The CEO'S Forbidden Secret

Chapter 01

~~~SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA~~~

~~~TIAGO MANSION – EVENING~~~

The guards didn't even have time to react before Tessa stormed through the grand double doors, her fury slicing through the silence of the mansion like a blade. Her heels struck the marble floor sharply, her hand clutching a file so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Dad!" she screamed, bursting into his office.

But the moment she saw who sat behind the mahogany desk - the one that once belonged to her mother - her voice faltered.

Monica.

Smiling. Relaxed. Sitting where her mother used to sit.

"What are you doing here, witch?" Tessa spat, her voice shaking. "And what the hell is this nonsense?"

Monica raised her head with a slow, infuriatingly calm smile. "Tessa, darling, I know this is difficult for you-"

"Difficult?" Tessa's voice cracked as she slammed the file onto the desk. "My mother would never leave a will like this! What the hell is the lawyer even saying?"

Monica's smile didn't waver. "Your mother was a wise woman. She entrusted the company to me - to protect you, your sister, and your father. It was her wish, and your father supports it."

Tessa's eyes burned. "You? You shouldn't forget your place, woman. You're just the other woman my father dragged in after my mother died. You're nothing but a parasite leeching off her hard-earned empire!"

"Tessa." Monica stood slowly, still smiling - that kind of smile that hid poison behind it. She reached out, but Tessa swatted her hand away like fire.

"Your mother was a strong woman," Monica said softly, almost mockingly. "But look how she ended."

Tessa's voice trembled. "I don't care about your pathetic lectures. Why you? Why do you have control of my mother's company?"

"Because," Monica said, stepping closer, "your father supported it. He agreed with me. It's what your mother would have wanted."

"Dad would never do that!" Tessa shouted, tears streaking down her cheeks. "He would never hand my mother's legacy to a lying bitch like you!"

"Watch the way you talk to your mother, Tessa."

The deep voice came from the doorway.

Tessa froze. She turned, and there he was - Roman Tiago, her father - the man who used to lift her up on his shoulders as a child, now looking at her like she was a stranger.

"Dad, what the hell is this bitch saying?" she demanded, tears burning behind her fury. "Why don't I have access to Mom's company? It's mine, not hers!"

"You'd better lower your voice when you talk to me, young lady," Tiago said coldly. "And you'll really regret it if I hear you call your mother that word again."

Tessa's voice broke. "She's not my mother! You can't expect me to stand here and watch you destroy everything she built! Did you really give her control over Mom's company?"

Tiago's voice thundered. "It was your mother's wish!"

"Liar!" Tessa shouted back. "My mother would rather die than let a vulture touch what