2025-10-27 17:37:59In the most luxurious top-floor office of the DeGrand Group, a woman of striking elegance rose swiftly to her feet, gesturing for several security personnel to follow her. She then strode into the elevator and stabbed the button for the first floor.
Her face was grave and deathly pale, her eyes fixed on the descending floor numbers as if willing the elevator to reach the ground floor instantly.
But at the 8th floor, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. The secretary outside spotted Ivy and bowed her head with delight and deference. "Miss Harrington, I've successfully brought the VIP up. We're saved!"
Miss Harrington had repeatedly instructed her that once they secured this important guest, their current crisis would be resolved!
But the moment she finished speaking, the secretary felt an inexplicable chill wash over her. She looked up in confusion, only to be met with the horrifying sight of Miss Harrington glaring at her in fury.
"I just received a call from our VIP guest. He sounded extremely displeased and said he's still waiting on the first floor. Bianca, who the hell did you bring up?!"
What!
Bianca's mind went blank. She had brought up the wrong people! If this angered their VIP, then she, then she...
SLAP!
Ivy struck her secretary hard across the face, leaving a vivid handprint on her cheek!
"What are you standing there for? Get downstairs with me right now and apologize to our guest!"
The secretary finally snapped back to reality in terror. Ignoring the stinging pain on her face, she quickly lowered her head and hurried to stand behind Ivy, drenched in cold sweat, not daring to look up.
The elevator doors slammed shut. When they opened again, she saw the man she had barely glanced at earlier now calmly sweeping his gaze over her before fixing it directly on her boss, Ivy.
Ivy moved forward, her high heels clicking urgently across the marble floor. Bianca followed uneasily as Ivy strode straight up to the man, then watched in mounting dread as Ivy's body tensed and she bowed slightly in apology.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Ivy's cheek and dropped to the ground.
"Mr. Smith, I sincerely apologize for my tardiness. My secretary failed to receive you properly. Please forgive us!"
With that, Ivy shot Bianca a pointed look. Bianca immediately rushed forward and dropped to her knees before Mr. Smith with a thud, her heart pounding wildly.
"Mr. Smith! Please forgive me. I—I was blind and foolish. I didn't recognize your identity. It was all my fault. Please, don't hold this mistake against me..."
But to the secretary's despair, Donald glanced at her and said nothing.
The secretary felt her hope crumble.
Just then, Ivy suddenly stepped forward, her figure casting a shadow over her. Then Ivy pointed to the red, swollen handprint on her face.
"Mr. Smith, I've already disciplined this foolish subordinate of mine on your behalf. So perhaps..."
Ivy looked at Donald with a mixture of tension and anticipation.
For a moment, Donald simply maintained an impassive exterior while regarding Ivy with a hint of appreciation beneath the surface.
He had only used the secretary incident as a way to observe how Ivy treated those around her. Now he got it.
On the surface, she was being ruthlessly harsh with her secretary, but in reality, she was doing everything in her power to protect her.
Moreover, her beauty surpassed Jane's in every aspect—both in refinement and sharpness. No wonder the warden said there wasn't a man in Boston worthy of Ivy's attention.
The corner of Donald's mouth curved into a faint smile. His voice was calm yet cutting.
"It's nothing. I'm not so easily rattled. What I want to know…" His eyes locked onto hers. "…is what you want from me."
