Chapter 2 Storm Bringer...

ELARA

Why not start my revenge right now?

The thought settled into my mind, igniting a dark curiosity I hadn't felt in years. I stood at the foot of my bed, my breathing shallow as I stared at the packed bags resting on the deep-blue silk duvet.

It would be a delicious satisfaction, watching Shawn face the kind of genuine company crisis he had always pretended to have. The same crisis he'd used as a pathetic excuse for his late nights, his missed anniversaries, my forgotten birthdays, and his total emotional abandonment of our marriage.

A sinister smile curved my lips, pulling at muscles that had grown stiff from years of forced smiles. Yes... now will do.

I reached for the bags, my fingers tightening around the leather handles as if I were gripping the throat of every future mistake I intended to rectify. With controlled movements, I lifted them and tucked them deep into the wardrobe.

I couldn't have him finding out my plan just yet.

Crossing the room with newfound purpose, I walked to my private cabinet and unlocked it. From the hidden compartment inside, I pulled out a black, worn laptop bag that felt heavier than it looked.

"I've missed you too," I murmured under my breath, feeling tears sting my eyes.

Why had I given up all these for a man? Worse, a man who deserved it not.

I sniffed, pushing back the urge to cry.

You've wept enough!, I scolded myself, while opening the bag. I pulled out my heavy black laptop.

I powered it on, entered my complex passcode, and immediately gained access to its encrypted contents. I navigated to the dark web without a second of delay, setting the machine down on my dresser as the screen's blue light reflected in my hardened eyes.

My gaze turned to steel as I tapped on a familiar group icon and typed a simple, single greeting.

Hello.

As I stretched my fingers, rolling the built-up tension from my wrists until they clicked, notifications began to explode across the screen in a frantic, digital blur.

"Oh my goodness, Nuxia is back!"

"Boss, is that you?"

"It's been five years too long! We missed you!"

"Welcome back, boss!"

A dry chuckle left my lips. Welcome back, indeed.

I had buried this powerful part of myself just to play the obedient, invisible housewife Shawn and his toxic family demanded. I had softened my edges and dulled my own power for the sake of a man who never deserved a single sacrifice I made.

And what had I gotten in return for my loyalty?

Penury. Neglect. A cold-blooded betrayal.

I touched my belly, my fingers resting there with a sudden, fierce protective instinct that made my heart hammer against my ribs.

At least I had this. At least I had a reason to fight.

For this child, I would burn down entire worlds, and I would build a better one from the ash. I would make absolutely sure my baby never grew up begging for crumbs of love from someone who had no heart to give.

"Do I merit a welcome package?" I typed, a ghost of a predatory smile flashing across my face.

Emojis flooded the chat. Stickers of celebration.

"Of course, boss! What do you want? Give us a target."

My smile turned dangerous, my eyes narrowing. I typed exactly what I wanted.

A virus bug. A clean, silent infiltration into Shawn's company servers. Something jagged that would expose sensitive customer data, shake every ounce of investor confidence, and drag him into the kind of agonizing, sleepless nights he had spent five years faking to avoid me.

I wanted to make him truly, deeply panic.

"Consider it done, boss!"

"Did the director of this company offend you?"

If only they knew the half of it.

"Yes," I typed simply, my fingers hovering over the keys. "Do your best."

They didn't disappoint. My people never did.

Unlike Shawn.

I logged off, the screen fading to black, and closed the laptop with a definitive snap. Then I rose and walked out of the room, my stride humming with a dark, focused intent. I headed straight toward Shawn's personal office.

It was time to reclaim every single thing I had ever given him.

It was better to pull my financial support now, before the entire company collapsed under the weight of the cyber virus I had just unleashed.

Inside his office, the scent of his expensive woodsy cologne hit me like a physical blow. My jaw tightened so hard it ached as I moved to his computer, knowing I had less than an hour before he returned to take me to his grandfather's birthday dinner.

There was no time to dawdle with emotions.

I connected my laptop to his system.

My fingers moved with an efficiency fueled by a righteous fury that made my skin tingle. Through an anonymous profile I'd kept hidden for years, I submitted a formal request for the buyback of my shares.

Then, I hacked directly into his profile as Managing Director and approved the deal. I had no more time for protocols.

Seconds later, the confirmation flashed on my screen: The funds have been transferred.

A satisfied exhale escaped me, a weight lifting from my shoulders.

Then, on a sudden impulse, I decided to snoop through his private drives.

And oh... the wells of absolute corruption I found lurking beneath his "perfect" businessman exterior.

He had been stealing from the very company his grandfather handed to him on a silver platter. Embezzling funds. Laundering money. I saw chats where he spoke comfortably with men of the underworld, using his family's legacy as a cleaning ground for their dirty cash.

My lips curved into a venomous, sharp smile. So this was the man who had the audacity to call me useless?

I transferred everything-every document, every chat log, every shred of proof-to my private system. Then I logged into another anonymous profile. Blogger: Stormbringer.

I scheduled the evidence to be released to every major news outlet exactly twenty-four hours from now.

He wanted to ruin me. He wanted to drug me and destroy my reputation in front of the world.

Fine. He would have front-row seats to his own public execution.

I shut down the systems and left his office without a single backward glance.

My phone beeped just as I stepped back into the sanctuary of my room.

Grandfather Max.

"Elara, I hope you are still coming with your husband... we have a lot of guests waiting."

A sad smile touched my lips as I read the text.

Yes, he was a cold calculative patriarch, more concerned with his public image than anything else, but he was also the only person in that entire viper's nest of a family who had ever treated me like a human being.

And what better gift could I give him than the hard truth?

I would show him that his grandson was unfit to rule anything but a pile of ruin.

"Yes, Gramps. I will be there. Happy birthday once again!" I replied.

My smile widening into a sinister thing, I walked to my wardrobe to pick a dress for the dinner.

Out of habit, my hand reached for the black, somber gown I usually wore... a dress too big, too dull, the drab uniform of a dutiful, invisible housewife. My fingers brushed the scratchy hem, then paused.

No more of this either, I mused, feeling a strange, electric thrill run through my veins.

My eyes drifted to a bold, blood-red gown hanging at the far end of the wardrobe, and my smile widened even more.

Perfect.

It was better to dress how I've always longed to. Better to show up as my real self.

No more hiding in the shadows for a man who deserved the dark.