Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Sweet Manipulation

Caleb’s POV

I arrived at Thorne Group headquarters before dawn, the weight of the family’s betrayal heavy on my shoulders. The financial audit results lay spread across my mahogany desk like evidence of a cancer that had been eating away at our empire. Roman Rossi’s name appeared repeatedly in the forged transaction records, his treachery now undeniable. The old bastard had been bleeding our South American weapons shipments dry for months.

I powered down my encrypted laptop and locked it in the reinforced vault behind my father’s portrait, along with every document that could expose our money laundering operations. Trust had become a luxury I couldn’t afford in this family. I reset the vault’s combination once again, ensuring that only I could access the evidence that would soon destroy Roman’s branch of our syndicate completely.

The morning dragged as I handled routine family business. When Xavier knocked, suggesting we grab lunch at our usual spot, I felt that familiar ache in my chest. Before leaving my office, I pulled out my phone and typed a message to the woman who had become my obsession, my weakness, my everything.

"I fell asleep tasting your kiss, dreamed of you all night, and now my heart burns with longing. I love you, Ivy. Please forgive me."

I hit send and pocketed the phone, following my consigliere toward the elevator. The familiar weight of her rejection sat heavy on my shoulders, but surrender wasn’t in my nature. As we passed through the lobby security checkpoint, strong arms suddenly wrapped around me from behind.

My body recoiled violently. This wasn’t Ivy’s touch. I yanked those unwelcome hands away and spun around, fury blazing through my veins like molten steel.

"What the hell do you want now?" I snarled at Yara, my patience completely shattered.

"Don’t be cruel to me, Caleb. I’ve been trying to see you for days, but your soldiers keep blocking me. Fix this immediately." Her voice carried that entitled whine that made my trigger finger itch.

Xavier tried to escape the incoming drama, but I grabbed his arm and forced him to stay. I needed a witness for whatever insanity was about to unfold.

"You’re banned from this building," I stated coldly, my voice carrying the authority of a man who had ordered executions before breakfast. "The charity gala was different because your father could bring family, but that was the last time you’ll ever set foot in here."

"You cannot treat me this way, Caleb!" Yara’s voice rose to a shriek that echoed through the marble lobby. "You used me and now you’re discarding me like some common whore. I won’t stand for this humiliation!"

She began sobbing theatrically, her performance worthy of a soap opera. My jaw clenched as I grabbed her elbow and dragged her to a corner, away from the growing crowd of my soldiers and legitimate employees.

"Stop this pathetic display right now," I hissed, my voice deadly quiet in the way that had made grown men piss themselves. "If anything happened between us, you orchestrated it while I was blackout drunk after my parents’ funeral. If anyone was violated that night, it was me."

"I love you desperately, Caleb! I would take a bullet for you!" Her mascara ran in dark streams down her surgically enhanced cheeks. "You have to see that we’re perfect together. Our families were meant to unite!"

"I hate you," I said, each word deliberate and cutting as a blade between the ribs. "I’ve always despised you, and there will never be anything between us. Get that through your delusional skull."

"Your parents wanted us together," she whispered, playing her final, desperate card. "It was their greatest dream to see our families united through marriage."

The mention of my murdered parents ignited a rage so fierce I saw red. How dare this spoiled brat use their memory to manipulate me? My finger shot out, pointing directly at her tear-stained face.

"Never mention my parents again! You’re not worthy to speak their names!" My voice shook with barely controlled fury. "Get out of my sight, get out of my life, and forget I exist. Xavier, we’re leaving."

I turned my back on her wailing form and strode toward the exit, Xavier hurrying to keep pace with my long strides.

"That woman is completely unhinged," Xavier muttered, and I couldn’t disagree.

During lunch at our secure restaurant, we discussed the audit findings over grilled salmon and wine. The evidence against Roman was mounting like a body count, and soon I’d have enough to bury him and his entire treacherous bloodline.

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