Chapter 27 Love, Lies, and Corporate Fight I took a long breath in, my eyes flicking from Miguel to Charles. Confusion, fear, and… was that actually a glimmer of respect on their faces? Excelente. They have every right to be impressed. The new Ximena wasn't in for a play. "This is what we're going to do," I told them, without flinching. My voice was steady as a rock, even as my blood pounded with a surging rush of panic. "We're going to lure in our unknown blackmailer. And the two of you are going to assist me in this." Miguel quirked an eyebrow. "A trap? What do you have in mind?" I smirked. "We are going to give them exactly what they want—at least, make them think we are who they say we are." I exploded my idea in a flash, "we would let out false information about the giant merger of Antonio Group and Ricardo Enterprises. The kind that would hit the business world like a neutron bomb and bring out all the moles or informants both in our companies." "And how exactly is thi
Chapter 28 Strange Bedfellows "I need you... I need us back. Together," he said without flinching. My freaking eyes widened in shock at such temerity. What gave him the fucking instinct that I'd want him back in my life? "How dare you, Miquel?!" I spat, my widened eyes and flipping hands coincided simultaneously." Seeing how upset he'd made me, he moved gently towards me, trying to hold my hand. "I'm sorry for all I've caused you, Ximena," he said, his expression filled with guilt. "I'm not asking you to make your decision now. Just give it a thought. I've made a terrible mistake in my life. Let me make it right." He tried reaching for my hand. I jacked up from the seat, my blood boiling beneath my skin. "That's enough! I think it's time you leave." I said, heading for the door. I opened it to show him out. ........ I resumed work the next morning, filled with high expectations for a good day. Flipping through some files, I buzzed. I stared at it, reading Charles' message f
Chapter 29 Buried Secrets I stared at the financial reports on my desk. Exhaustion blurred my vision. Well past midnight, the Antonio Group offices were quiet—just me and the ghosts of transactions in a meeting. "Ms. Antonio?" A deep, gentle voice called. I jerked my head up to find Sarah, one of the forensic accountants, standing in the doorway. "We've found something. interesting." I let out a long, tired sigh, rubbing my eyes. "Interesting good, or interesting bad?" Knowing everything that was said, I knew it all. I needed to know from Sarah's point of view. "You'd better come check this out." I'd find out soon enough, I thought, trudging along behind her toward the conference room. I swear, it's been one week into this interminable surprise audit and every day seems to turn out to be a new mystery. I had instructed this to create a better foundation for the future of the Antonio Group. Just what damned skeleton would we find in the closet this time? Papers, laptop, and
Chapter 30 Crossroads I stepped out into the morning sunlight, and a whirlwind of secrets, threats, and impossible choices swirled in my wake. The threshold of the office had barely been crossed when that familiar voice was already calling out from the slim black car waiting at the curb. "There's the daughter of a bitch, the infamous Ximena Antonio: " I froze, tightening my grip on the bag. Tania. Miguel's ex. The last person in the world I wanted to meet just then. Everything snapped into sharp focus as she flew out of the car, designer, perfect hair, as if she had just come from a runway—not like ambushing me at dawn. "Tania," I said, carefully keeping my voice as flat as possible, "what brings you here so early?" She began to furrow her features, all the sweetness fleeing from her tone. "Don't play dumb, Ximena. I see what you do." I raised a brow, fighting with confusion. "And what am I doing, if you don't mind me asking?" "Stop playing stupid," she barked. "You're tryi
Chapter 31Secrets and Shadows"Good evening, Señorita Antonio," my assistant Elena greeted as I stepped off the elevator, my heels clicking on the polished marble at the headquarters of the Antonio Group. It did seem there wasn't quite as much of the usual hustle and bustle going on around the office as one might expect. Instead, quiet murmurs and their penetrating gazes into space seemed to tell me the news about the audit must've been leaked. I felt the tension crackling in the air.Her normally cheerful face was pinched with worry. "The board is waiting for you in the conference room."I nodded, squaring my shoulders. "Gracias, dear. Let's hope this doesn't turn into a total desmadre."Upon my entry inside, the conversations were promptly cut off by the eight members of the board. Eight pairs of eyes turned to me—a mix of curiosity, concern, and barely concealed hostility greeted me."Gentlemen," I said, taking a chair at the head of the table. "I know you have questions about th
Chapter 32Unraveling the SecretsI woke up with a head that must have swallowed a full bottle of tequila. Slowly the room dipped into view—filthy walls, a solitary, flickering light bulb overhead. I was bound to a chair; the rope was cutting into my wrists."Ay, caramba," I sighed, trying to budge out of my bonds. "This is not the way I was going to spend my evening.""Well, well, sleeping beauty awakens," Hector's voice grated from the semi-darkness. He stepped out into view with that rotten portfolio still in his hands. "Ready to have some truth laid on you, Sugar Britches?"I glared at him, tried to focus all the Antonio fire I could dredge up into my eyes. "The only truth I see in this room is that you're fucking crazy, Hector. Untie me now, or I swear—""You'll what?" he jeered. "Call your fancy lawyers? Your bodyguards? Face it niña. You're in over your head."As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I was completely at his mercy. But if there's one thing that I'd learned
