I’m Back, Mr. CEO
She gave him her youth, her loyalty, her heart……only to be betrayed in the cruelest way. Adrian paraded his mistress and their daughter before the world while Serena, carrying his child, was left broken and forgotten. Even her own son was turned against her, calling another woman “Mommy” as if she never existed.
Years later, the woman they all discarded returns. No longer weak, Serena is now the dazzling force behind a global empire. Her ex-husband burns with obsession, the mistress grows desperate to destroy her, and the child she lost to lies begins to see the truth.
“Why now?” Adrian demands, eyes dark with desire.
Serena’s gaze is cold, her smile sharper than glass. “Because this time, I belong to no one… not even you.”
Her rise will be their ruin — and her revenge will be unforgettable.
Lesen
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 47: The Trap Springs{ETHAN POV}The wine burns my eyes, but I force them to stay open just long enough to see Sophie’s panicked face before I let myself collapse.“What did you…” I slur the words deliberately, making them sound more affected than I am. “What was in that…”I stumble toward the door, letting my legs give out exactly where I planned. In the hallway. Where the security camera Derek installed this morning will catch everything.Sophie drags me back into the room. I let my body go limp, dead weight, making it harder for her. Making sure she struggles. Making sure every second of this is documented.The small recording device in my shirt pocket is still running. It has been since before I arrived. Every word. Every confession. Every moment of her admitting she loves me, that she’s obsessed, that Maya is “hers.”All recorded.She positions me on the bed, and I keep my breathing steady, deep. Playing unconscious while my mind races.This is it. The moment we’ve been planning for three days.When
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-14
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 46: The Second Setup (Continued)“I told her the truth. That I don’t know anymore. That my memories are confused. Maybe I was wrong.” I move even closer. “I’m trying to fix this, Ethan. Trying to give you both a second chance.”“By luring me to a hotel room under false pretenses?”“By creating a neutral space where we can talk honestly. Away from everyone else. Away from Derek’s investigation and Lin’s judgment and all the noise.” I gesture to the wine again. “Please. Just one drink. Then we can talk about how to approach Maya. How to make her listen to you.”He stares at the wine glass. I can see him wavering.“How do I know you didn’t put something in it? Like you did last time?”My blood runs cold. “What are you talking about?”“I know you drugged me, Sophie. I know you staged everything. I just can’t prove it yet.” He steps back toward the door. “This was a mistake. I’m leaving.”“Wait!” I grab his arm. “Please. Just listen to me.”“Let go.”“I love you!” The words burst out before I can stop them. “I’ve always l
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-14
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 45: The Second SetupThe sedative is in my purse, wrapped carefully in a sealed bag. Two thousand dollars in cash, gone. But worth it.Worth everything if this works.I’m sitting in my car outside the Marriott on Mission Street. Room 412. I booked it this morning under a fake name, paid cash, made sure there’s no trail leading back to me.This has to be perfect. No mistakes this time.My burner phone sits in my lap. I’ve typed and deleted the message to Ethan at least a dozen times, trying to get the wording exactly right.Finally, I settle on:**Unknown: Ethan, this is Maya. I borrowed Sophie’s phone because mine died. Can we meet? I need to talk to you. Alone. I think I made a mistake. Please. Room 412, Marriott on Mission Street. 8 p.m. Don’t tell anyone. Especially not Sophie.**I read it three more times, making sure it sounds like her. Desperate enough to be believable. Specific enough that he won’t question it.My finger hovers over send.This is it. Once I send this, there’s no going back.But I’m
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-13
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 44: Sophie’s Desperation{SOPHIE POV}Maya isn’t softening.I’ve been watching her for weeks now. Waiting for the moment when she’d turn to me. When she’d see me not just as her best friend, but as something more.When she’d realize that Ethan is gone and I’m the one who’s been here all along.But it’s not happening.She’s distant. Distracted. Going through the motions of our friendship but not really present. And yesterday, I overheard her on the phone with someone. I couldn't hear the whole conversation, but I caught enough.“Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have listened.”She’s doubting me. Doubting the story. Starting to question whether Ethan really assaulted me.Which means I’m running out of time.I’m sitting in my room at Lin’s house, door locked, staring at my laptop screen. I’ve been researching for hours. Reading articles about false accusations. About how to stage evidence. About what would be impossible to explain away.The first setup worked perfectly. Maya found us exactly as I planned. Belie
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-13
