him, Seraphina was scrolling through her tablet, her expression focused, her lips pressed into a thin line.Neither of them spoke.The silence wasn't uncomfortable, quite the opposite really.In no time, the elevator doors slid open with a soft chime."Fourth floor," Seraphina announced, stepping out into the corridor. "Mira's office is at the end of the hall."Zachary followed, his footsteps echoing on the polished floor. The fourth floor was quieter than the executive levels, fewer people, smaller offices, the kind of space where real work got done without fanfare or ego.'Mira Chen,' he thought. 'The woman who can find patterns in numbers that shouldn't exist.'He was curious to meet her. Genuinely curious. Someone that sharp, that unnoticed, that content to stay in the shadows while others too
CHAPTER 106. VISITING
"If they take the bait, yes." Seraphina's voice was calm, but there was satisfaction underneath. The kind of satisfaction that came from knowing you'd outmaneuvered someone who didn't even know they were being played. "We'll have their IP address. From there, we can trace it back to a physical location. A department. A desk. A person."Zachary stared at the hologram, impressed despite himself. His fingers had stopped their restless tracing. His whole body had gone still."That's... actually brilliant.""Miss Chen is very good at what she does.""So she came up with all of this?""The financial angle was hers. The tracking script too." Seraphina's lips curved slightly. "She's very good."Zachary nodded and his fingers drummed once against the armrest. "So what's the problem? It sounds solid."Seraphina didn't answer immediately. Her mouth thinned slightly and her expression had shifted. The satisfaction was gone, replaced by something else.'Guilt,' Zachary realized. 'She looks guil
CHAPTER 105. HONEY POT
Seraphina's eyes narrowed slightly. "Levi is loyal to me. He's been loyal for a long time. If I tell him to cooperate, he'll cooperate."Zachary wanted to argue. Wanted to point out that Henderson's loyalty to her was exactly the problem.That the man was in love with her and saw Zachary as a rival, and no amount of professional courtesy would change that.But he couldn't say that.Because saying that would mean admitting that he'd noticed. That he'd been watching Henderson watch her. That it bothered him more than he wanted to admit.'And then she'd ask why it bothers you,' a voice whispered in his head. 'And what would you say? That you're jealous? That you don't like the way Henderson looks at her? That you—'He cut the thought off."Fine," he said, the word clipped. "He stays. For now."Seraphina studied him for a moment, her pale eyes searching his face. "You're not happy about this.""I don't have to be happy. I just have to tolerate it.""That's not an answer.""It's the only o
CHAPTER 104. THE BUSINESS TEAM
A week had passed since the night Zachary had carried Seraphina into his townhouse. A week of meetings and briefings, of late-night phone calls and carefully worded memos. A week of pretending that nothing had changed between them.It was exhausting.Zachary stood at the window of his office, staring out at the city below. The morning light was sharp and unforgiving, painting everything in harsh clarity. He'd been here since seven, unable to sleep, his mind churning through possibilities and contingencies.The investigation was moving. Slowly, but moving.Seraphina had been working tirelessly. Her contacts, her network, her quiet questions whispered in the right ears. She'd promised him a progress report today. A full update on the business team she'd been assembling.He checked his watch. 8:47 AM. She'd be here any minute.The knot in his stomach tightened.'It's just a meeting,' he told himself. 'Just business. Nothing else.'But his pulse disagreed.He turned from the window and
CHAPTER 103. KIND
Seraphina shook her head slightly at this, hair flying."You were being kind sir. It's nothing." But Zachary disagreed. "I was being an idiot."She looked up at that, amusement making her lips twist."Perhaps both," she said.Zachary laughed, a short, breathless sound, and rubbed the back of his neck. The tension in the room had shifted. Less electric now. More awkward. But not... bad. It wasn't terrible."We should probably get off the floor," he said."That would be advisable."They stood up together, both of them a little unsteady, both of them careful not to touch. Zachary busied himself with straightening his shirt. Seraphina gathered her hair, twisting it back into a loose knot at the nape of her neck.The silence stretched between them, thick and strange."You should sleep here," Zachary said finally. "Tonight. It's late. You're exhausted. There are guest rooms upstairs."Seraphina's hands paused in her hair. "Young Lord, that's not—""I'm not taking no for an answer." He c
CHAPTER 102. THE THRESHOLD
Zachary jerked his head back, barely avoiding having his corneas gouged out. Unfortunately for both of them, his balance wavered and her weight shifted wrong in his arms. He tried to regain his momentum but his foot caught on the edge of the rug.“Ugh!" And down they went.He tried to catch her, tried to twist so he'd hit the ground first and she'd land on top of him—but his coordination was shot, his brain still processing the near-blinding, and they went down in a tangle of limbs and startled gasps.Thud.The impact knocked the air from his lungs. His arms hit the floor, one hand cradling her skull while the other braced her back.In the process, something, an elbow, a knee, he wasn't sure, connected with his ribs.He wheezed like a dying mammal.And then everything went still.He was on top of her. His body was pressed against hers, his arms braced on either side of her head, his face inches from her face.He was pinning her to the floor.Her hair had come completely loose from
You may also like
The Unexpected Heir
Estherace86.4K viewsUnderrated Son-In-Law
Estherace108.0K viewsFrom Darkness to Light: Darwin's Rise
Magical Inspirations76.0K viewsThe Lowly Son in Law is Quadrillionaire
Riku Ormstrom94.4K viewsEmpire of the Unexpected Heir
Papichilow485 viewsThe Forsaken Man Who Shook The World
Ling Ling Dee2.5K viewsThe Secret Billionaire's Return
Veekeey1.3K viewsHERE COMES THE KING
Tom Kay961 views