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CHAPTER 51

Author: Tellachino
last update Last Updated: 2025-02-08 04:44:04

Allies and Betrayals

The 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 to be ready.”

Marcus glanced up from his screen. “It’s already happening. William’s associates are mobilizing. He’s using shell companies to move money offshore, and he’s been making discreet calls to a private security firm. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s planning to disappear or—” He hesitated.

“Or eliminate threats,” Thalassa finished for him, setting down her mug with a quiet clink.

Fiona tensed. She had expected William to fight back, but the thought of him going to such lengths sent a chill down her spine.

“What’s our next move?” Darwin asked.

Thalassa pulled up a document on her laptop and turned the screen toward them. “I’ve been tracking William’s transactions. He’s paying off high-profile journalists to spin the narrative in his favor. If we don’t control the media war, we’ll be playing defense.”

Fiona frowned. “We need to get ahead of him. What if we expose the sabotage first? We have the proof—emails, bank transfers, witness statements. If we release it strategically, he won’t have time to twist the story.”

Marcus nodded. “I can reach out to neutral media sources—ones that won’t take his bribes. We need to time it right.”

Darwin exhaled sharply. “And Bella?”

A tense silence followed.

“She’s a wildcard,” Thalassa admitted. “She might double down on discrediting Fiona or try to cut a deal with William to save herself.”

Fiona clenched her fists. “Then we deal with her, too.”

---

A Desperate Gambit

Across the city, Bella sat in her office, her fingers trembling as she scrolled through her emails. The walls felt like they were closing in.

Darwin had been avoiding her calls. William was no longer responding to her messages. The articles flooding the internet painted her as complicit in Fiona’s downfall. The board members were whispering about upcoming votes, and she knew what that meant—her position was slipping.

She needed to act fast.

Her hands shook as she dialed a number. “I need a meeting,” she said hurriedly. “No, not over the phone. In person. Tonight.”

She hung up and exhaled, her pulse racing.

If Fiona wanted to play dirty, so could she.

---

The First Strike

By nightfall, Fiona, Darwin, Thalassa, and Marcus sat in a dimly lit private lounge, reviewing their strategy. Marcus had arranged for a trusted journalist to break the story—one with undeniable evidence linking William to the corporate sabotage.

“This will ruin him,” Marcus said, sliding a USB drive across the table. “Once this goes live, he’ll have nowhere to hide.”

Fiona stared at the drive, her heartbeat quickening. This was it—the moment everything changed.

Darwin met her gaze. “Are you ready for this?”

She nodded. “Let’s end this.”

An hour later, the journalist received the files. Fiona watched as the information was uploaded, each document a piece of evidence that would shatter William’s empire.

“We need to be ready for retaliation,” Thalassa warned. “William won’t take this lightly.”

“Let him come,” Fiona said, her voice steel.

---

The Aftermath

As the clock struck midnight, the first article went live.

BREAKING: Corporate Sabotage Scandal—Evidence Links William Hawthorne to Fraud and Corruption.

Within minutes, the internet exploded. Comments flooded in, and the media scrambled to get statements.

William had expected attacks, but not this level of precision. The leaked evidence was airtight—financial records, email trails, and testimonies from whistleblowers.

In his penthouse, William smashed his glass against the wall. “Who the hell leaked this?” he barked at his assistant.

The man hesitated. “It…it looks like an inside job. Someone with direct access to financial records.”

William’s mind raced. Darwin. It had to be.

He grabbed his phone and made a call.

“Shut it down,” he growled. “I don’t care what it costs.”

---

A Deadly Counterattack

By morning, William had mobilized his forces. He couldn't afford to go down without a fight.

Bella arrived at his office, her face pale. “We need to talk,” she said.

William eyed her coldly. “You’re a liability now.”

She flinched. “I can help you. I know Darwin’s weaknesses. Fiona’s, too.”

William studied her for a long moment. Then, a slow smile spread across his face. “Fine. But if you betray me, you won’t live to regret it.”

Bella swallowed hard. She had just made a deal with the devil.

---

The Next Move

Fiona’s phone buzzed. It was Marcus.

“We have a problem,” he said.

She gripped the phone tighter. “What is it?”

“Bella just met with William.”

Fiona’s breath hitched. “She wouldn’t…”

Marcus sighed. “She’s desperate. And desperate people do dangerous things.”