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 43: The Truth Soon“What about Sophie? If she finds out we’re meeting with Maya—”“She won’t. Not until it’s too late.” He stands, moving to the window. “Lin is keeping tabs on her movements. Sophie’s currently meeting with that private investigator, probably trying to create more fake evidence or figure out how to destroy what we have. She’s distracted. Paranoid. Making mistakes.”“Which makes her dangerous.”“True. But it also makes her vulnerable.” He turns back to me. “Derek, I need you to understand something. When Maya sees that footage, when she realizes what Sophie did, it’s going to destroy her. Not just her trust in Sophie, but her trust in herself. Her judgment. Her ability to know who to believe.”“I know.”“Do you? Because she’s going to need support. Real support. Not just people telling her they were right all along.” His expression softens. “She’s going to need Ethan to be patient with her. To forgive her. Can he do that?”“He loves her. He’ll do whatever it takes.”“Love isn’t always en
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-12
Chapter: BOOK 4 - Chapter 42: James Sterling’s Role**Few Hours Later**Detective Chen won’t help us.“I’m sorry, Mr. Park, but what you’re describing is illegally obtained evidence. Even if I wanted to pursue this, any warrant I requested based on your information would be fruit of the poisonous tree.” She’d closed her notebook, the meeting over before it really began. “My advice? Forget you ever saw that footage and hope Sophie Monroe doesn’t press charges for breaking and entering.”So now I’m sitting in my car outside the police station, trying to figure out my next move, when my phone rings.Unknown number.“Derek Park.”“Mr. Park, this is James Sterling. Maya’s uncle. We met briefly at the family dinner.” His voice is sharp, professional. “I hear you’ve been investigating Sophie Monroe.”“How did you—”“Lin called me. Told me about the surveillance footage you found. About Sophie staging the entire assault.” He pauses. “I want to see it.”“With all due respect, Mr. Sterling, I’m not sure how that helps. Maya won’t listen to you a
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-03-12
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 40: New Beginnings ~ Alex POV ~The elevator hums beneath my feet as it carries me to the thirty-second floor. Same building, same office, but everything feels different now. A year ago, I would've checked my phone three times during this twenty-second ride, firing off emails or scanning stock reports. Today, my hands stay in my pockets.The doors slide open with a soft ding. Austin's already at the conference table, spreading architectural blueprints across the polished surface. He looks up when I enter, and for a split second, I catch that familiar spark in his eyes. The one that used to light up whenever he had a new idea."Morning," I say, setting my coffee down beside his. Black for me, cream and sugar for him. Some things never change."Morning." He straightens, rolling his shoulders. "Ready for this?"I move around to his side of the table, studying the blueprints. The proposed community center stretches across three city blocks. Art studios on the ground floor. Youth programs on the second. A ga
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-28
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 39: Rebuilding Brotherhood & Lessons Learned THREE MONTHS LATER~ Alex POV~"You're actually going to eat that whole thing?"I look up from my plate of pancakes to find Austin grinning at me across the diner table, syrup dripping from his fork. It's been three months since Isabella left, and this is the first time we've done this. Just breakfast. Just brothers. No agenda, no business meeting disguised as family time."Says the guy who ordered enough bacon to feed half of Manhattan." I cut another piece, savoring the simple pleasure of eating something that doesn't cost fifty dollars and come with a wine pairing. "Remember when we used to do this in college? That place near campus with the terrible coffee and the waitress who always called us 'hon'?""Millie's." Austin's smile turns nostalgic. "She'd mix up our orders every single time and then insist we were wrong about what we'd asked for.""And we'd just eat whatever she brought because arguing with her was impossible.""Still is, probably." Austin takes a sip of his coffee, m
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-28
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 38: Isabella's New Life ~Isabella POV~I press my forehead against the cool airplane window and watch Manhattan shrink beneath me, all those glittering towers becoming toy blocks in a child's playroom. The city that almost broke me is just geography now, lines on a map, coordinates that exist in my rearview mirror.My phone buzzes one last time before we reach altitude. A message from Tessa: "San Francisco better treat you right, or I'm flying out there to kick some West Coast ass."I smile despite the tightness in my chest. Despite the way my fingers keep reaching for the empty space where my engagement ring used to sit before I remembered I never had one. Never would have one, not from either of them.The woman next to me is reading a romance novel, something with a shirtless man on the cover and a title involving the word "billionaire." I want to tell her it's all lies. That real billionaires don't sweep you off your feet and carry you into the sunset. They make you choose between pieces of your heart unt
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-27
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 37: Aria's Wisdom ~ Alex POV ~The elevator doors slide open with their familiar whisper, and I step into the penthouse foyer where Mom is arranging white orchids in a crystal vase. Her movements are precise, practiced, the kind of ritual she uses to center herself when the world gets messy."Alex." She doesn't look up, but there's something lighter in her voice today. Something I haven't heard in weeks. "How did it go at the gallery?"I loosen my tie, letting the silk slip through my fingers. "Nora was there. Packing Isabella's things.""Good." Mom sets down the orchid she's holding and finally meets my eyes. There's no sympathy there, no maternal concern about my broken heart. Instead, there's something that looks almost like... relief. "It's time."The bluntness catches me off guard. I expected questions, maybe gentle probing about how I'm handling Isabella's departure. Not this calm acceptance that borders on satisfaction."Mom...""Where's Austin?" She moves to the window, her silk dress catching
