One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 29: Chapter 29
You are reading One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---, Chapter 29: Chapter 29. Read more chapters of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---.
The estate changed overnight.
Guards doubled.
Perimeters extended.
Cameras in every hallway. Motion sensors beneath every garden. A biometric upgrade to every door.
And yet, the air inside felt colder than any security system could fix.
Arielle watched Damien through the cracked doorway of his private study. He was hunched over his desk, speaking in low tones to a cybersecurity expert. His tone was clipped. Paranoia had sharpened the edges of his words like glass.
She stepped in, wrapping a robe tighter around her waist.
“Did something new happen?”
He looked up, eyes rimmed red from sleepless nights.
“Another breach. Someone got hold of blueprints to our emergency relocation plans.”
Her stomach tightened. “How?”
“I don’t know. But it was someone with access. Someone inside.”
Arielle didn’t press.
She knew that look. The storm in his eyes wasn’t just fear—it was betrayal.
Again.
By mid-morning, a list was on his desk. People who had access to Kingston Holdings’ top-level communications. Personal staff. Old friends. Even board members.
“Someone wants me out,” he said to Arielle while pacing. “Not just from the company—from everything.”
“Who do you trust?” she asked.
He stopped. Looked her dead in the eye.
“You.”
And in that moment, she felt both honored—and terrified.
The children began to notice the change.
Noah asked why his window had bars now. Lily asked why the guards wore guns. Hazel stopped asking to go outside.
They were safe.
But it didn’t feel like living.
Arielle tried to hold it together. For them. For Damien. For the baby. But the walls were pressing in—and her husband’s increasing silence only made them close tighter.
One night, as they lay in bed, she reached for his hand.
“Talk to me. Please.”
He stared at the ceiling.
“I don’t know who to suspect. Everyone has a motive. Everyone smiles too much. Says the right things. But it’s wrong underneath.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Then we start with who shouldn’t have access. We narrow it down.”
He turned to face her. “If it’s someone close—if it’s someone I’ve known for years—I don’t know what I’ll do.”
The following morning, Damien called an emergency board meeting.
He looked every one of them in the eye.
“Anyone caught leaking internal documents or orchestrating sabotage will face federal charges,” he said coldly. “You’re not just targeting a business—you’re endangering my family.”
Some shuffled. Some stared.
One smiled too easily.
After the meeting, Damien whispered to his assistant.
“Keep eyes on Thomas Greaves. Tap everything.”
That night, Arielle sat on the nursery floor, rocking Hazel while reading a story. Her own heart raced faster than her voice.
She looked up and saw Damien watching from the doorway. Eyes soft. Shoulders heavy.
“I miss before,” he said quietly.
“Before what?”
“Before I knew how many people would rather see me fall than see me happy.”
She stood. Walked to him.
“They’ll try,” she said. “But they won’t win. Not if we stay united.”
He touched her cheek, gaze falling to her belly.
“For them,” he murmured.
“For all of them,” she replied.
But as he
held her, a thought nagged like a splinter:
What if the person closest to him was already inside the circle?
Guards doubled.
Perimeters extended.
Cameras in every hallway. Motion sensors beneath every garden. A biometric upgrade to every door.
And yet, the air inside felt colder than any security system could fix.
Arielle watched Damien through the cracked doorway of his private study. He was hunched over his desk, speaking in low tones to a cybersecurity expert. His tone was clipped. Paranoia had sharpened the edges of his words like glass.
She stepped in, wrapping a robe tighter around her waist.
“Did something new happen?”
He looked up, eyes rimmed red from sleepless nights.
“Another breach. Someone got hold of blueprints to our emergency relocation plans.”
Her stomach tightened. “How?”
“I don’t know. But it was someone with access. Someone inside.”
Arielle didn’t press.
She knew that look. The storm in his eyes wasn’t just fear—it was betrayal.
Again.
By mid-morning, a list was on his desk. People who had access to Kingston Holdings’ top-level communications. Personal staff. Old friends. Even board members.
“Someone wants me out,” he said to Arielle while pacing. “Not just from the company—from everything.”
“Who do you trust?” she asked.
He stopped. Looked her dead in the eye.
“You.”
And in that moment, she felt both honored—and terrified.
The children began to notice the change.
Noah asked why his window had bars now. Lily asked why the guards wore guns. Hazel stopped asking to go outside.
They were safe.
But it didn’t feel like living.
Arielle tried to hold it together. For them. For Damien. For the baby. But the walls were pressing in—and her husband’s increasing silence only made them close tighter.
One night, as they lay in bed, she reached for his hand.
“Talk to me. Please.”
He stared at the ceiling.
“I don’t know who to suspect. Everyone has a motive. Everyone smiles too much. Says the right things. But it’s wrong underneath.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Then we start with who shouldn’t have access. We narrow it down.”
He turned to face her. “If it’s someone close—if it’s someone I’ve known for years—I don’t know what I’ll do.”
The following morning, Damien called an emergency board meeting.
He looked every one of them in the eye.
“Anyone caught leaking internal documents or orchestrating sabotage will face federal charges,” he said coldly. “You’re not just targeting a business—you’re endangering my family.”
Some shuffled. Some stared.
One smiled too easily.
After the meeting, Damien whispered to his assistant.
“Keep eyes on Thomas Greaves. Tap everything.”
That night, Arielle sat on the nursery floor, rocking Hazel while reading a story. Her own heart raced faster than her voice.
She looked up and saw Damien watching from the doorway. Eyes soft. Shoulders heavy.
“I miss before,” he said quietly.
“Before what?”
“Before I knew how many people would rather see me fall than see me happy.”
She stood. Walked to him.
“They’ll try,” she said. “But they won’t win. Not if we stay united.”
He touched her cheek, gaze falling to her belly.
“For them,” he murmured.
“For all of them,” she replied.
But as he
held her, a thought nagged like a splinter:
What if the person closest to him was already inside the circle?
End of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- Chapter 29. Continue reading Chapter 30 or return to One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- book page.