His Unveiled Passion

Stephen was usually cold and unsmiling, his demeanor strict and commanding.

He had a razor-sharp eye for detail, never failing to find flaws in Samson's reports and pointing out areas for improvement.

But today was different.

After listening to Samson's report, Stephen remained silent.

Samson couldn't help but steal a quick glance at him. To his surprise, Stephen was smiling, his eyes brimming with warmth and affection-he looked utterly lovestruck.

Was this really the same cold, ruthless CEO he knew?

Had he been possessed?

Samson was utterly dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Stephen was completely lost in thought, still reliving every intoxicating moment with Tessa.

Samson's words floated around him, barely registering.

It wasn't until he finally snapped back to reality that Stephen looked up. "Why are you still here?"

Samson almost choked on his own breath. He quickly cleared his throat and asked, "Mr. Jacobson, I've completed the report. Do you have any feedback or corrections?"

"You did well. You can go."

Samson was momentarily speechless.

As he walked out of the CEO's office, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just witnessed something out of the ordinary.

Inside, Stephen remained lost in his thoughts, still basking in the warmth of the morning until his phone rang.noveldrama

And just like that, the sweetness shattered.

"Mr. Jacobson, we've found Susan."

Susan had faked her pregnancy. After being released from the detention center, she was intercepted by Jacqueline's men and smuggled to Castellion.

However, Jacqueline never kept her promise of providing her with a safe place to stay or a stable job.

Instead, she sold her to a telecom fraud syndicate.

There, Susan endured relentless torment, her existence reduced to something worse than that of an animal.

When Stephen's men finally tracked her down, the syndicate's leader-also of Orkfordian descent-knew better than to provoke the powerful Jacobson family. Fearing the consequences, he surrendered Susan without hesitation.

In a dimly lit basement, she sat bound to a wooden chair.

Her hair was a tangled mess, her body marred with bruises-utterly wretched.

The Jacobson family hadn't laid a

finger on her. These injuries were et

the result of the ruthless beatings she had suffered at the hands of the syndicate's overseers.

Footsteps echoed through the room as Stephen stepped inside.

Dressed in all black, his presence was cold and commanding, his striking face cloaked in an air of menace.

He settled onto a couch a few feet away, his gaze sharp and ruthless. "Talk. Who sent you?"

The moment Susan saw him, her composure crumbled.

"S-Steve, d-don't look at me!" Her voice was hoarse from crying, her eyes filled with despair. "I look awful right now..."

Stephen's brows furrowed in irritation.

To him, Susan was nothing more than a criminal. Whether she looked good or not was the last thing he cared about.

Seeing that she had nothing useful to say, his patience wore thin. His voice turned cold, laced with menace. "Did you not understand me?"

Susan shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face. " can't tell you... I... I had no choice. Please, Steve, for the sake of all the

years I've loved you, can't you just let me go?"

Stephen's gaze remained cold, devoid of emotion. "Talk, and I'll let you go."

Susan broke down entirely, her voice

trembling with desperation. "I'm

begging you, Steve... I can't say.. Please, just let me go. I never meant to ruin your engagement party..."

Her tone softened, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "Are you okay? Have

your wounds healed? I'm sorry... I never wanted to hurt you..."

She hadn't wanted to hurt Tessa either.

This was all Jacqueline's doing, but she couldn't say it.

Her father was still in Jacqueline's hands.

After enduring over a month of torment in that nightmarish compound, she hated

Jacqueline. No one wanted her dead more than she did.

Yet, she couldn't betray Jacqueline.

Her father was the only family she had left.

Upon seeing that Stephen remained utterly unmoved, Susan's last sliver of hope

crumbled. "Steve... just kill me. I really can't tell you."