Chapter 159: Table Turns
No One’s Pov
"Ah, Mr. Valente. It is a rare moment to have you visit my humble office," Amelia’s father said, leaning back in his chair with a cocky, self-satisfied smile.
Dominic stood perfectly still, his tall frame glowing against the office window. He looked down at the smug man sitting in front of him. Mr. Laurent- the CEO of Laurent Enterprises was practically beaming with arrogance, knowing quite well exactly what had forced Dominic to leave his estate so early in the morning.
Originally, Dominic had planned to stay much longer with his precious Vivien, wanting to be right there beside her the exact moment she woke up once again in his bed. But this foolish man had ruined everything.
Just an hour ago, Dominic had received an urgent call from his secretary. Laurent Enterprises had deliberately leaked a fabricated security breach regarding Valente Corp’s newest software, trying to sabotage their market stock and openly competing for a massive government tech contract. It was a desperate, loud cry for attention, and it had successfully pulled Dominic away from his bedroom.
Ignoring the rage boiling beneath his skin, Dominic kept his face completely calm, almost relaxed.
"Indeed, Mr. Laurent," Dominic replied, his voice smooth. He slowly stepped closer to the desk, tilting his head slightly as a dark smile touched his lips. "After all... I simply had to come and see for myself who was foolish enough to think they could challenge Dominic Valente."
The freezing malice in Dominic’s cold smile made Mr. Laurent’s cocky grin falter for a fraction of a second. A sudden, chill ran straight down his spine, making the hairs on his neck stand up.
But he quickly swallowed the fear, forcing himself to maintain his arrogant composure. He genuinely believed he had the upper hand this time, thinking he had Valente Corp backed into a corner with his dirty corporate tactics. He had no idea he had just signed his own death warrant by taking Dominic away from his woman.
"You see, Mr. Valente, times are changing," Mr. Laurent said, leaning forward and tapping his fingers on the desk, trying to look like the one in control. "Valente Corp might be a giant, but even giants can trip over a well-placed stone.
The security rumors out there? They’re spreading fast. Stocks are volatile. If this fake news keeps trending, that government contract you want so badly might just slide right into my hands."
Dominic didn’t even blink. He stood perfectly still, his hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets. He didn’t argue, and he didn’t show a single flicker of irritation.
To him, Mr. Laurent’s desperate corporate attacks were nothing more than a minor annoyance- like a fly buzzing around his ear. His silence was deafening, filling the room with a pressure that made Mr. Laurent’s smile grow a bit stiff.
Seeing that Dominic wasn’t budging an inch, Mr. Laurent cleared his throat, adjusting his tie as he prepared to drop his real anchor. He assumed Dominic was just playing tough to negotiate.
"But of course, there is always a mutually beneficial way out of these... misunderstandings," Mr. Laurent continued, his cocky smirk returning as he leaned back in his chair. "We don’t have to be enemies, Dominic.
In fact, we should be strengthening our bonds."
Dominic raised a single, frosty eyebrow, signaling him to get to the point.
"After all, my wife and your mother are very close friends, and she has always wanted this for us, right?" Mr. Laurent said, his voice dripping with false warmth. "My daughter, Amelia, has a deep admiration for you. A marriage between our families would merge our power completely."
He paused, looking at Dominic as if he had just offered him the crown of the world.
"If a wedding happens, I am personally assuring you, Mr. Valente, that my company won’t do anything to harm your reputation. We will cancel the press releases, withdraw from the contract bid, and remain entirely peaceful... like a whole family," he finished, crossing his legs with a smirk, fully believing he had just successfully cornered the untouchable CEO.
Finally, a slow mocking smirk broke across Dominic’s face. The suffocating tension in the room suddenly shifted, turning entirely in his favor.
"Oh well... about your company doing anything to mine," Dominic began, his voice dangerously smooth as he took a step closer to the desk. "That won’t be happening. And I will personally make sure of it."
Mr. Laurent’s smirk faltered slightly at the absolute confidence in Dominic’s tone, but before he could speak, Dominic continued.
"And now, about marrying your precious daughter, Amelia..." Dominic paused, tilting his head with a look of mock pity. "How can I possibly marry someone when she clearly loves someone else and having fun with someone else?"
Amelia’s father raised his eyebrows in confusion, his chest tightening. "What do you mean by-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Dominic casually reached into his inner suit pocket and tossed a photograph onto the desk. It slid across the smooth wood and landed right in front of Mr. Laurent.
