The CEO's Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 4 The Montrose family crisis

After leaving the hotel, Lila got into a taxi, preparing to head home.

It was early morning, and the golden sunlight was already spreading across the earth. However, for Lila, it marked the beginning of a painful day.

What awaited her was a life engulfed in darkness.

Instinctively, Lila reached for the necklace on her collarbone—a gift from Adrian. She had worn this necklace for three whole years. It wasn’t expensive, but it was her most treasured possession.

Where was the necklace? Where had it gone?

A chill swept through her chest, and Lila felt as if she had fallen into an abyss. She had lost her necklace. Just last night, she and Adrian had ended everything once and for all. Two years of companionship and one year of a long-distance relationship—all over.

At JS International.

In the CEO’s office, Sebastian Knight was staring at a file. However, the documents in his hands were not related to company business—they were Lila’s entire life history.

For ten minutes, Sebastian quietly read through all of Lila’s records, from her childhood to the present, including every honor she had ever received. Lila had won numerous awards for her piano performances. The“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”Piano Competition, held once every five years, was the most prestigious and renowned international piano competition, attracting countless participants each year. Lila had emerged as the champion of the previous competition. Given how many people she had outshone, it was evident just how skillful a pianist she was.

If it hadn’t been for the specific piece she played, Sebastian might never have found her. But after reading her file, Sebastian confirmed that his suspicions were correct—Lila was indeed the person he had been looking for.

Four years! He had been searching for her for four entire years!

A cold, emotionless smile formed on Sebastian’s lips as he casually placed the file into the left drawer of his desk.

The game had begun, and everyone’s fate would be rewritten.

At Mingcheng Garden.

Lila hurried back home. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw several police officers detaining her father.

Serena Whitmore was standing nearby, hysterically pulling at two of the officers, trying to prevent them from taking her husband away. Lila also began to cry. Even if she had been completely clueless, she could guess what had happened—something had gone wrong at the company.

“Lila, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault for not seeing the truth, for keeping a disaster by my side. You have to be careful with Adrian.”Damien Montrose hadn’t finished speaking before the police forcibly took him away.

Lila hurried after them, but the police had already taken Damien into the elevator. She couldn’t catch up. Her mind was in turmoil, her face streaked with tears as she frantically ran down the nearby emergency stairs.

But by the time she reached the ground floor, the police car had already driven off with her father.

Lila collapsed on the ground, too distraught to care about the pointing and whispering of the bystanders. She cried uncontrollably, without restraint.

Why had her father been taken away by the police? Suddenly, Lila remembered that her mother was still at home, so she quickly ran back upstairs.

In the spacious living room, Serena sat motionless, as if she had lost her soul. She didn’t say a word, sitting there like a wooden puppet.

“Mom, what happened? Why did the police take Dad?”Lila crouched down, her face filled with unease as she shook Serena's body.

“The company is facing a debt crisis. Accountant Liu falsified the accounts, creating a six-million-yuan shortfall. Now the prosecutor’s office is investigating. But all those documents bear your father’s signature,”Serena said, her hands trembling with fury, unable to continue. Her whole body shivered.

Just a moment ago, Lila had been thinking about how to tell her parents about what she had discovered at Adrian’s apartment the night before. She had walked in on Adrian and Elias, catching them in a moment that shattered everything she thought she knew. Now, she realized these two scoundrels had already made their move against the company, clearly a premeditated scheme.

“They’re despicable!”Lila’s voice cracked with anger, her fists clenching so tightly her nails dug into her palms. But as quickly as her anger surged, it dissolved into a flood of tears. She sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, her chest heaving with each breath.

Serena was alarmed, looking at her daughter in confusion.“Sweetheart, what’s happened? Why are you crying like this?”

It took Lila several moments to find her voice, and when she did, it came out in broken, halting sobs.“Last night... I went to Adrian’s apartment... I found him and Elias... they were together... in that way.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and cold. Serena’s eyes widened, her face paling even more as she realized the full extent of the betrayal her daughter had faced. Lila had lost her father, her love, and her trust all in one day.

And with that realization, Serena reached out, pulling Lila into her arms. Together, they cried, holding each other tightly, as the weight of everything crashed down around them.

As they clung to each other, the room seemed to grow colder, the reality of their situation settling like a heavy fog. Lila’s mind raced back to every moment with Adrian, every lie he had told, every false promise. She thought about her father’s warnings, her mother’s tears, and the betrayal that seemed to seep into every corner of her life.

“Mom, we need to fight back,”Lila finally whispered, her voice trembling but determined.“We can’t let them get away with this.”

Serena nodded, wiping her tears away, a newfound resolve in her eyes.“You’re right, Lila. We can’t let them destroy us. We have to find a way to prove your father’s innocence and expose what Adrian and Elias have done.”

Lila’s mind was already spinning with possibilities. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she also knew she couldn’t let her father suffer for something he didn’t do. She couldn’t let Adrian and Elias win.

As they sat together in the cold, empty living room, Lila and Serena began to plan their next move. They knew it would be a long, hard road ahead, but they were ready to face it together, armed with the truth and a fierce determination to right the wrongs that had been done to them.