The Daughter Of His Enemy
The room fell silent the moment he walked in.
Not quiet.
Silent.
The kind of silence that presses down on your chest and reminds you that someone powerful has just entered the room.
Eleanor Hayes kept her eyes fixed on the financial report in front of her, pretending to focus on the numbers even though the words were beginning to blur.
Around the long conference table, executives quickly straightened their backs and adjusted their ties.
Everyone in Whitmore Holdings feared one man.
Andrew Whitmore.
Billionaire. CEO. The youngest man to ever take control of the company—and the most ruthless.
Eleanor swallowed slowly.
Please don’t notice me.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
Closer.
Closer.
Then they stopped.
Right beside her chair.
A cold voice broke the silence.
“Look at me.”
Her heart skipped.
Slowly, Eleanor lifted her head.
Andrew Whitmore stood beside her, tall and imposing, his dark eyes fixed on her face.
For a brief moment, something flickered in his gaze.
Recognition.
Then his expression hardened.
“Well,” he said quietly.
“So the daughter of a criminal works in my company now.”
The words fell into the room like a bomb.
Shock rippled across the conference table.
Eleanor felt the blood drain from her face.
“I—sir, I think there’s a misunderstanding—”
“Don’t.”
His voice cut through her words like a blade.
Andrew pulled a thin file from the table and tossed it in front of her.
Papers scattered across the floor.
Her employment records.
Her background.
Her secret.
“Eleanor Hayes,” he said slowly.
“The daughter of the man who destroyed my father’s company.”
The room felt suffocating.
Every pair of eyes was now staring at her.
“My father didn’t destroy anyone,” Eleanor whispered.
Andrew leaned slightly closer, his voice low and icy.
“Your father ruined my family.”
Silence swallowed the room again.
Eleanor clenched her hands under the table.
She had heard this accusation her entire life.
It had destroyed her family.
Destroyed her future.
And now it was destroying her again.
Andrew straightened and glanced around the table.
“Meeting dismissed.”
Chairs scraped loudly as the executives rushed to gather their things.
Within seconds, they were filing out of the room, whispering quietly among themselves.
Soon the conference room was empty.
Except for Eleanor.
And the man who hated her.
Andrew walked slowly around the table until he stood directly in front of her again.
“You’re not fired,” he said calmly.
Eleanor blinked in surprise.
Hope flickered briefly in her chest.
Then he added—
“Not yet.”
Her stomach twisted.
“In fact,” Andrew continued, “I have a better idea.”
“What idea?” she asked cautiously.
His lips curved slightly.
Cold.
Cruel.
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll work directly for me.”
Her eyes widened.
“As my personal financial assistant.”
Andrew’s gaze locked onto hers.
“Let’s see how long the daughter of my enemy survives under my control.”
Eleanor said nothing.
She simply gathered her papers and walked toward the door.
But the moment she stepped into the hallway, she heard the whispers begin.
“Is that her?”
“The CEO said her father destroyed the company.”
“I heard her family lost everything after the scandal.”
“So why would she work here?”
Another voice laughed softly.
“No wonder Mr. Whitmore hates her.”
Eleanor kept walking.
Her head high.
Her heart heavy.
By the time she reached the elevator, her hands were shaking.
She pressed the button and waited.
The doors slid open.
Just as she stepped inside, a deep voice echoed behind her.
“Miss Hayes.”
Her heart sank.
She turned slowly.
Andrew Whitmore stood at the end of the hallway, watching her.
His expression was unreadable.
“Tomorrow morning,” he said.
“You start in my office.”
Eleanor nodded stiffly.
“And Eleanor…”
She looked up again.
His gaze hardened.
“Don’t be late.”
The elevator doors finally closed.
Eleanor exhaled slowly.
For a moment, she stared at her reflection in the metal walls.
The daughter of a criminal.
The enemy of a billionaire.
Her fingers slowly curled into fists.
Then she whispered something no one in Whitmore Holdings would ever imagine.
“I didn’t come here to work.”
Her eyes darkened.
“I came here to find the man who framed my father.”
And she had a feeling that man was hiding somewhere inside this company.
Even if it meant working for the man who hated her most…
She would uncover the truth.
No matter what it cost her.
