Chapters Fifty-ThreeDamien relaxed fully in his chair and glared fiercely at Mr Alan. He had managed to grow seeds of doubts in the minds of the other shareholders.This was something he could not condone."Mr Alan, you seem to have a problem with the CEO of ALLURE working with us," he said icily, asking the odious man so he could be sure of what to do next.Mr Alan shrugged nonchalantly. There was a triumphant glint in his eyes as he felt he'd succeeded in making the CEO falter."I do not have a problem with the CEO of ALLURE working with MAGIC," he answered smugly, the cast a direct stare at Lana, "I have a problem working with impostors like this so called CEO!"He finished this sentence, making quotation marks in the air when he said the word "CEO". He was clearly mocking Lana.Lana scoffed, as a small smirk curved her lip, "Your shareholders are really sensible," she muttered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. A muscle twitched in Damien's jaw as he heard what she'd said but he ig
Chapter Fifty-Four"Why'd you do that?" Lana asked puzzedly after some time.They were alone in the boardroom, waiting for Liam to be done with some paperwork. The shareholders were already gone and Lana already signed the contract. The fact that she was getting fifty percent shares of MAGIC was only known to Damien and Liam.The other shareholders were oblivious to this. If they'd known that Damien had easily given out fifty of his sixty percent of shares of MAGIC, they'd try to get it from her in every possible way, like a pack of bloodthirsty hounds."Do what?" Damien asked, fixing Lana an innocent stare."Kick out one of your top shareholders!" Lana retorted, exasperated at the situation.Hell, MAGIC needs all the investments that it could get at the moment, and he was kicking a shareholder out impulsively?While it felt good that he'd done that for her, it was still a stupid thing to do, and she told him so.Damien shrugged, nonchalantly, his broad shoulders rippling beneath his
Chapter Fifty-FiveRina was having a full body massage, when she received the call from Claudia."Miss Rina, you have to come in quick! That red haired bitch had appeared again!"This piece of news caused Rina to scowl fiercely at the masseuse, who was working on her body at that moment.The poor woman quickly removed her hand from her body and shied away from her in fright as Rina sat up on the massage table, her cell phone clutched tightly to her ear.A red haired bitch? There was only one that would come to mind, who had the ability to ignite her murderous instincts and that was Lana.She had appeared again? Did Damien already sign the contract with her?She listened to Claudia rant on about the woman the CEO had brought in, and who was now the new head of their design team.Rage boiled through her as she ended the call, "Get me my clothes!" She screamed at the cowering masseuse, who jumped and scurried out of the room to carry out her order."That little bitch, I won't let her get
Chapter Fifty-SixDamien sat in his office, trying to do some work but it was next to impossible as he could not focus on what he was doing.He groaned silently in frustration as he threw the pen he was writing with on the desk."What's wrong with me?" He muttered to himself, "There's so much to be done, Damien. Focus." He could not help losing focus as his mind always inadvertently went to one person: Lana The fact that she was right here in his company at such a close range made him giddy with joy, and he could not sit still.He frowned, as he wondered if it'd be too much to have her desk moved close to his own office, perhaps right outside his own, so he could see her anytime he wanted."No, she'd probably just give me that dead eye stare, and ask me to fuck off," he muttered, angry with himself for thinking such, "Let's just take things slow for now."He was seriously contemplating this, when the door to his office opened and Liam strode right in."We replaced Miss Fernandez des
Chapter Fifty-SevenOnce Damien left the design team's office, Rina hurried to the rooftop once more, unable to stand it anymore longer.She could not stand the look of affection he'd shared with Lana, she could not bear the judging looks of the employees she passed on her way to the rooftop, or the derisive remarks she was sure they were making about her.On the rooftop, she did not bother to look around for any hidden sniper. That was not what she should be concerned with for now.Right now, she was concerned with what had just happened back inside the design team office.Something was wrong.Something was definitely wrong.Something about the way Lana had whispered in her ears. It held an ominous tone that she could not shake off. It almost sounded like Lana knew something.But that was literally impossible.If she knew about the plan to take over Ludovic, then she'd not still be with...Rina took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She brought out her phone, and frowned at h
Chapter Fifty-EightThe shrill sound of the phone echoed on the rooftop, and Rina hesitated, biting her bottom lip in anger.She did not want to pick up his call. She was definitely not in the mood for some ass chewing.Her finger hovered above the answer icon, her mood becoming sour at the thought of hearing his insults once more.Why was he calling anyway?He had his sources and already knew what was happening in MAGIC. Yet, he called her at any opportunity to remind her of her incapability.This thought made her grit her teeth in fury, as the phone continued ringing, its ringing tone, a shrill reminder of the derision to come.However, the thought that he was watching her through the hole of a sniper rifle, made her jolt back to her senses and she quickly swiped on the icon."What?" She snarled into the phone, already trembling with fear and annoyance, but she still managed to keep the tremors out of her voice."You were demoted?" The voice asked calmly."Wait what? How did you kn
