Chapter 2

The next morning, the war began not with a bang, but with the insidious whisper of online gossip. David didn't need a public stage yet, not when the internet could do his dirty work for him. Tech blogs and social media platforms lit up with anonymous posts, all painting a picture of a brilliant CEO, David Chen, being harassed by a "crazy ex-girlfriend."

"Sources close to Chen say Sarah Miller has been obsessed since their breakup," one post read. Another claimed, "Miller's family firm is a fraud, preying on the grief of people like the Chens."

My brother, Liam, called me, his voice tight with anger. "Sarah, are you seeing this? It's a coordinated smear campaign. The wording, the timing... it's all too perfect. This is David's work."

"I know, Liam," I said, staring at my laptop screen. My name was a trending topic, paired with words like "unstable," "delusional," and "hacker."

"We have to fight back!" he urged. "We can issue a statement, show them the proof of the work you did for his algorithm..."

"No," I said firmly. "That's what he wants. He wants me to get emotional, to get into a public fight. It would just validate his narrative that I'm an unhinged ex. We do nothing. We stay quiet."

"Quiet? Sarah, they're destroying the family name!"

"The family name was already destroyed," I said, the words tasting like ash. "Last time. This time, I'm playing a different game."

After I hung up, I leaned back in my chair, the screen's glow illuminating the dark room. I thought about the years I had wasted loving David. I remembered late nights in my lab, fueled by coffee and a desperate need to help him succeed. I'd handed him the key to his empire on a silver platter, a revolutionary data compression method I'd developed. I never asked for credit, never asked for a single share of stock. His success was supposed to be our success.

The memory was so clear, so painful. I remembered showing him the final code, his eyes lighting up not with love or gratitude, but with a hungry, predatory gleam. I had been too blind to see it then. I saw it now. He had never loved me. He had only loved what I could give him. The realization didn't bring tears anymore, just a profound, chilling clarity. Love was a vulnerability he had exploited, and I would never be that vulnerable again.

A soft knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. It wasn't the insistent chime from the day before. This was a hesitant, almost timid sound.

I looked through the peephole. It was Emily White.

I opened the door just a crack. "What do you want?"

She gave me a practiced, sympathetic smile. "Sarah, can we please talk? I'm so worried about you. And about David. This whole situation is just... heartbreaking."

She was dressed in a soft, white cashmere sweater, looking every bit the gentle, concerned partner. The performance was flawless.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said, preparing to close the door.

Her hand shot out, pressing against the wood. Her smile didn't falter, but her eyes turned hard. "I think there is. David is very upset. You're stressing him out, and he has the IPO coming up. He needs to be focused."

"Then maybe he should stop paying people to write lies about me on the internet," I retorted.

Emily's sweet facade finally cracked. The smile vanished. "You think you're so clever, don't you? Hiding in here, pretending you're above it all. But you're nothing. David is the future. And you are a relic."

She pushed the door open, stepping inside uninvited. Her eyes scanned my apartment with open disgust. They settled on a row of antique servers against the far wall. They weren't just machines; they were my family's legacy. My grandfather had built the first one by hand. They contained our archives, the physical backups of decades of work, the only assets David hadn't been able to wipe digitally in my past life.

"David told me about these," Emily said, walking towards them. "The famous Miller Firm archives. Your family's great contribution to the world. He said they're worthless now, just junk."

"Don't touch those," I warned, my voice low.

She ran a finger along the dusty casing of the oldest server. "He's right. They're obsolete. Just like you. You're both taking up space in a world that has moved on."

She turned to face me, her expression a mask of cold triumph. "David offered you a chance to walk away quietly. You should have taken it. He wanted me to give you a message. He said if you don't stop... interfering... he'll make sure this last piece of your family's history is gone for good."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise," she said sweetly. "He's a powerful man, Sarah. And he always gets what he wants."

Her eyes then fell upon a framed photo on my desk. It was of me and Liam as kids, laughing, covered in mud. It was the only personal item I had left out.

Before I could react, she picked it up. "How sweet," she murmured, then her face twisted into a sneer. "A reminder of a time before you became such a bitter disappointment."

With a flick of her wrist, she threw the frame against the wall. The glass shattered, raining down on the floor.

A white-hot rage erupted inside me. It wasn't just a picture. It was a symbol of everything David and Emily were trying to destroy: my past, my family, my loyalty. I lunged at her, my hands outstretched, a scream tearing from my throat.

"Get out!"

Emily stumbled back, a look of genuine fear on her face for the first time. She hadn't expected me to fight back.

But before I could reach her, the apartment door burst open again. David stood there, his face a thundercloud of fury.

He saw the shattered frame on the floor. He saw me moving towards Emily, my face contorted with rage. He saw Emily cowering. He didn't hesitate.

He crossed the room in two strides and grabbed my arm, his grip like iron. He spun me around and shoved me hard against the wall. My head connected with the drywall with a sickening thud. The room spun, spots dancing in front of my eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he roared, his face inches from mine. "Are you insane? You're attacking her now?"

"She... she broke..." I stammered, trying to clear my head.

"I saw what happened!" he lied, his voice booming with righteous anger. "You went crazy! You just can't stand to see me with someone else!"

Emily, seizing her moment, let out a pained sob. She clutched her arm as if I had struck her. "David, my arm... I think she broke it. She just snapped."

David's gaze, full of hate, fell on me. He saw the shattered picture, the cowering woman he was protecting, and the "crazy" ex-fiancée. He believed the lie completely. Or rather, he chose to.

"You're pathetic," he spat, his grip tightening on my arms, pinning me to the wall. "You were a genius, Sarah. You had a gift. But you let bitterness and jealousy rot you from the inside out."

He shoved me again, harder this time. "I gave you everything. I put you on the map. And this is how you repay me?"

The pain in my head was nothing compared to the cold fury that solidified in my chest. He was twisting everything, rewriting our entire history into a narrative that made him the hero and me the villain.

He finally let me go, and I slumped against the wall, catching my breath. He went to Emily's side, wrapping a protective arm around her.

"It's over, Sarah," he declared, his voice ringing with finality. "I tried to be civil. I tried to let you fade away. But you forced my hand."

He pulled out his phone and started typing. A moment later, a formal press release alert popped up on my own phone's screen.

"Phoenix Corp CEO David Chen Announces Legal Action Against Stalker, Sarah Miller, Citing Harassment and Corporate Espionage."

His face was a mask of cold satisfaction. "I'm going to bury you, Sarah. I will tear down everything you've ever built, everything you've ever loved. I will erase you. Your family's firm, your reputation, your future... it will all be gone."

He looked at the antique servers, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Starting with this junk."

He turned and led the sniffling, triumphant Emily out of my apartment. The door closed, leaving me in the ruins of my home, with the shattered glass on the floor and the public declaration of my destruction glowing on my phone screen. This was his punishment. This was his attempt to destroy me, once and for all.