Chapter 33Miguel's rustic cabin was deep in the mountains, an hour outside Mexico City. I bounced along on the dirt road in his SUV as flashes of all those telenovelas in which some poor rich girl gets kidnapped, whisked off to some remote location played a rush in my brain. Except this time, I was going voluntarily. Sort of."You sure no one knows about this place?" I asked, nodding around at the heavy woods surrounding us.Miguel's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. "Positive. It belonged to my abuelo. I'm the only one who knows about it now."As we pulled up to the cabin, I let out a low whistle. "Damn, your grandpa had good taste. This is nicer than my first apartment."Miguel chuckled, and some of the tension left his shoulders. "Wait till you see inside. It's like stepping back in time."He wasn't kidding. The interior seemed to be all warm wood and plush furniture, including a big stone fireplace dominating one wall, like a fortress against the chaos we'd left behind
Chapter 34It all blurred into the next few days of secret meetings and research sessions, which went well into the night. Quite an unlikely alliance; the detective, Rodriguez, Charles, Miguel, and I worked hectically around the clock to reach the bottom of this deceitful web the Antonio Group had cast. It was sure to be serious when the meeting place they had chosen was a small, hidden café on the fringes of Mexico City. It was all I could do to keep from breaking into a cold sweat as I neared their table."Señorita Antonio," Detective Rodriguez greeted me, grim-faced. "Please, take a seat. We have some … unsettling news."I slid into the booth, heart pounding. "What's going on?"Miguel stepped forward, his voice now low. "We have found out that Mr. Eduardo is deep into the discrepancies in your company."The name hit my solar plexus. "Eduardo? That can't be. He has been nothing but supportive since I took over as CEO."Charles tipped his head to the side. His eyes were in a gesture
Chapter 165: The Final ReckoningThe night was unusually still, the quiet broken only by the occasional distant car passing by. Ximena had fallen into a light sleep, her body exhausted from the strain of the past few days. But the sudden sound of a floorboard creaking in her apartment jolted her awake.Her heartbeat made a sudden jump to her throat and she glanced toward the living room. The darkness caused by the streetlights outside only appeared to make things even more quiet.The man standing in the doorway leading into the living room was plain to see.Tania.She was standing there, gripping the gun firmly, her eyes were wide open and looked like they had gone mad. Ximena looked paralyzed with a cold feeling running around her body.“Well, well, here we are meeting in person,” Tania spat out her words and was clearly angry. “I knew this would be the moment every time. You never thought that I could do them, did you?”Ximena’s heart beat faster, but she did not allow her tone to
Chapter 164: A Dangerous EncounterMiguel’s fists connected with the first thug’s jaw with a sickening thud, sending the man stumbling back, his head snapping to the side. Ximena watched from her car, her breath caught in her throat. The sound of the scuffle was echoing down the alley, but she couldn't hear anything except for the pure power and perfection in Miguel's movements.He moved like a force of nature: his muscular frame twisting and turning, his every strike landing with purpose. The men surrounding him tried to overpower him, but Miguel was relentless, fury behind each punch.The night air crackled with energy, and Ximena felt a weird mix of terror and awe. She'd never seen this side of him before, yet it didn't faze her.It was the man she'd married once; the man who would go to any length to protect what he loved.In one leap, one of the thugs pounced on him with a crowbar. However, Miguel was quicker, dodging and managing to sweep a leg to drop him to the ground. In o
Chapter 163: The Return of TaniaShe stared at the photo in her hand, her heart racing wildly. How had they gotten this photo? Who watched her? She felt her stomach clench as the creeping feeling of vulnerability clawed at her.Miguel had been supportive, but even his presence could not erase the gnawing anxiety that had settled deep inside her. She could still feel the weight of his comforting words from earlier, but they did little to quell the storm brewing in her mind.Tania had kept silent for too long, and now it was as if the calm had been no more than the quiet before the storm.Miguel had insisted on staying the night, refusing to let Ximena face this alone. Now, as they sat together in her living room, Miguel was talking about taking extra precautions for her safety, adding security to her apartment, increasing surveillance around the office, but Ximena wasn't fully listening.She had heard the same promises before, and while she appreciated them, she couldn’t help but fe