Chapter Fifty-NineDeciding she'd been on the rooftop too long, Rina heads down the empty stairway.Occasionally, she'd lean over the railing, her eyes scanning the floors below, trying to see if she could see any employee fleeing but there was no one there, and she finally decided she was being paranoid.About seven floors below, Lana quietly slipped through the door that led to the staircase and emerged on the seventh floor. Employees milled about, and she quickly blended with them, making her way to the elevator that would take her back to the design team's office.Her face was impassive, not even glancing sideways at the employees who stole surreptitious looks at her. However, her heart was beating fast at what she'd just done, and what she'd just heard and witnessed.When Rina left the design team's office in a hurry, Lana had waited for two minutes before casually walking out after her.She was just in time to see Rina, taking the side door and making her way to the rooftop, and
Chapter SixtyDamien stopped in mid-stride as soon as he sighted Lana. Immediately, his expression softened and he looked relieved.The next instant, he tried to hide his relief when he saw that she was staring him with that annoying dead eye stare once more.Great, what had he done now?He stuck his hands in his pockets and moved closer to her, "Already ditching work on your first day?" He asked sullenly, as he moved to stand in front of her.She swallowed hard and avoided his eyes, ignoring his question. He narrowed his eyes in puzzlement, especially when he saw how tense her shoulders were.Did something else happen while he was gone? Come to think of it, Rina was also not in the office just now.He had come back to the office, pretending he wanted to drop off some files for her, but he had really just wanted to see her face once more and ask if she'd be willing to go out to lunch with him.It was maddening the way he could not stay away from her. It had been barely thirty minutes
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Eight Chairman Fernandez sat very straightbacked at the head of the table in Damien's office. Damien and Lana sat in chairs adjacent to him, while Paul stood behind him, whispering something in his ears.Paul finished and straightened up, and the chairman glared at Damien. His presence as well as that of Paul's, dominated the entire office. Samuel Fernandez was a big man, and when he spoke, his voice boomed across the office, bouncing off the walls."You wish to keep my daughter hostage?!" He barked, pointing a stubby finger at Damien, "Just like you did eight years ago?!""Uhm...Dad, we were married. I married him," Lana said in a small voice, "I was not exactly held hostage..." she trailed off and lowered her gaze, when her dad gave her a level look.Damien gave her an appreciative glance, then faced the chairman. "I don't wish to hold Lana hostage, nor have I ever held her hostage." He said firmly, giving the chairman a square look, "I only wish sh
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty SevenRina ran straight to the parking lot using the stairs, with Liam hot on her heels. She was wheezing, almost doubled over, as she made for her camry, digging in her bag for her keys. Suddenly, the screeching of car tires could be heard and Rina held her hand over her eyes, before she was blinded by the headlights of the oncoming vehicle. She jumped out of the way as well, when it seemed as though the van was after her life."Ow!" She cried out as she hit the floor hard.The van swerved to the side and came to a stop with a screech. The driver looked out his window and yelled at her."Get in!"Rina blinked in shock as she realized it was her henchman, Carlos!About time the bitch showed up!Joy lit her face and she winced in pain, trying to get up from the floor. The sound of Liam kicking the door to the parking lot open, gave her the energy and galvanized her into action.Her eyes met with his angry ones and Liam bared his teeth teeth at her, as he
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Six"We've recovered all the data, sir!"Damien's face lightened with relief as he heard those words.His fingers tightened around the phone in joyous anticipation, "All...the data?""Yes sir, everything was recovered just a few minutes ago!" The head of IT department sounded very excited.After all, a major part of the crisis had just been evaded.Yes!Damien wanted to punch the air in victory, as relief surged through him once again. Relief so powerful that it almost sent him sprawling to his knees. The others noted his change in attitude and stared at him, confused."What? What is it?" Lana asked, her voice tinged with confusion and concern, "Is everything okay?"However, Damien's lighthearted mood faded as his eyes met with that of Paul. Suspicion clouded his brows and he placed the phone back to his ear."Hold on. How did that happen?" He asked tentatively, "How were you able to recover the data?""Well sir, we could suddenly gain access to it." T
