From Desk to Altar: The CEO's Irresistible Bargain

"I want to kill you,"

Charlotte said those mean words without batting an eye.

Chloe was ready to explode.

She's scrambling around on the bed, looking for something to hit Charlotte with.

But then she grabs her side in pain, probably hit a bruise or something, and quiets down real quick.

That's when Charlotte sees the mess of welts and bruises under Chloe's shirt.

"Did Liam have someone do this to you?" she asked.

Chloe gave her a death stare. "You know the answer, so why bother asking?"

"I never figured Liam would do something like this to you."

But Charlotte's still holding onto a ton of hate, "You paid someone to off me, and he didn't even think of getting rid of you."

She'll never forgive Liam for that.

Ever.

Chloe's even more upset, "Cut the act, Charlotte! You know who Liam really loves! It's not me! He doesn't even treat me like his wife! I had his kid and he still looks at me like I'm trash!" "Three people are dead because of you!" Charlotte lost it. "And all you're hung up on is some stupid romance!"

"What? Please, if Annie hadn't been snooping around my stuff, would I have touched her?"

"If you hadn't been in my way all the time, would I have gone after Maria?"

"This is on you, Charlotte. You couldn't take care of your own sister, protect your mom, or keep your greed in check! It's all your fault!"

"If it wasn't for you, even if Liam didn't love me, he'd at least respect me. We could've been okay, but you showed up and wrecked everything!"

Charlotte had enough, "You wrecked your own life. Nobody's gonna love a nasty piece of work like you, Chloe. Even without me, Liam was never gonna love you."

"No way!"

"It's just that you refuse to accept it." Charlotte was tired of arguing. "I'm sick of all this, and I don't want to stay here any longer."

"So..."

She looked at Chloe, "It's time to end things between us."

"What are you planning?" Chloe snapped, all defensive.

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh at her reaction, "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

During the years she had spent with Vincent, Charlotte had come to understand the true power of a top-tier family.

He had told her they could have gotten rid of Chloe easily, without any fuss.

They didn't do it before because the Beaumont family had clout and Vincent hadn't taken full control yet.

But Liam?

He rose to fame early and gained power quickly. The Jin family was nothing but a small boat in the vast ocean compared to the Parker family's power machine.

Even in their heyday, Liam could've taken Chloe to task.

Now that the Beaumont family's out of the picture and Chloe's got no one behind her, it's even easier.

But he still kept her around, using the dumb excuse that 'the kid needs a mom.'

He just didn't care, that's all.

He didn't give a hoot about the pain Charlotte was in from losing her mom and sister.

He didn't even care if Charlotte herself was dead.

Bottom line, he wasn't in love.

"I'm gonna make Liam be the one to do you in," Charlotte said, all chill.

"I wanna knock him off his pedestal and make him face the music."

All this time, four years to be exact, Charlotte had this nagging thought, If she hadn't tangled with Liam, maybe the beef with Chloe would've been simple. Chloe might not have had such a vendetta, making life tough at every turn. Without Liam in the picture, things would've been less complicated.

Right in the middle of her thoughts, a thud came from outside. Sounded like something busted on the ground.

Then there was this kid's cry, slicing through the quiet.

Chloe bolted up and made a beeline for the door.

"Benjamin! My boy!"

Charlotte, on the other hand, took a moment to realize that Ethan was bawling too.

Ethan's the kind of kid who doesn't show his cards and keeps it all under wraps. Even if he's on the verge of tears, he'd usually keep it to a sniffle, not this full-on meltdown.

Charlotte hustled outside and spotted Ethan plopped in a muddy puddle, with that Benjamin brat flinging globs of mud at him.

And there's Dylan, just grabbing at Benjamin's arm trying to stop the mudslinging, instead of scooping Ethan out of that chilly puddle.

"Ethan!" she shouted, her voice slicing through the wet mess.

Water.

The crying.

Suddenly, bad memories flood Charlotte's mind, and she bolts over to Ethan and pulls him into a fierce hug.

"Don't cry, sweetie, mommy's right here. Everything's gonna be alright, no worries."

"Mommy..." Ethan's a mess, bawling, "He hit me!"

"It's ok, I will solve the problem."

After a bit of mom magic, Ethan calms down but sticks to Charlotte like glue, his head buried in her.

"Mrs. Blackwood, this is a mix-up..."

Charlotte's hand flies, and Dylan's cheek catches a five-star review.

Dylan's shocked, "It's just kids goofing off, Mrs. Blackwood. You're kinda overdoing it, don't you think?"

"My kid's getting bullied by your Parker kid, and you're just standing there. Not cool."

Charlotte's eyes are throwing daggers at Dylan's mad mug, "How dare you let anyone mess with my kid?!"

"Just kids playing around!" Dylan's hugging Benjamin like a shield, not letting go even with Chloe reaching in, "You may not like Benjamin, Mrs. Blackwood, but there's no need to blow it out of proportion!" "Who's blowing what now?"

Charlotte's got a smirk, "I'm aiming at you guys."

"What?" Dylan smells trouble, "It's just kids scrapping. How big do you wanna make this?"

Charlotte just dials Vincent, ignoring him.

Post-call, it clicks for Dylan - Charlotte's playing for keeps, and his face gets all sorts of dark, "I'm sorry for the kids, Mrs. Blackwood. If you want payback, let Ethan dunk Benjamin too! Fair and square, yeah?" "Not good enough."

Charlotte stands like she's made of steel, "Bad parenting has a price tag, my friend."

"Mrs. Blackwood!"

Dylan's begging, even ready to boot Chloe from the Parkers, but Charlotte's not budging.

The Blackwood cavalry arrives quickly.

And guess who's tagging along?

Liam.