Fiona closed her eyes for a moment, suppressing the wave of frustration. Bella wasn’t just a wildcard anymore—she was an active threat.

Darwin, standing nearby, noticed the shift in her expression. “What happened?”

“Bella just threw in with William.”

Darwin cursed under his breath. “That means he’ll know everything she does about us.”

Thalassa folded her arms. “Then we move faster. We need to cut off William’s escape routes before he can use them.”

Marcus checked his tablet. “We might still have a window. He hasn’t completely pulled his offshore accounts yet. If we act now, we can freeze his assets before he can vanish.”

Fiona took a deep breath. “Then let’s do it.”

The war had officially begun. And this time, there was no turning back.

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    The armored SUV sped through the darkened streets, the city blurring past as Darwin, Fiona, Thalassa, and Lucas sat in tense silence. The echoes of gunfire still rang in their ears, and the weight of Lucas’s revelation hung thick in the air.The Echelon.A secretive network of power brokers with their hands in everything from corporate empires to government policies. They weren’t just fighting a businessman with a grudge anymore. They had declared war on a shadow organization that had remained untouchable for decades.Darwin exhaled sharply, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. “No more games,” he said. “Tell us everything.”Lucas sat in the passenger seat, his gaze fixed ahead. “The Echelon operates in cells. Each member controls a sector—finance, technology, media, law enforcement. William was just one of many. His job was to keep you in check, Darwin.”Fiona’s stomach twisted. “So when we took him down…”Lucas nodded. “You made them bleed. And the Echelon doesn’t toler

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    The city lights flickered in the distance as Darwin stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse, his thoughts a storm of unanswered questions. Lucas’s warning echoed in his mind.“William was never the real enemy.”That meant someone else—someone more powerful, more dangerous—had been pulling the strings all along.Fiona sat on the couch, her fingers drumming against her knee. She had fought battles before, but this was different. This was a game where the enemy wasn’t just attacking from the shadows; they were inside their walls.Thalassa, ever the strategist, leaned against the kitchen counter, flipping through her tablet. “Lucas knew something,” she said, breaking the silence. “And whatever it is, it scared him enough to warn you.”Darwin turned, his expression unreadable. “That wasn’t a warning,” he corrected. “That was a threat.”Fiona frowned. “Then we need to find out who Lucas is really working for.”Thalassa nodded. “I’ve already started digging. Lucas is good at c

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    Fiona’s grip on her phone tightened as she stared at the message. The words burned into her mind.You think this is over? You’ve only just begun.Her pulse quickened, but she refused to let fear take hold. Fear was exactly what they wanted. Whoever had sent this wasn’t just issuing a warning—they were letting her know that she was still a target.Thalassa’s eyes flicked to Fiona’s face, reading her reaction before returning to the phone screen. She didn’t waste time with words of reassurance. Instead, she reached for Fiona’s laptop, already searching for ways to track the message’s origin.“This isn’t William,” Thalassa muttered. “He’s too busy dealing with the media firestorm.”Fiona exhaled sharply, her thoughts racing. “Then who?”Before Thalassa could answer, a knock at the door made them both freeze.Fiona glanced at the clock—too late for casual visitors.Thalassa rose first, moving toward the door cautiously. She peered through the peephole and let out a breath. “It’s Darwin.”

  • Falling For My Surrogate Mistress    CHAPTER 43

    Here’s the completed version with an expanded word count of 1,350 words, deepening the tension, character emotions, and stakes.---The Morning News Hit Like a Wrecking Ball"Solomon’s Secret Scandal: Fiona Price Pregnant with Billionaire’s Child!""Betrayal and Deception: Is Fiona Using the Baby to Trap Darwin?""Darwin Solomon’s Empire Shaken by Personal Scandal!"Fiona sat frozen in Thalassa’s apartment, her fingers tightening around her phone as she read the articles. Each headline twisted the truth into something ugly, something damning. They painted her as a schemer, a manipulator—a woman desperate to cling to power by any means necessary.William had made his next move. And it was brutal.Thalassa snatched the phone from Fiona’s hands, her expression darkening with every word she read. “This is disgusting,” she muttered. “They’re making it sound like you planned this pregnancy just to control Darwin.”Fiona swallowed the lump in her throat. “That’s exactly what William wants. T

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