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-26
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 36: Nora's Visit ~ Nora POV ~I shove Isabella's sketchbooks into the cardboard box with more force than necessary, the sharp corner catching my thumb. Blood wells up, bright and immediate, but I don't stop packing. Can't stop. If I stop moving, I might actually scream at the pristine walls of this gallery office that's become Isabella's prison.The afternoon light slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting everything in that golden glow that makes rich people think their lives are touched by magic. But all I see are shadows. All I smell is expensive perfume lingering in the air from some client meeting, mixed with the chemical tang of fresh paint and the bitter scent of Isabella's barely touched coffee growing cold on her desk.Another sketchbook goes into the box. Then another. Each one filled with her dreams, her vision, her talent that these people have been using like a pretty ornament for their empire.The door opens behind me, and I don't need to turn around to know who it is. The air
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-25
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 35: The Aftermath **Alex POV**The elevator ride down feels like the longest forty-seven floors of my life.Austin's standing next to me, hands shoved deep in his pockets, staring at the digital display like it holds the secrets of the universe. Neither of us has said a word since we left Isabella's apartment. What is there to say? We just broke the heart of the woman we both love, and we did it together.The irony isn't lost on me. It took losing her to find each other again."You think we did the right thing?" Austin's voice is quiet, almost lost in the hum of the elevator.I don't answer right away. The right thing. Such a simple concept, but nothing about this situation has been simple. "I think we did the only thing.""That's not the same thing.""No. It's not."The elevator dings, and the doors slide open to reveal the marble lobby of Isabella's building. A few photographers are still camped outside, their cameras ready to capture any sign of scandal. They perk up when they see us, but I keep my
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-24
Chapter: Chapter 23: Midnight Encounter I can’t sleep. The dinner replays in my head on an endless loop. Marcella’s cruelty, Matteo’s smug satisfaction, the way the entire table turned against me like a coordinated attack. But mostly, I think about Luca standing up for me. Defending me against his own mother. It shouldn’t matter. One moment of decency doesn’t erase a month of cruelty, doesn’t undo the locked doors and broken promises. But it does matter. And that’s the problem. At midnight, I give up on sleep. Wrap myself in a robe and pad quietly to the door. The guard outside has changed shifts, this one looking half-asleep in his chair. “I need water,” I tell him. “From the kitchen.” He blinks, considers. “There’s water in your bathroom.” “I want cold water. From the refrigerator.” I cross my arms. “Unless you’d prefer to wake Luca and ask his permission?” The threat works. He stands reluctantly. “I’ll get it for you.” “I’m perfectly capable of walking to my own kitchen.” “Those aren’t my orders.” “Then come w
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-07
Chapter: Chapter 22: Family Dinner The next morning, everything feels different and exactly the same. Luca doesn’t mention the kiss. Doesn’t acknowledge what happened in that bathroom beyond a curt nod at breakfast. But I notice things. The way his eyes linger on me a second too long. How he doesn’t flinch when I reach for the coffee pot and our hands accidentally brush. Small things. But in this house, small things matter. “My mother has requested your presence at Sunday dinner,” he says, cutting into his eggs with surgical precision. “It’s tradition. The whole family attends.” “Does that include me now? I thought I was just the Romano problem.” “You’re my wife. That makes you family, whether my mother likes it or not.” He sets down his fork. “It’s important you come. Show unity. Show that the alliance is strong.” “Even though we both know it’s built on lies?” His jaw tightens. “Especially because of that. We can’t show weakness. Not now.” “When then?” He doesn’t answer. Just returns to his breakfast like I ha
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-06
Chapter: Chapter 21: First Blood That evening, everything changes. I’m in my room, trying to make sense of everything Dominic told me, when I hear shouting from downstairs. Not the usual business discussions, not controlled anger. This is different. Raw. Violent. Then a crash. Glass breaking. More shouting. I move to my door, crack it open. The guard who was stationed outside is gone, probably drawn toward the commotion. I should stay put. Should lock myself in and wait for it to pass. But I’ve never been good at doing what I should. I slip into the hallway, follow the sound of chaos to the main foyer. A crowd has gathered. Guards, staff, some of Luca’s capos. They’re all focused on something at the center of the room. Someone. I push through the crowd, and my blood runs cold. Luca stands in the center, shirt torn, blood dripping from a cut above his eye. In his hand is a broken mirror shard, glinting with red. And across from him, backed against the wall, is a man I don’t recognize. One of the capos, maybe.