The older man’s eyes grew wider and wider, practically popping out of his head.
The photograph captured a highly scandalous, intimate moment of Amelia tangled up with another man. Because of the shadows and the angle of the shot, the man’s face was completely obscured, but Amelia’s flushed body desperate face was as clear as day.
Mr. Laurent completely froze, his entire body turning to stone. This shameless girl! Rage and utter disbelief boiled inside him. While he had been busy setting up corporate traps to force Dominic into a marriage alliance last night, his own daughter was out destroying her reputation behind his back!
Dominic looked down at the trembling man and added, his frosty eyes gleaming with pure malice. "I truly wonder... what will happen to Laurent Enterprises’ stock and reputation when the public finds out the sole heiress is doing this behind the back of the man she publicly claims to love?"
Dominic leaned forward, resting both hands on the desk, cornering the older man with his massive, imposing shadow. He let out a low, dark chuckle that echoed chillingly in the quiet office.
"Oh no... doesn’t that mean I am the victim here? Doesn’t that mean I got cheated on?" Dominic whispered, his face just inches away from Mr. Laurent’s. "How exactly is your company going to pay me back for this humiliation, Mr. Laurent?"
All the color completely drained from Amelia’s father’s face. The tables hadn’t just turned- Dominic had completely smashed them to pieces.
Suddenly, the heavy doors of the office burst open. Dominic’s head assistant hurriedly walked in, ignoring all corporate protocol. His face was pale as he rushed straight to Dominic’s side, leaning in to whisper a frantic message directly into his ear.
As the words left the assistant’s mouth, the remaining warmth in Dominic’s eyes instantly turned to ice. His jaw clenched hard. Vivien was gone. Someone had breached his estate and let her out.
Without wasting another second or giving a single thought to the trembling man in front of him, Dominic stood up. He adjusted the cuffs of his suit. Before walking out, he paused at the door, turning his head slightly to glance back at Mr. Laurent.
"Let me know your answers soon," Dominic said, his voice low. "Before everything goes completely out of your control."
With that final warning, he swept out of the room, his assistant scrambling to keep up.
The moment the doors slammed shut, all of Mr. Laurent’s remaining composure shattered. He stood up furiously, slamming his fists onto his desk so hard the photograph rattled.
"WHERE IS THAT SHAMELESS GIRL?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his face turning a shade of purple as he reached for his phone to call Amelia.
Outside the corporate building, Dominic was already stepping into the back of his sleek black car, his driver immediately tearing away from the reporters. Dominic’s face was dark, filled with a rare worry. He didn’t care about Laurent Enterprises anymore, his mind was entirely fixed on the girl he had left behind. If that person tried to do anything to her.....his knuckles turned white.
Meanwhile, across the city.
Vivien finally, by some miracle, managed to hail a passing taxi. Clutching her sore body, she practically stumbled through the front door of her own familiar apartment.
The second she was inside, she threw the deadbolts, slid the chain lock into place, and collapsed onto her small couch, letting out a long ragged breath.
As her aching muscles finally began to relax against the cushions, she stared up at the ceiling, her mind racing. She needed a plan. She needed to pack a bag, change her number, and leave the city before the sun went down. But this wasn’t easy since SHES BROKE ASF!
Then, suddenly, a realization came to her mind. She remembered reading the ending of the book but she thought it was just a mare plot written by the aurthor to finish the book.
But since Dante is here...it means...Her eyes snapped wide open, and she sat up straight.
She scrambled off the couch, ignoring the painful protest of her legs, and ran frantically toward her study desk. She tore through her drawers, tossed aside old notebooks, and searched every single corner of her bookshelves.
It was gone. The book was nowhere to be found.
"Don’t tell me he also stole that book!!" she gasped out loud, pulling at her hair in absolute disbelief. "No wonder! No wonder he remembered everything! No wonder he called me Viella!"
She dropped her hands to her sides, profound defeat washing over her. "Shit... what a great fool I am! Tsk!"
A sudden, chill swept through her. If he had access to her apartment to steal her hairbands, her lip gloss, and the literal book of their lives, what else had he done? Vivien stood frozen in the middle of her living room, warily looking around the quiet space. Every shadow suddenly felt compromised.
What else had gone completely unnoticed by her right under her own roof?
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TO BE CONTINUED
