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CHAPTER 48

Author: Tellachino
last update Last Updated: 2025-02-06 22:32:48

The world around William Ashford was beginning to crumble.

The proof Fiona and Thalassa had uncovered was damning—offshore accounts, fraudulent payments, and direct evidence linking him to the smear campaign. It was only a matter of time before the truth went public.

And William knew it.

Sitting in his private study, he gripped a glass of whiskey, his knuckles white as he stared at the news reports flooding in.

The backlash had begun.

Several journalists had retracted their statements, claiming they had been "misled by unreliable sources." Financial analysts were questioning the legitimacy of the attacks on Solomon Enterprises, and whispers of William’s involvement were gaining traction.

More dangerously, some of his most powerful allies—those within the Echelon—had started to distance themselves.

A weak link was a liability.

And William Ashford refused to be anyone’s liability.

He set the glass down and reached for his phone. He had one last play left.

A desperate one.

But it would h
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    A Ghost in the ShadowsWilliam Ashford had disappeared.Not captured. Not exposed.Gone.For days, Darwin, Fiona, and their allies scoured every trace he might have left behind—bank transactions, private flights, encrypted communications. They checked offshore accounts, known associates, even his private security detail. But William had covered his tracks too well.And that was the real danger.Men like William didn’t run to hide. They ran to reassemble their power.Darwin stood in his office, his gaze locked onto the city skyline. The tension in the room was suffocating. Across from him, Lucas and Thalassa sat, their expressions mirroring his own grim resolve.“We have to assume he’s already making his next move,” Lucas said, his voice firm. “The Echelon doesn’t just abandon assets like him. If he vanished, it’s because they allowed it.”Thalassa tapped a pen against the table. “That means they’re repositioning him. They wouldn’t cut him loose unless they had something—or someone—to

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    Darwin Solomon had spent years playing by the rules. That era was over.The explosion at the estate had been the final warning. William wasn’t running anymore. He was hunting.And Darwin had no intention of being the prey.Fiona stood beside him in the secure bunker beneath their property, her face illuminated by the dim glow of computer screens. Thalassa sat at a workstation, fingers flying across the keyboard. Lucas paced near the door, weapon in hand, scanning the security feeds.“Any word on the attackers?” Darwin asked, his voice steady.Thalassa didn’t look up. “They were professionals. No identifiers, no digital footprint.” She tapped a few keys, narrowing her search. “But…”Darwin and Fiona stepped closer.Thalassa turned the screen toward them. “I traced their escape route. They were extracted by an unregistered chopper heading west. Only one organization has the resources to pull that off without a trace.”Fiona exhaled. “The Echelon.”Lucas clenched his jaw. “They’re not ev

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 51

    Allies and BetrayalsThe morning air carried a heavy sense of urgency as Fiona paced inside Thalassa’s penthouse. The city stretched beneath them, indifferent to the war brewing in the highest echelons of power. Darwin sat across from her, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Marcus, Darwin’s trusted assistant, stood by the window, flipping through documents on his tablet. Thalassa leaned against the bar, sipping black coffee, her sharp eyes shifting between Fiona and Darwin.No one spoke for several tense moments.Fiona finally broke the silence. “This doesn’t mean I trust you,” she said, glaring at Darwin. “But William is a bigger threat than either of us can handle alone.”Darwin inclined his head, his jaw tight. “Agreed. But make no mistake—I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just want to bring him down.”Thalassa sighed, pushing off the counter. “We don’t have the luxury of old wounds right now. William is cornered, and that makes him dangerous. He’ll retaliate, and we need t

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 52

    The air in the penthouse felt suffocating, thick with the weight of decisions that would determine their future. Fiona’s fingers tightened around her phone as she absorbed the weight of Marcus’s words.Bella had aligned herself with William.It wasn’t just a betrayal—it was a direct threat to everything they had worked for.Darwin ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “We should’ve cut her out sooner.”“She was already drowning,” Thalassa said, tapping her nails against the marble countertop. “Now she’s just grasping at whatever lifeline she can find.”Fiona’s jaw clenched as she paced across the living room. The city skyline beyond the glass windows stretched out like a kingdom she refused to lose. “But she knows too much. Our strategy, our timeline—William won’t waste time using that against us.”Marcus’s voice remained calm but firm. “We still have an edge. William is desperate, and desperate men make mistakes. He’s trying to move his money, but his offshore accounts aren’

