From Desk to Altar: The CEO's Irresistible Bargain

"The kid Chloe had isn't yours, it's Dylan's."

From the moment Charlotte laid eyes on Dylan, she knew what he was up to.

She had wanted to wait until Liam showed some love for the child before dropping the truth bomb on him. Fresh from returning to the country, she was full of spite towards Liam and planned to hit him where it hurt most with the sharpest weapon she had.

But it turned out Liam didn't even seem to care about the kid, not even when he was kidnapped.

She thought Liam must've figured out the truth already because it wasn't the kind of thing that could be easily hidden from him.

But Liam's expression just now told her he was clueless about the whole thing.

"That kid, Benjamin, he's probably been taken by Dylan too."

After blurting out that info, Charlotte took a few deep breaths, her hands trembling as she called Vincent.

As expected, she saw Dylan outside the warehouse, smirking as he lifted his phone.

"I'll think of something, you try to calm him down!" Charlotte said, about to get out of the car.

Liam grabbed her wrist, "Don't go over there, you're just walking into his trap."

"But Ethan's over there! He's hurting! He's crying!"

Charlotte was in agony, "If I don't go, Dylan will keep hurting him."

"But if you go, then I can't do anything." Liam's voice was heavy with pain, "I care about Ethan too, I can't stand to see him hurt, but Charlotte, you have to understand, Dylan can't threaten me with just Ethan, but if you go over there..." He struggled, "With you there, I'll do whatever Dylan says. We won't have any chance to fight back."

Charlotte got it, of course, but she didn't expect Liam to be so indifferent to Ethan.

"What did you say?"

"He's important," Liam said, obviously reading her thoughts, "but Charlotte, you're always my top priority."

"...I can't stand to see Ethan suffer."

Charlotte pulled away and reached for the car door, "Don't come after me, I'm not that fragile, you know that. I've faced countless challenges alone before."

Before getting out, she gave Liam a stern warning, "Stay sharp, don't let Dylan manipulate you. That's the only way to save us both."

Liam was speechless.

Even though he knew that not being restrained was the best chance to save both Charlotte and Ethan, the thought of his loved ones being held hostage was unbearable. Charlotte said she wasn't fragile.

And he needed to show Charlotte that he wasn't as powerless as she thought.

He had let Charlotte down countless times before, but not this time.

In the short time Charlotte ran towards the warehouse, Liam quickly made a plan.

It might not be perfect, but it was fast.

Once everything was set, he followed Charlotte out of the car. As Charlotte reached the warehouse and picked up Ethan, Liam stepped in front of Dylan with a commanding presence. "Stop giving me that look, my dear little brother," Dylan said, his face cast in shadow as he blocked the sun, "I'm tired of your arrogance after all these years."

"You hurt Ethan," Liam noticed Ethan's scraped palm and without warning, kicked Dylan!

Everyone knew Liam's health had been poor since the accident. He'd been hurting himself for years, and his wounds were slow to heal, making him physically weak. Dylan was caught off guard by the sudden attack and fell to the ground.

"Take Ethan and go," Liam told Charlotte without waiting for her to ask anything.

"Go?" Dylan chuckled from the ground, "Don't leave, Charlotte. If you go, the kid will be left without a father."

Charlotte shot Liam a quick glance. It was clear Dylan's behavior today was intended for Liam, and they both knew it.

But how would Dylan keep Liam here...

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While Charlotte was pondering, Dylan spoke slowly, "Vincent must be blind, marrying you of all people. I told you I loved you so many times, Charlotte, and you never listened." He got up leisurely, dusting himself off, "It would've been one thing if you'd married some average guy, but you married Vincent? And had such a beautiful and adorable kid." Dylan tried to touch Ethan's head with a sinister smile, but Ethan, with his mother's support, showed his fierce side and slapped Dylan's hand away.

Dylan's smile faded, "Charlotte, are you saying I'm less than Liam, even less than Vincent?"

Charlotte's expression was complex.

It seemed Dylan really believed Ethan was Vincent's child.

He hadn't figured out Ethan's real identity. He took Ethan just to lure out Charlotte, so he could use her to threaten Liam.

This is some good news.

But there's also some bad news.

"What have you done with Vincent?!" Charlotte demanded angrily.

"Nothing much. Just thought you might not love Liam enough to keep him in check, so I needed an excuse to tie you down," Dylan said with a disgusting laugh.

Charlotte was so mad she felt like slapping him. "Where is he?!"

"I'll only answer that once my dear brother here gives me what I consider a fair deal."

"What do you want?" Liam asked, subtly moving Charlotte and Ethan behind him.

Dylan's face turned serious, "I want 30% of your company's shares."

30%. That's practically robbery.

"Wait. You can choose not to give them to me, but then you'll have to watch Vincent die at my hands. You know I wouldn't be here all by myself if I wasn't confident I could make you agree."

Dylan started laughing again, "Charlotte, Vincent has helped you so much, he's your husband, you've got a kid together, and you don't want to see him die, right? So beg your ex-boyfriend here, beg him to give in to my demands!" Charlotte glanced at Liam, who gave her a reassuring look.

"You're not usually one to make sudden moves," Liam said to Dylan.

"True, but I had no choice. You wouldn't take care of my son, without him, I have no one to fight for your inheritance. Once Charlotte leaves, what leverage do I have over you? None, so I had to take a risky move." Dylan was smart and ambitious.

But he wasn't smart enough, and his smarts couldn't support his ambitions.

"Let Charlotte and Ethan go first," Liam said, sitting down. "30% is too much. 20%, and we can cover the rest with fixed assets."

As long as he had Vincent, Dylan wasn't worried about them not compromising.

And on top of that...

"I meant every word I said before, Charlotte. I really liked you, everything about you, your person, your soul, I treasured it all,"

Dylan stepped aside to let her pass. "I won't hurt you, and about your son's scraped palm, he did that himself by accident. I care about everything related to you, how could I actually hurt him?" Suddenly, there was a loud thud. Dylan was kicked to the ground again.

Liam glared at him impatiently, "Are you done talking?"

"Well, my dear little brother sure has a temper. But what's the use of that temper when your girl ends up with your worst enemy?"

Charlotte ignored their bickering, took Ethan, and drove to a safe place. She immediately called the Blackwood family to pick him up.

She hadn't told the Blackwood family about Vincent being taken. The Blackwood folks were too gentle, not the type to sit at the same table and negotiate with wild beasts like Liam and Dylan. The Blackwoods arrived quickly, and after handing Ethan over, Charlotte raced back to the farm.

But when she got there, no one was around. After listening carefully, she ran in the direction of the equipment room.

Before she could get there, she heard a roaring voice.

"When you're dead, those shares are still mine! Nobody else knows that Benjamin isn't your son! If I could forge a DNA test for you once, I can do it countless times for them!" It was Dylan's voice.