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-05
Chapter: Chapter 20: Caught Morning comes too soon. I’m exhausted, running on maybe two hours of sleep, when Maria arrives with breakfast. But today she does something different. As she sets down the tray, she presses a small note into my hand. “From Dominic,” she whispers, so quiet I almost miss it. Then she’s gone. I unfold the note carefully. “Library. Noon. We need to talk.” I look at the clock. Three hours. The morning drags. I shower, dress in something simple but put-together. If I’m going to meet Dominic, I need to look composed, not like someone who snuck out in the middle of the night to meet her fugitive brother. At eleven fifty-five, I test my door. Unlocked. Interesting. The guard outside doesn’t stop me when I step into the hallway. Just nods, like he’s been told to let me pass. I make my way to the library, heart pounding with each step. The library is empty when I arrive. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, leather chairs, the smell of old paper and expensive whiskey. It’s beautiful and cold,
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 19: Brother’s Warning Two days. Two days locked in my room with only Maria’s silent visits to break the monotony. She brings food, takes away untouched plates, and won’t meet my eyes. I’ve become invisible again, a ghost in this marble prison. I spend the time thinking, planning, and trying to figure out how to salvage this disaster. Marcella outmaneuvered me completely, using Luca’s love for his mother like a weapon. And I walked right into it. Stupid. So stupid. On the third morning, something changes. A piece of paper slides under my door while the guard is distracted. Small, folded tight. I wait until I hear footsteps retreating before snatching it up. The handwriting is Alessandro’s. “Tonight. 2 AM. Garden entrance, east side. Come alone. Destroy this.” My heart hammers. Alessandro. Here. Risking everything to reach me. I burn the note in the bathroom sink and wash the ashes down the drain. Then I wait. The hours crawl by with agonizing slowness. Dinner comes and goes. Maria collects the tray
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 18: Confused I want to protest, want to defend myself, but the words stick in my throat. Because Marcella is good at this. So good. She’s rewriting reality right in front of us, turning truth into lies and lies into truth, and Luca is believing her. “Luca,” I finally found my voice. “Please. Listen to me…” “No.” Marcella’s voice sharpens. “My son has listened to you enough. He’s listened to your lies, your manipulations, your convenient revelations. Now he needs to hear the truth from people who actually love him.” “I never lied to him.” “Didn’t you?” Marcella’s smile is poisonous. “You married him knowing your family had blood on their hands. You came into this house carrying your father’s schemes. Every tear, every moment of seeming vulnerability, all of it calculated to make him soft. To make him weak.” “That’s not true.” “Isn’t it? Then tell me, Elena Romano, why did your father’s letter appear now? Why not immediately after the wedding? Why wait until you’d had time to observe Luca, to l
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2025-07-03
Chapter: 76The library had settled into its usual afternoon lull, the air thick with the musty scent of aging paper and the soft rustle of turning pages. Lila sat hunched over her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as she transcribed her latest research notes. So engrossed was she in her work that she failed to notice the looming presence approaching her table until a shadow fell across her screen.Glancing up with a start, Lila found herself face to face with Caleb's towering bulk. Her muscles tensed instinctively, body coiling as if readying for fight or flight. The last encounter with this lumbering bully still burned fresh in her memory - his sneering disdain, the casual cruelty as he'd snatched away her notebook filled with painstaking calculations and schematics.But something was... off. Instead of the usual sneer twisting his features, Caleb's expression seemed almost sheepish. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his varsity jacket as he r
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-07-15
Chapter: 75The echoing silence stretched unbearably as Caleb's hulking form loomed over Lila. She remained frozen, muscles coiled tightly, awaiting the inevitable belittling remark or physical intimidation tactic from the lumbering brute.Instead of lashing out verbally, Caleb simply stared her down, pale eyes drilling into her with an intense, unblinking glare. The seconds ticked by agonizingly until Lila had to fight the urge to squirm under his domineering scrutiny. Finally, he broke the oppressive silence by jutting his thick neck forward, the cords of muscle straining beneath his skin as he fixed her with a callous sneer."Give it here," he growled, the gravelly timbre of his voice reverberating through the stillness.Lila's brow furrowed slightly as she met his imperious glare, refusing to be cowed so easily despite her growing trepidation. She tilted her head in an exaggerated questioning expression.Caleb responded by leaning down until his meaty face filled her field of vision, hot bur