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Five "What? What did you say?"Rina blanched at that question from Damien. She went pale, as she realized she'd probably said more than she was supposed to.Lana stepped forward, her brows arched in suspicion, "You said you won't stop until Romero becomes like your so called Carter family." She asked, then scoffed in disbelief, "Did you have a hand in this attack, Rina?"Everyone faced Rina immediately and the woman felt attacked. She swallowed hard, feeling none of the bravado she'd had felt earlier, when she was giving her passionate speech.She should not have said what she had said, but Vera had so annoyed her, that Rina just let it all out.She sighed inwardly, as her stomach churned with fear.Zaire was going to kill her, when he discovered this."Seriously?" Vera's shrill voice broke the silence, as she pointed an accusing finger at Rina, "you are behind the attack against us?! How dare you do that?!""I..I...I don't know what you're talking abou
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty-Four"Damien!" Vera hissed at him, giving him a flaming look from head to toe, "What are you talking about? Do you wish to see us go down?"She glanced at Lana with a tight smile, then leaned in to whisper fiercely in her son's ears, "Just take it now that the Fernandez Empire are being nice."Damien's face hardened and he glared at Liam, "Get the guards and have them escort Mother home." He ordered grimly, and Vera's eyes widened in alarm."No!" The obnoxious woman yelled, looking prepared to dig her feet into the ground if necessary, than to allow herself dragged out like before."I will not endure such ridicule again!" She thought to herself in despair, then quickly grabbed Lana's hand."Lana dear." She called in a beseeching tone, "Please, do not listen to whatever Damien's saying. You can go ahead and ask your father to send the money."Lana yanked her hand away Vera's hold, irked by by the woman's pleading, "Please, do not touch me." She uttered st
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Three"Mother, you're not supposed to be here."Damien gritted, shooting a glare at Liam who immediately brought out his phone, and placed a call at the security guards, supposedly stationed outside the office.The guards had been given instructions not to let Vera anywhere in the premises as she repeatedly caused trouble, but one way or the other, she managed to slink her way in.Damien sighed inwardly, as he glared at his mother in frustration and embarrassment. She had to do this just in front of Paul, who was watching them with a curious and amused gleam in his eyes. But Vera didn't seem to care or know the effect she was producing She shook her head vigorously, "There's no way I will just sit and watch our company go down the drain." She cried out, then glared at him, "You can't keep me cooped up forever, Damien!"She broke down then, weeping copiously. Rina rushed over to her side, and gently held her shoulders."Its okay, Mother." She said, soo
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty TwoDamien did not move from his position behind his desk. Instead, his eyes watched every of Paul's movement, as the tall man relaxed fully on the chair, looking right at home. The words Paul had just spoken resounded in his head once more."You want money. We'll give you money.""What do you mean by you'll give us money?" Liam asked tentatively, unsure if he had heard well."It means exactly what it means, Mr Dantes." Paul replied, drily, ignoring the subtle arch of Liam's eyebrow at the mention of his last name. He fixed the assistant a cool look, "Romero is in a tight spot right now, isn't it?"The other man, who had been quiet all along, finally drew out a sheaf of papers from his suitcase, "The Fernandez Empire is willing to give the Romero Empire five trillion dollars to get out of this crisis." He placed the papers on Damien's desk and drew back, a satisfied look on his face, "You can just sign where indicated and its all yours."Liam looked ba
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty One "Keep in mind, Lana, that it pains me greatly to do this." Samuel Fernandez said in a greatly displeased tone, "Why do I have to give my money to something as worthless as Romero?! And you dare to ask it of me?""I know, Dad. I'm sorry." Lana said apologetically, biting her bottom lip but still her face was alight with joy and relief.He was going to do it, she was sure.He would definitely do it.It was the only thing she could do from her end here.Damien had left his breakfast hurriedly that morning after recieving a call from Liam. His face had darkened immediately, and his hands clenched into fists so tight, his knuckles went white."I'm on my way." He said, soon after and stood up from the table, grabbing his suit jacket from off his chair."I have to go, Lana." That was the only answer he gave her, at her insistent questions.When she'd arrived at the office with Damien that morning, she was met with chaos. The entire office was in a frenzy,
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty"Sir, the investors from Mauritania have pulled out from the deal. They are demanding we pay for the breach of contract as well!"Damien slammed his open palm on the top of his desk, and the entire desk rattled violently. He was breathing hard as he raked his hand through his head, trying to process the news Liam had just told him.This was the first real emotion he'd shown since they arrived at the office that morning, and realized they were neck deep in crisis.A series of attack had hit Romero that morning. Hackers had infiltrated their systems and stolen sensitive data, trade secrets, financial records...Some of these data were placed on the dark web, while the others were still inaccessible, with the hackers demanding for a ransom of up to four hundred and fifty billion.Typical ramsomeware, but it had to come at this particular time.Some investors and customers had already gotten wind of what was happening in Romero, and how sensitive information