Chapter 2 Retaliation

I drew a deep breath, my fingers flying swiftly across the screen.

There were no angry questions, no desperate tears.

I forwarded the video straight to every member of the board, all the Series A lead investors, and the tech tycoons Adrian most wanted to impress.

In the subject line, I wrote just one sentence, "Mr. Carter's new project 'In-Car Immersive Experience' roadshow video-please enjoy, dear board members."

And I hit send.

The world went silent for three seconds.

Then, my phone began to vibrate like mad.

Calls from investors, questions from the board, urgent reports from PR-all came crashing down like an avalanche.

I didn't answer a single one, handing them all off to my personal secretary, Clara Mitchell.

Ten minutes later, Adrian's call finally forced its way through.

I pressed accept but said nothing, placing the phone on my desk and letting his furious roars spill from the speaker.

"Grace, are you insane?! That's a billion-dollar deal closing next week! You'd throw it all away over one stupid video?!"

I sipped my coffee unhurriedly, waited for him to finish shouting, then spoke with cool indifference.

"Fifteen minutes. If my car isn't at Royal Auto Spa getting a full deep clean, that deal is dead-permanently."

On the other end, there was dead silence, followed by the thud of something heavy slamming onto a desk.

I ignored it and rose, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the city lights glittered-a kingdom I had built with him, brick by brick. It was one thing to build an empire, quite another to read a man's heart.

Fifteen minutes-no more, no less.

My phone buzzed, and Adrian sent a photo.

In the photo, my convertible sat in the spotless bay of the spa, a technician in white gloves carefully cleaning the stains from the child's seat.

I curved my lips into a smile and dialed the head of the overseas department.

"Inform them-the signing ceremony goes on as planned."

After hanging up, I opened a drawer and took out last year's birthday gift from Adrian-a diamond-studded Patek Philippe.

The dial caught the light, reflecting a cold gleam.

I lifted it just as Adrian's second voice message came through.

"Grace, don't go overboard. It's just a necklace-I'll buy you ten more..."

Before the message could even finish playing, I hurled the phone onto the marble floor of my office.

The sharp shatter rang out like a requiem.

Then I snapped another photo and sent it to him.

In the photo was his prized treasure-the first-generation Gundam figure he'd paid a fortune for at a Ugrarian auction-now soaking in the filthy water of a mop bucket in the corner of my office.

Along with it, I sent just one line of text.

"Adrian, this too is just a dare. Remember my bottom line."

Once I sent it, I blocked his number without hesitation.

I knew he must have been furious enough to kill.

But so what?

Back then, when we arranged the marriage, he knelt before my father, swearing he would love only me for life and never let me suffer the slightest grievance.

It was I who poured Bennett Corporation's channels, connections, and capital into his company without reservation, giving him the glory he flaunted today.

I had believed we would be each other's strongest support.

Yet he had turned our home into a foul joke, reeking of betrayal and filth.

That billion dollars was just to make him wince. The real revenge had only just begun.

I sank back into my office chair and closed my eyes.

What I couldn't drive away from my mind was Ethan's innocent, carefree smile.

That car, that seat-it was where he sat every single day on the way to and from school.

"Adrian, you crossed my bottom line," I thought. "So don't blame me for showing no mercy."

I picked up the intercom, my voice cold as frost.

"Tell Legal to prepare a share transfer agreement. And have the Falcon Team start digging into the backgrounds of all Carter Group's core executives."

It was time for me to take control of the game.

Outside the window, the horizon was turning pale with dawn.

A new day had begun, and my marriage with Adrian was already counting down to its end.