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 53

    The dim glow of the penthouse lights cast long shadows across the room, mirroring the uncertainty hanging in the air. Fiona’s grip on the phone tightened, the distorted voice still echoing in her ears."Because by this time tomorrow, you won’t have anything left to fight for."She set the phone down carefully, her mind already calculating their next move.Darwin studied her expression, his jaw tightening. “We need to assume William’s making his final play.”Thalassa folded her arms, her usual smirk absent. “If he’s desperate enough to start making threats, he’s cornered. That makes him dangerous.”Marcus looked up from his laptop. “I ran a trace on the call, but it was rerouted through multiple proxies. Could be anyone in William’s inner circle.”Fiona exhaled slowly, steadying herself. “It doesn’t matter. We already knew this was coming.”She turned to Darwin. “How strong is your security detail?”“Strong enough to keep him from walking in here, but if he’s going for something bigger

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 54

    The night had swallowed the chaos, but the echoes of battle remained.Fiona stood at the edge of the underground garage, watching as the police escorted William away in handcuffs. His once-impeccable suit was disheveled, his face a storm of barely restrained rage.He turned his head slightly, locking eyes with her one last time.“You think this is over?” he murmured, a twisted smile curling his lips. “You’ve just made yourself a bigger target.”Fiona didn’t flinch. “You already tried to destroy me, William. Look where that got you.”A flash of something unreadable crossed his face—then he was shoved forward, disappearing into the waiting police van.Silence settled over the garage.Darwin exhaled, lowering his weapon as he walked up beside Fiona. “It’s done.”Fiona wasn’t so sure. “No, not yet. We stopped William, but the Echelon won’t just roll over.”Thalassa leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. “They’ll regroup, sure. But they just lost their golden boy. That kind of shake-up tak

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 55

    The Kingston Enterprises building was eerily quiet at dawn. The remnants of William’s empire were still smoldering, and the corporate world was watching with bated breath. Fiona stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of her new office, gazing at the city below.This was never the life she envisioned for herself. Yet, here she was—holding the reins of a company that once sought to ruin her.A soft knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.Thalassa stepped in, a tablet in hand. “You’re up early.”Fiona smirked. “You’re one to talk.”Thalassa plopped onto the leather chair across from her. “Sleep is a luxury these days.” She placed the tablet on Fiona’s desk. “I took the liberty of compiling everything we need to clean up the mess Bella and William left behind. It’s not pretty.”Fiona skimmed the data—corrupt deals, embezzled funds, severed partnerships. It was worse than she thought.“They ran this company into the ground,” Fiona muttered.Thalassa sighed. “Bella may have been a pa

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 56

    The corridors of Kingston Enterprises felt different now. The air was no longer tainted by William’s manipulations or Bella’s desperation. Yet, despite the victory, Fiona knew the battle was far from over.She walked through the office with purpose, nodding at employees who were still adjusting to the shift in leadership. Some looked at her with admiration, others with skepticism. She didn’t blame them. Change was never easy, and trust was not given freely—it had to be earned.As she reached her office, Marcus was waiting for her, a file in hand.“Morning,” he greeted, stepping inside. “I have updates.”Fiona sat down and gestured for him to continue.Marcus handed her the file. “The internal audit is almost complete. We found more irregularities than expected, but nothing we can’t handle.”She flipped through the pages. Fraudulent contracts, missing funds—remnants of William’s web of deceit.“This will take time to clean up,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair.Marcus nodd

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  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 174

