Chapter 284

Dominic Blackwood's office door swung open as Sebastian Whitmore entered.

The CEO of Blackwood Enterprises sat slumped in his leather chair, silk tie loosened at the throat. Sebastian blinked in surprise. Dominic looked utterly defeated, like a man who'd lost everything.

"Overworked again," Sebastian muttered under his breath.

After handling the Western Europe crisis, Dominic had flown straight back to A City without rest. Back-to-back board meetings followed, each demanding critical decisions. Three sleepless nights would exhaust anyone, even a notorious workaholic like Dominic. But this wasn't mere fatigue - Sebastian had never seen his boss look so broken.

"Mr. Blackwood..." Sebastian flipped open his tablet, ready to deliver the morning reports.

He froze mid-sentence. Dominic's eyes remained closed, his breathing shallow. The assistant studied his employer's face with quiet reverence.

Dominic Blackwood was the epitome of corporate power - razor-sharp intellect paired with ruthless leadership skills. At twenty-one, he'd inherited Blackwood Enterprises when it was drowning in debt. Within five years, Sebastian watched him transform it into a global empire with profits multiplying five hundredfold.

But that meteoric rise came at a cost. The bright-eyed young heir hardened into an ice-cold tycoon. Evelyn Sinclair had briefly thawed that icy exterior... until last night's disaster.

Sebastian's jaw tightened. How could Evelyn end up in Maxwell Lockwood's bed when Dominic adored her? Yes, she'd been drugged and framed, but her naivety still grated. A man like Dominic needed an equal - someone sharp enough to stand beside him at the summit. Evelyn simply wasn't that woman.

"Mr. Whitmore." Dominic's voice sliced through the silence like a blade.

Sebastian straightened instantly. "Yes, sir."

Dominic's eyes snapped open. "Email HR. Theresa Whitmore from Workplace Safety is fired immediately for negligence at the new Harmony Plaza construction site."

Sebastian typed without hesitation. "Understood."

"Tell R&D I want a full dossier on Teskell Energy's new power source within seven days. Prepare acquisition papers."

Sebastian nodded. Dominic only pursued two types of companies - highly profitable ones, or those whose CEOs had crossed him. The first ended in buyouts. The second in corporate annihilation.

"Cancel all appointments this week. Reschedule JK Corp. Contact Preston Worthington Sr. - I need to see him." Dominic's gaze turned glacial.

Sebastian nearly dropped his tablet. The air thickened with menace.

Dominic remembered Evelyn's terrified expression. He fixed Sebastian with a piercing stare. "Do I frighten you, Mr. Whitmore?"

He had to save Olivia Kensington today. Otherwise, Evelyn would never forgive him.

Last night's events haunted him. Evelyn had been the victim, yet he'd punished her. For all his business acumen, Dominic was powerless when it came to Evelyn Sinclair.

"Not at all, sir." Sebastian's collar felt suddenly tight. "I'll contact Mr. Worthington immediately."

At thirty-nine, Sebastian had nerves of steel. But Dominic's murderous expression moments ago had shaken him. That gaze could eviscerate a man - slowly and painfully.

Meanwhile, at St. Mary's Hospital...

Maxwell Lockwood lay motionless in the ICU. Bloodied bandages swathed his head. Bruises distorted his handsome features. Swollen eyelids sealed shut. Even his parents barely recognized him.

Internal injuries were worse - four broken ribs, a palm impaled by crystal shards. Doctors spent forty minutes extracting glass fragments with tweezers.

An IV drip fed into Maxwell's arm as he lay deathly still.

Frederick and Lorraine Lockwood kept vigil, aging visibly with each passing hour.

Lorraine dabbed her eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief. "What monster did this to my boy?" she sobbed.

Frederick's hands clenched. Maxwell had been trouble since toddlerhood - scandals, lawsuits, prison stints. He'd burned countless bridges protecting his heir. Seeing his son now, part of him wished he'd never been born.

"Stop your hysterics! This is your doing!" Frederick snapped. "I warned you about spoiling him! Fresh out of prison and already in another mess! Those worthless friends of his—"

Lorraine wailed louder.

Frederick longed to hurl something through the window. Too late for discipline now. The damage was done.