I forced a steady breath into my lungs, controlling every inch of my body and praying nothing would betray the fear rising within me. This was all just a part of their game. They wanted to know what buttons to push. They were seeking leverage, and the fact Yan Hao chose to reveal this much meant they, too, were restless. They must have known that Josie and Kaiden could crush Yan Hao's plan, and they thought they could use me to stop them.Slowly, I turned my eyes from the predator sitting on the sofa to the one behind the desk. Carefully, unhurriedly, my lips curled up, forming a cold, nearly soulless smile. “I'm not sure you realized, but Kaiden and I were never on the best terms. We were rather rivals most of our lives. If you wanted to threaten him, you chose the wrong messenger.”Yan Hao's brows inched up. “Are you trying to tell me that you don't care whether your cousin lives or dies?”Holding his stare, I leaned back in my seat. “If he died, it would have been a loss for the co
JOSIEA calm before the storm—that was what I would have called the last few days, days after Kaiden and I had returned to New York. Without Estelle, Yan Hao, and all their watchdogs lurking around the company, the days in Blair Digital became oddly peaceful. Yet all of us knew this peace was only temporary…The trip to Hong Kong brought us closer, and I wondered if I should start calling Kaiden my friend. I knew we definitely were partners, scheming to stop the merger and send Yan Hao where he belonged, although we kept arguing about where that place was. I believed it was behind bars, preferably for the rest of his life. Kaiden would rather send Yan Hao on a one-way trip to hell.I nearly kissed Tony after he'd given me my new secured phone—my way to communicate with Killian. I made a promise to myself that I would never pull that phone out in a public place again. I would treasure it and would not repeat my mistakes. As soon as Tony and I parted, I rushed back to my apartment and c
Twelve votes. We needed twelve votes to crush Yan Hao's plans. My head began to spin twice as fast as before, but this time, it had nothing to do with the alcohol I had drunk.“Unfortunately, there's more,” Veronica went on. “I heard that Yan Hao is coming to New York in less than two weeks. My informant said that the merger agreement has already been settled and it's ready to sign. Those people from Hong Kong want the shareholders' vote to be nothing more than a formality.”My ribcage shrank, and my breaths became too shallow to provide oxygen. “I thought we had a little more time,” I managed as my brain tried to process our situation.“I'll be frank, Josie. I could convince those people... but I can't do it alone in such a short time.”I had already figured that much. My hands fisted as I braced myself and sucked in a sharp breath. “So… what do you want me to do?”“You'll have to meet with a few shareholders on your own. I'll prepare you, but it will be your task to convince them,”
I spent an hour checking every corner of my office. I had no doubts that the bastard who had broken here must have either planted some device or tried to steal information. Fortunately, all the cabinets were locked, with no signs that anyone wanted to open them by force.“We searched all floors. There's no intruder,” the head of security said. “Maybe you only thought you saw someone running. Maybe it was just a shadow...”I whirled around to face him, my hands fisting. “I know what I saw. It was an Asian wearing black clothes—combat pants, a jacket, and a black cap. He was here, on this floor. He broke into my office and—”“So you say.” The man gave me a look meaning he didn't believe a word I said. “I see no signs of breaking. Maybe one of your teammates left the office open, and you only imagined you saw—”“Just check the damn footage from the surveillance cameras!” I snapped.He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. “We already did, and we didn't find anything sus
KILLIANThe supposedly best tech guy in the security team walked into my office, wearing a slightly annoyed expression—an attitude similar to the one his superior had had a few hours ago. But that was, of course, before my conversation with him. When the chief of security walked out of my office, he was thoroughly pissed. I didn't expect this conversation to go any better than the previous one…He was in his thirties. He had ruffled brown hair and a few days' stubble. He didn't bother wearing security's team uniform, replacing it with a gray button-up shirt and something that might have been easily mistaken for sweatpants. I had yet to determine whether this guy was that bold or stupid.“Mr. Donovan, you know why I called you here.” I pointed at the seat in front of my desk. The man sat down and nodded.“You wanted me to find a ghost.” He tossed his ankle over his knee and leaned back in his seat. “I know that Ms. Clairmont thinks she saw something, but that doesn't make this guy real
I watched Yan Hao prowl toward his seat, flanked by Estelle and Ryuu. My father lingered by the door for a few more heartbeats before striding to the opposite side of the table. I glanced at Kaiden and saw his jaw clench, his eyes locked on Ryuu, who was currently eyeing him with a lazy grin. Then my eyes drifted to Estelle. She was giving the shareholders her trained smiles—either seductive or docile. She was here to present the pleasant-for-the-eye side of the company—an easy-to-buy fake mask.My father straightened up in his seat and meaningfully cleared his throat. “Some of you demanded this meeting because they had certain... issues concerning the merger between Blair Digital and Diamond Dragon Entertainment. Our guests came here today so we could discuss those matters so you could accept our future collaboration.”“With all due respect, Mr. Blair.” Mrs. Rendall slowly rose to her feet. “I don't find your choice of words appropriate. You insinuate that there's only one possible w
Yan Hao strode out of the conference room as soon as the voting results had been announced. Ryuu, stayed a little longer, surveying the room as if he were taking notes. He disappeared into the corridor as soon as he finished... whatever he had been doing. Estelle looked at me reproachfully, as if I were the one responsible for it. Surely, she must have known that without the merger, our engagement was over. Finally, she stepped toward me, her hands fisting.“It's not over,” she strained through her clenched teeth. “I won't let you ruin this for me.”My brows rose. “Ruin… what exactly?”“You still don't get it, do you?” An angry smirk appeared, and something feral gleamed in her eyes. “You can either find happiness by my side, or you will lose everything... and everyone.”Her outright threat triggered all kinds of violent urges within me. I inched closer, dipped my head, and whispered in her ear, “Be very careful, Estelle. Otherwise, you'll get the treatment I plan to give your stepfat
JOSIEI kept pacing around our office, thinking, trying to put the pieces together. My mind was overloaded with grim thoughts. Our system was supposed to be impenetrable, and yet the image presented in the article looked so real...“The reporter claims that his informant found that offer and the ‘free sample’ on one of the dark web forums,” Ashley said.I bit the inner side of my cheek. “Someone might have put it there just to bait the press,” I mused.“That's possible,” Kei agreed before turning to Ashley. “Do we know how much this seller wanted for the database?”“One million,” Ashley said, smiling grimly. “The offer disappeared after an hour. We don't know if it was because someone bought the database.”“It would have been easier if the reporter gave us the name from the formula in this ‘free sample.’ We could at least verify whether or not this user actually exists,” Martin grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.“He can't.” Ashley gave him a look. “It's all because of the prot