    The sun rose over Zurich like a blade of gold slicing through steel-gray clouds. Inside the safe house, the world was still. The boy—Alex—lay curled beneath the thick blanket, his small hands clenched around the edge as if bracing himself for whatever might come next. Fiona stood by the window, watching the street below. There were no sirens. No helicopters. No immediate signs that their extraction had triggered global alarm bells. But the silence itself was suspicious—too calculated, too calm. “They're watching,” she said quietly. Darwin stood behind her, arms crossed. “You think they let us go?” “I think we took a piece they weren’t ready to lose. And now they’re deciding whether to recover it… or erase it.” Darwin’s eyes flicked to Alex’s room. “They built an entire system around him. That chair wasn’t just a monitor—it was a throne. And he was their king.” “No,” Fiona said sharply, turning to face him. “He was a prisoner.” Darwin didn’t argue. Marcus entered the room carr

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    The halls of the international tribunal were filled with murmurs and media flashes as Morrigan Zayne was escorted through its arched gates in handcuffs, flanked by federal agents. Her posture was upright—chin lifted, spine stiff—but even Fiona could see the cracks beneath the surface. The queen of shadows was finally exposed, her empire in ruins, and her secrets unraveling under the scorching light of justice. Fiona watched from the observation deck above, arms folded as reporters barked questions into the void. Every news station across the globe was tuned into this historic moment. The collapse of the Echelon, the fall of its most enigmatic leader, and the brave few who had torn down its walls. “This almost feels… peaceful,” Fiona said quietly, her voice lost in the buzz of cameras below. Darwin stood beside her, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable. “Peace never comes without cost.” She turned to glance at him. His bruises had faded, but his eyes still carried the s

  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 171

    The twin engines of the stealth chopper whined softly as it descended beyond the tree line, slicing through the early morning mist like a blade through gauze. Fiona sat strapped in, her fingers curled tightly around the straps across her chest, eyes trained on the satellite feed on the mounted screen in front of her. Davenport wasn’t just a fortress—it was a statement. Built along the edge of a mountainous ridge and shielded by state-of-the-art surveillance, it was the last stronghold of Morrigan’s influence, carved out in steel and secrets. It was also the place where everything had started—and where it would finally end. “We touch down in five,” the pilot’s voice crackled through the headset. “Insertion team, get ready.” Darwin checked the chamber of his pistol and clipped it into place. “Remember, we don’t get a second chance at this. Our window is narrow. Foster’s jet was seen landing fifteen hours ago. We don’t know how long he’ll stay.” “Or what Morrigan’s planning,” Thalass

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    The private jet cut across the sky like a silver dagger, slicing through clouds on its descent toward Ravenport. Below, dense forests stretched for miles, a thick, green blanket hiding Morrigan’s last stronghold. The landing strip, built discreetly behind a series of abandoned warehouses and guarded by a private militia, was the only visible clue that something significant lurked in these woods. Darwin, seated beside Fiona, stared out the window, his jaw tight. Beside him, Fiona adjusted her black tactical jacket, her eyes hollow with determination. They weren’t flying in with an army. This mission demanded stealth, precision, and a level of danger none of them had faced before. “This isn’t a rescue,” Fiona said quietly. “This is an extraction. We go in, pull what we need, and get out before Morrigan knows we were even there.” Darwin nodded. “We identify what Gabriel Foster is doing there. If he’s meeting Morrigan, we document it. If they’re planning something bigger, we expose it.

  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 169

    The early morning light filtered weakly through the grimy windows of the temporary hideout. Fiona sat with her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of black coffee, her eyes fixed on the faded map spread across the wooden table. Red and black ink dotted the surface, indicating strongholds, escape routes, and key players loyal to Morrigan. Each mark told a story of manipulation, violence, and the thin web of power Morrigan spun so precisely. But that web was fraying. Across the room, Darwin leaned over a tablet, reviewing the footage from the hotel. Sofia Laurent was still alive—barely—but she had been moved into protective custody under heavy security. Her one whispered word had shifted the tide. Morrigan had gone from shadowy threat to active executioner in the eyes of those still sitting on the fence. And that changed everything. "They tried to silence her," Fiona said softly, her voice tight. "They almost succeeded." Darwin looked up, his expression grim. "But she didn’t die. A

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