Chapter 162: Shadows ReturnThe next morning, Ximena was back to work, sitting at her desk, her hands fastened on the lid of the portable computer, her fingers drumming the wooden top of the laptop. He had seen her typing away again, probably trying to complete the quarterly reports so that the board meeting in the morning would not consume all the time. Her head was not in the numbers; she was constantly thinking about the peculiarities that had been bothering her all week.The first time she’d noticed it, she thought that perhaps she was imagining it. He had seen a black sedan parked across the street from her building for two consecutive days and the face of the driver was hidden behind the tinted glass. It could have been nothing, but then there were the phone calls; two in the last two days; both of which rang only twice before the line went dead as soon as she picked up.She tried to dismiss it as a mere fluke and went on to telling herself that there was really no need for
Chapter 161: A New NormalXimena sat down comfortably in her chair and looked at the numbers that target the company’s financial performance in the following quarter. The numbers, as he could see, were fine, were good, in fact, were more than good. The Group was on its way up again in Antonio’s life. Things were finally getting a little less insane, and Ximena was able to concentrate.This lack of drama seemed to them in some way wrong, even unnatural. Living on a daily edge, ready to face the next storm, she found the lack of tumult... dangerous. But was this not what she had wanted?Her phone was ringing on the desk and she had to remove herself from her line of thinking. A message from Clara lit up the screen: “Meeting at 11:30. Coffee on the way.”Ximena, still smiling, thanked her. “Thanks, lifesaver.”Clara was not wrong, after a year, the world seemed to have returned to its normal state.Miguel came to see her later in the morning that same day with a box of pastries and a
Chapter 160: Shadows Closing InMiguel paced back and forth, his frustration evident in the sharp clicks of his shoes against the polished floor. “She’s up to something. She always is. But I can’t risk dismissing this if it’s tied to Vega.”Ximena crossed her arms over her chest, easing back into her chair. "You're giving her too much credit. This is Tania we're talking about; a master manipulator. She wants you to believe she's our ally just so she can stay close."Miguel stopped pacing and faced her. "What if this time she's telling the truth?"What if she isn't?" Ximena shot back. "Every time we let her in, she leaves chaos in her wake."______________________________________Late that afternoon, Gregorio joined them in Ximena's office. His arrival brought much-needed clarity, though his face was as tense as theirs."I did some digging after Tania's sudden appearance," Gregorio began, placing a file on the desk. "And it seems she's not bluffing entirely."Ximena's eyes slitted a
Chapter 159: A Desperate MoveTania hesitated for a moment before turning on her heel and walking away, her laughter echoing in the empty street.Miguel turned to Ximena, his jaw tight. “Are you okay?”Ximena nodded, though her hands were still trembling. “Let’s just go.”…………………………………..Ximena was staring out the window of Miguel's car. Her reflection fluttered with the streetlights as they speed-crossed the city.Miguel has his hands clutched tight over the wheel. His knuckles were white. He glanced over to her and his jaw clenched. "You haven't said a word since we left. What is going on inside that head of yours?""What's the word of the day?" Ximena replied in a quiet tone. "That I don't want to play this any longer? That I'm tired of being a target?"Miguel let out a soft breath, his eyes remaining on the road. "You are not alone in this, you know that, right?"Ximena looked at him. "Do I? Because lately, it's feeling like I'm fighting for myself."Miguel was thinking of a come
Chapter 158: Countdown to ChaosSleep was out of the question. Ximena’s instincts told her this was more than another scare tactic.By the time the sun rose, she was already seated at her dining table with her laptop open and a steaming cup of coffee beside her. The clock ticked ominously as if counting down to an unseen disaster.Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts. Miguel’s name lit up the screen.“Morning,” she said, trying to mask her exhaustion.“Did you sleep at all?” Miguel’s voice was tinged with concern.“Not really,” she admitted, rubbing her temples. “The message... I can’t stop thinking about it.”“Neither can I,” Miguel said. “But we have a plan, Ximena. We’re ahead of them.”“Are we?” Ximena asked, doubt creeping into her voice. “Or are we just reacting to whatever they throw at us?”Miguel caught himself and responded in a lower tone. "Meet me at Antonio's Group. Gregorio probably has more news for us."______________________________________The middle o
Chapter 157: Tightening the GripXimena sat at her desk, staring blankly at her calendar. She'd spent all morning moving meetings around, trying to make sense of a schedule that had begun to feel utterly meaningless under the mounting threats.A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Clara peeked in, the shine gone now from her face since the events of the past couple of days."Miss Antonio, Gregorio is here," Clara said quietly.Ximena nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Send him in.”Gregorio entered, his ever-practical briefcase in hand. “Morning, Miss Antonio. Miguel should be joining us shortly. We’ve got some developments you’ll want to hear about.”Ximena gestured for him to sit. “Developments?”Before he could answer, Miguel strode into the room, his expression grim but focused.“Let’s hear it,” Miguel said, taking a seat beside Ximena.Gregorio opened his briefcase, pulled out a few files, and laid them across the desk. "We have located Vega's