bChapter /bb174 /b

OLIVIA’S POV

Was I really ready to go back to New York… all because of a car?

I stared at ra, her face unreadable as usual, like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on myp. The moment she said “Rolls Royce ck Heartb,/bb” /bsomething shifted in me. I felt the old itch for power, dominance, prestige–that rare feeling of possessing something only a few in the entire world could

im to have.

But this wasn’t just about a car.

It was about going back… to the city I had promised never to return to.

New York.

That name alone brought back a flood of memories I had locked in the deepest corners of my mind–most of which I never wanted to relive. That city nearly chewed me up and spat me out. If I hadn’t left when I did, I would’ve been six feet under by nowb, /bburied with all the secrets and the pain I carriedb. /b

Right now none of the cars I havepared to the Rolls–Royce ck Heart. Only five of them existed in the entire world. Five.

Then came his name, uninvited in my thoughts–Adrian.

That was the first time I had said his name in years, I had told myself that I was never going to speak his name ever again but today, I did

The man who nearly had me killed.

So much has changed since then. I wasn’t the same woman who fled that city in fear. I now had security, bodyguards trained to eliminate threats before they even reached me. I had status, power, wealth–everything I’d once dreamed of.

But even with all that, the fear still lingered.

What if he found out I was alive?

What if he came for me again?

And worse… What if he found out about Charlie?

My heart clenched at that thought.

Adrian didn’t know I had his child. And I nned to keep it that way for as long as I could. But going back to New York–even briefly–would risk everything. What if the media spotted me? What if someone from his camp caught wind of my arrival?

If he took me to court for Charlie, he had every legal right as the biological father. I could fight it… But I wasn’t sure I’d win. And if he bdidn’t /bgo bthe /blegal route what if he tried to eliminate the one thing connecting us? Just like he tried to eliminate me?

No. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t risk Charlie’s life for a damn car.

But then another thought crept in, one I’d buried long ago.

You told yourself you’d return to New York when you became powerful. That you’d rise to the top ande back not as a victim, but as bthe /bstorm.

Hadn’t I done that?

I had taken ke Enterprise to heights my father only dreamed of. Expanded across nations. Dominated boardrooms filled bwith /bbmen /bbwho /bonce bughed /bat the idea of a woman in charge. I had arrived–and yet, the final piece of my story still waited in that city.

My fingers tightened into ba /bbfist/b.

b1/3 /b

07.47 bwed /bou

I haven’t really thought much about it, but with how far I’vee today, I had to ask myself: Am I mentally ready? Am I financially and emotionally strong enough to challenge Adrian Westwood?

This isn’t just about revenge anymore. This is business–serious business.

Westwood Industries has always been a rival to ke Enterprise. Our fathers had been at odds for decades, and the silent war between bthe /bbtwo /bpanies never truly ended. In fact, it only intensified over time. That’s partly why my father never liked Adrian from the very start. Not just because of what he did to me, but because he was the future of a family that had always stood on the opposite side of the battlefield.

Now that I’m the Chairwoman of ke Enterprise, and building a branch of our empire in New York, I have no choice but to face the facts. Eventuallyb, /bAdrian and I would cross paths–not just as enemies with a personal history, but as two powerful figures fighting for dominance in the same territory.

Outsmarting Adrian wouldn’t just be a personal victory–it would be a corporate one. It would show the world that I was more than just the daughter bof /bba /bbusiness tycoon or a woman scorned. It would show them that I could win. That I could lead. That I was the storm.

Doing that would make my father so proud.

But that’s also the problem. If I told him I nned to return to New York–especially for something as ‘petty‘ as an auction–he wouldn’t let me. Not because he wanted to control me. No. Because he wanted to protect me.

And I couldn’t me him. He watched me fall apart back then, and now that I’ve built myself back bup/b, he wouldn’t want me anywhere near what broke ollime. /li/ol

Julian had already done something simr when he left for New York. He didn’t ask for permission. He simply left. That’s just how he was. Rebellious, bold, always moving to the beat of his own drum.

But me?

I’ve grown too close to my father over the past few years. After everything that happened, he was the one constant in my life. His support was the reason I had survived, the reason I had flourished. Lying to him–or worse, betraying his trust–felt like a heavy sin waiting to bemitted.

If I did something like this, it would break his heart. And knowing him, he might just hop on the next private jet and drag me out of New York himself.

But maybe there’s a way.

For now, we mostly talk over calls. So if I go quietly, and keep my head low, I could probably manage to stay under the radar. Whenever he asks to see me, I’ll just tell him I’m too busy with expansion projects or client meetings. It’s only for three days anyway. Just a short trip.

In and out of New York in under a week.

What could possibly go wrong?

Still, the biggest risk wasn’t just getting caught–it was bringing Charlie. That waspletely out of the question.

New York is dangerous. Not just because of Adrian ior /iIsadora or the ghosts of my past that still haunted its streetsb, /bbut because that city had almost taken everything from me once before, I refuse to let it take anything else–especially not my son.

Charlie had school, a routine, and a level of protection here that I couldn’t guarantee over there. He had a personal driver, full–tir estate was more secure than some military bases. He was safe here.

More importantly, this would be the first time we’d be apart ifor /iso long.

bcurity/b, and bmy /b

He can’t bgo /ba day—sometimes even an hour–without calling for me, hugging me, ior /isneaking into bmy /broom ijust /ibto /bfall basleep /bbiby /i/bbmy /bbside/b. bThe /bbbond /bbwe /bshared wasn’t something I could iput /iinto words. He was imy /ison. My light. My everything.

Leaving him, even for a few days, would tear at my heart.

But bI /bhad to remind myself–it’s just bseven /bdays.

bU7/b:47 bWed/bb, /bb2 /bbJui /b

Seven days to prove to myself that I wasn’t afraid of New York anymore.

Seven days to remind that city who I had be.

Seven days to walk into that auction like the woman I had worked so hard to be–fearless, powerful, respected.

If all went ording to n, I’d return with that rare Rolls–Royce ck Badge–one of only five in the world—and that alone would cement ke

Enterprise’s dominance in more ways than one. It wouldn’t just be about owning a rare car. It would be a message to everyone bin /bthe industryb, /bbespecially /bAdrian Westwood, that Olivia ke was not someone to be underestimated.

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