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Chapter 114
The man’s grip on Donald’s shirt tightened. His knuckles whitened as rage surged through him, veins standing out along his forearm. His face was inches from Donald’s, breath hot and bitter, laced with contempt.“You really must want to die,” he repeated, every word dripping with menace.Donald didn’t flinch.His eyes remained steady, dark and unblinking, as if the man’s fury were nothing more than background noise. When he spoke, his voice was calm—almost bored—so composed it felt insulting.“Let me go,” Donald said evenly. “Walk away while you still can.”The man let out a harsh laugh, short and humorless.“You don’t get to give orders here.”His arm drew back, muscles coiling as he prepared to strike, intent written clearly across his face.Ivy screamed.The sound tore from her throat, sharp and desperate, echoing off the walls of the office. Her heart felt like it was about to burst as she watched the man’s arm rise, her mind screaming that she was about to witness something ir
Chapter 113
Donald didn’t even hesitate when Ivy pleaded with him.“No,” he said firmly, his voice cutting cleanly through her sobs. It wasn’t loud, but it carried authority—uncompromising and absolute. “I won’t watch you fulfill their wish. Not now. Not ever.”Ivy looked up at him, stunned, her tear-filled eyes wide with disbelief. The resolve in his expression caught her off guard. She had expected resistance, perhaps anger—but not this kind of certainty.“Donald—” she began, her voice barely holding together.“You’re not giving them anything,” he continued, not allowing her to finish. His tone was unwavering, each word deliberate. “Not information. Not obedience. Not fear.”Slowly, carefully, he reached for her arm and guided her backward. The movement was gentle, protective, but decisive. He placed her behind him, positioning himself squarely between Ivy and the men, his body forming an unspoken barrier. Ivy’s breath hitched as she realized what he was doing.He was shielding her.Donald stra
Chapter 112
The men burst into laughter the moment Donald said Ivy wouldn’t succumb to their threat.It wasn’t the kind of laughter born of joy or humor. It was sharp, mocking, cruel—laced with disbelief, as though Donald had just insulted them rather than defied them. The sound filled the room, bouncing off the walls and pressing down on Ivy’s chest like a suffocating weight.They exchanged glances among themselves, the kind that carried shared amusement and dark understanding, smirks tugging at the corners of their mouths. To them, Donald’s words weren’t brave. They were absurd.“Did you hear that?” one of them said, tilting his head as he looked Donald up and down, squinting as if trying to decide whether this was a joke. “He’s got a mouth on him.”Another man let out a short scoff, his lips curling with disdain. “Who is this guy, anyway?” he asked, shaking his head. “Does he even know who he’s talking to?”Their laughter tapered into low chuckles, confidence radiating from them like a shield.
Chapter 111
Before long, the door to Ivy’s office burst open with a violent crash that echoed through the room, sharp and thunderous. The sound seemed to split the air in two as the hinges groaned in protest, barely holding as the heavy wooden door slammed hard against the wall. The force of it sent a shudder through the glass windows, and the quiet order of the office was instantly obliterated.Seven men strode in.They were huge-looking, old but powerful, with the kind of presence that immediately sucked the warmth out of the space. Their bodies were thick and solid—broad shoulders stretching the seams of their jackets, thick necks corded with muscle, hands scarred and heavy, fingers that looked as though they had broken bones before and thought nothing of it. Their faces were rough and weathered, etched by years of violence, lawlessness, and a life spent taking rather than asking.Each step they took was deliberate, unhurried, and confident.These were men who had walked into danger countl
Chapter 110
As soon as Ivy slipped, the world seemed to tilt beneath her feet. One moment she had been balanced on the stool, fingers stretching toward the file on the shelf, her thoughts still tangled in business projections, timelines, and strategies for the company’s future. The next moment, the ground felt as though it had vanished entirely. Her foot slid, the stool shifted violently, and a sharp gasp tore from her throat as gravity claimed her.Panic flashed through her, sudden and blinding.Before fear could fully settle in, strong arms caught her from behind.Donald moved without thinking. Instinct took over, faster than logic or hesitation. He stepped forward in one swift motion and wrapped an arm firmly around her waist while the other braced her shoulder, anchoring her before she could fall. The impact she expected never came. Instead, Ivy felt herself pulled backward into something solid, steady, and unmistakably safe.Her heart pounded wildly as she struggled to regain her balance
Chapter 109
The next morning, Ivy arrived at DeGrand Corporation at precisely the time she had told Donald on the phone. The sun had just begun to rise, spilling pale golden light across the city, casting long shadows along the streets and glinting off the towering glass of her office building. She parked carefully, still feeling the tension from the restless night she had endured, and stepped out of the car, smoothing the crease in her blouse. Almost instinctively, her eyes scanned the entrance—and relief washed over her when she spotted Donald waiting there. Calm, composed, and perfectly at ease, he exuded the kind of presence that could ground anyone, even her. In a world that had recently been chaotic and dangerous, seeing him brought a sense of safety Ivy had longed for but rarely allowed herself to trust fully.She adjusted her posture, squared her shoulders, and walked toward him, a faint smile forming on her lips. “Donald,” she said cheerfully, her voice carrying a note of gratitude
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