The CEO'S SUBSTITUTE WIFE

THE CEO'S SUBSTITUTE WIFE-Chapter 4: The Diary

The pen was ice.

Kago's ultimatum still rang in the room. "Sign or your sister goes to prison tonight."

5:00. 4:59. 4:58.

His watch ticked like a bomb.

Amahle didn't look at the contract. She looked at him.

Kago Mokoena wasn't yelling. He stood at the window, hands in his pockets, suit perfect. The whole Sandton skyline was his. And right now, he was deciding if Naledi lived or rotted.

"You're bluffing," Amahle said.

Kago's head tilted. Just a fraction. "Try me."

4:12.

Her chest was on fire. Naledi's face kept coming to her. Bruised. Scared. Amahle please.

Amahle's eyes dropped to the desk. Contract. Pen.

And something else.

A small leather book. No lock. Worn. The corner was stained.

It wasn't on the contract photos from the lawyer.

Kago saw her looking.

For the first time since she walked in, he moved.

He crossed the room in 2 steps. His hand crashed down, covering the book before she could touch it.

"Don't," he said.

One word. But his voice wasn't flat anymore.

It was shaking.

Amahle froze. The billionaire CEO was shaking.

"What is it?" she whispered.

Kago didn't answer. His knuckles were white over the leather.

3:01.

"2 minutes," he said, but he didn't let go of the book. "Sign the paper, Miss Dlamini. Now."

Amahle grabbed his wrist.

Kago went still. Nobody touched him.

"Let me see it," she said. "Or I walk. Let them take Naledi. I won't be your puppet."

Kago's eyes snapped to hers.

Black. Empty. Then-fire.

He ripped his hand back. The book slid across the desk.

"Fine," he spay. "Read it. Then tell me if you still wa the to save her."

Amahle opened it.

The first line made her blood run cold.

Kago, if you're reading this, I'm dead. And it was your CFO. My brother, Themba.

Her hands started to shake.

Page after page. Bank transfers. Dates. Photos. Naledi, smiling, handing a folder to a man Amahle recognized.

Themba Mokoena. Kago's right hand. His brother-in-law.

The last page wasn't written. It was a hospital bracelet.

Patient: Naledi Dlamini. Admission: 3 years ago. Status: Pregnant.

Amahle's head snapped up.

"Naledi was pregnant?"

Kago was at the window again. His back to her. Shoulders rigid.

"She lost the baby," he said. Voice like glass. "The night Themba had her arrested. Said it was stress from the fraud. She never told you."

The room tilted.

Naledi. Pregnant. Framed. Lost her child. All alone.

3 years.

4:00 had become 0:08.

Amahle slammed the diary shut. She grabbed the pen.

She didn't sign because of the threat.

She signed because Kago's wife was murdered. Because Naledi was broken. Because Themba was still CFO, still smiling in the board meetings.

She scrawled: Amahle Dlamini.

She shoved the contract across the desk.

"One year," she said. Her voice didn't shake. "I marry you. I live in your penthouse. I get access to every file, every server, every room on Mokoena Holdings."

Kago turned.

"After 365 days, we burn Themba to the ground. Together."

Silence.

0:00. The watch beeped.

Kago picked up the contract. He read her name.

Then he smiled.

Relieved.

"Welcome to the war, Mrs. Mokoena," he said.

He pressed a button on his desk.

The office door opened.

Two security guards dragged a man in

Themba.

He was still wearing his Mokoena Holdings tie.

He looked at Amahle. Then at the diary In her hands.

His face went white.

Kago's smile vanished.

"Sit down, brother," Kago said softly. "We need to talk about my wife."

Amahle's heart pounded.

The marriage started 10 seconds ago.

The war started now.