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-07-15
Chapter: 74The library had settled into an industrious hush, the only sounds the occasional creak of chair legs against tile or the muffled clacking of Lila's fingers flying across her laptop's keyboard. Dylan pored over a sheaf of printouts, lips pursing in concentration as he made notations in the margins with a stubby pencil.Mia broke the silence with a jaw-cracking yawn, slumping back in her chair as she stretched her arms overhead. "Well, I don't know about you two, but my brain feels like an overstuffed piñata about to burst after cramming in all those thermospheric equilibrium models."Lila shot her a sidelong glance, the ghost of a smirk playing about her lips as her hands articulated a response. Dylan watched the deft weaving of her fingers with a hint of envy, wishing he could fully grasp the nuanced expressiveness of that rich, silent language.Mia snorted, translating Lila's gestures with a rakish grin. "She says no one ever claimed saving the world would be easy, especially when th
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-07-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 73CHAPTER 73Mia studied a stack of printouts and sketchy diagrams, her brow wrinkled with concentration. Lila's fingers flew across the screen of her laptop with fluid ease, signing a complicated stream of gestures interspersed by brief bursts of typing. Dylan watched the spectacle with a genuine sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Just a short time ago, this ragged company was on the verge of implosion, split between petty power battles and pointless outbursts of ideological grandstanding. However, once their focus moved to actual, concrete goals in pursuit of the Scholsemann Sustainability Scholarship, a perceptible rebirth of synergy emerged.Dylan felt the same explosive spark that had first attracted them together rekindle as he assessed his co-conspirators' single-minded focus on the mission at hand. He cleared his throat, the gravelly rasp cutting through the charged silence like a tuning fork vibration. "Alright, people - I think it's time we regroup and see what kind of big-
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 72CHAPTER 72***NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL ***The library's hushed ambiance felt like a taut wire, barely containing the simmering tensions that crackled between them. Lila swept her gaze across the secluded study nook, taking stock of her unlikely crew bound together by shared trauma and a singular purpose.Mia radiated tightly-coiled fury, her lithe frame tensed like a spring awaiting release. Though defiant fire still burned in those dark eyes, the mottled bruises marring her skin served as a visceral reminder of the price they'd paid for resistance. Beside her, Dylan settled into his chair with measured movements, as if afraid any sudden gestures might rekindle the powderkeg hostilities. His jaw was clenched, eyes tracking the others with a wariness born of recent betrayals.The heavy tread of boots against tile announced Caleb's arrival. The towering jock swaggered in exuding nonchalant arrogance, but the corded muscles bunching along his thick neck betrayed the menacing undercurrent sim
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-05-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 71CHAPTER 71The front door let out a deep, familiar groan of protest as Lila shouldered it open and stepped across the threshold into the Hawthorne home. The entrance stretched out in front of her, tiny but neat, a true reflection of her father's practical principles and workmanlike pride.She scuffed her trainers against the bristly welcome mat, releasing the grit and debris that had gathered throughout the day on their rubber soles. The regular shucking noises resonated hollowly along the front hall, as Lila went about her daily practice of making herself at home.Her backpack thudded on the floor with a muffled whump, spreading its contents in a tangled sprawl of notebooks, textbooks and stray pens. She'd worry about resolving that issue later; for now, the enticing draw of escape into the digital ether called with its siren song of consequence-free distraction.Lila retrieved her smartphone from the chaos, flicking her thumb across the lockscreen in a single practiced flick. The sc
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2024-05-13
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