Chapter 3 - THE SEED OF REVENGE
The rain outside matched the storm inside the Vanguard mansion.
Within ten minutes, the "powerful and elite" Vanguard family was standing on the wet pavement of their driveway, clutching a few designer suitcases. The security team had been ruthless. They didn't even allow Diane to keep her diamond necklace, as it had been purchased using a corporate expense account listed under "Client Entertainment."
I sat in the back of my armored Maybach, wrapped in a warm, dry cashmere blanket that Marcus had provided. The car's heater was blasting, soothing the chill in my bones. Arthur, my legal chief, sat across from me, a tablet in his lap.
"The board has fully ratified the liquidation, Cassidy," Arthur reported, his tone professional yet filled with quiet satisfaction. "Brendan, Richard, and Diane are officially blacklisted from every financial institution affiliated with C.V. Enterprises. By tomorrow morning, the news of their sudden termination will hit the press."
"Good," I said, looking out the tinted window.
Outside, Brendan was frantically banging on the glass of my car. His expensive suit was ruined by the rain, his hair plastered to his forehead. He looked pathetic. He was shouting words I couldn't hear, but I could read his lips: Please, Cassidy! Think of the baby!
"Drive," I commanded.
The Maybach smoothly pulled away, leaving the Vanguards stranded in the downpour.
As we drove toward my private penthouse in the city, my mind drifted back to how this nightmare began. Three years ago, I had met Brendan at a charity gala. I was operating under my alias, pretending to be a low-level administrative assistant at one of my own subsidiary companies. I wanted to find someone who loved me for me, not for my billions.
Brendan had been charming at first. He swept me off my feet with promises of a simple, beautiful life. But the moment we got married, his true colors emerged. Encouraged by his mother, Diane, he began to treat me like a possession. They constantly reminded me of my "poor background." When I got pregnant, instead of celebrating, Brendan grew resentful. He claimed I was trying to trap him.
Then came Jessica—a wealthy heiress whose family owned a shipping line. Diane openly pushed Brendan into Jessica's arms, believing that a union between their families would make them unstoppable. Brendan divorced me, throwing a meager settlement check at my face and telling me to vanish.
They thought they had won. They thought they had discarded a piece of trash. They had no idea they had just thrown away the hand that fed them.
The next morning, the financial world woke up to a earthquake.
[BREAKING NEWS: VANGUARD DOMESTIC BRANCH COLLAPSES OVERNIGHT. EXEC TEAM TERMINATED FOR ETHICAL VIOLATIONS.]
The headlines were brutal. Because I controlled the narrative, the press received leaked reports of the Vanguards' gross mismanagement, nepotism, and financial misconduct. By noon, the Vanguard name was toxic.
I was sitting in my top-floor office at the C.V. Tower, reviewing the morning reports, when my secretary buzzed in.
"CEO Cassidy, Mr. Brendan Vanguard is downstairs. He doesn't have an appointment, and security is holding him, but he refuses to leave. He claims he needs to discuss 'parental rights and corporate re-instatement.'"
I took a sip of my warm herbal tea. "Send him up. But tell Marcus to keep two guards inside the office."
A few minutes later, the heavy glass doors of my office opened. Brendan practically stumbled inside. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were wrinkled. The arrogant man who had smiled while his mother poured dirty water over my head was completely gone.
"Cassidy..." he gasped, rushing toward my desk before the guards grabbed his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. "Cassidy, please. We need to talk. This has gone too far."
"Has it?" I asked, leaning back in my leather chair. "I thought Spa treatments weren't normally free, Brendan. Isn't that what your girlfriend said?"
Brendan flinched. "Jessica is gone! The moment her father saw the news about the liquidation, he forced her to break up with me. Her family cancelled their shipping contracts with us. Cassidy, my family is ruined. We owe millions in personal loans that were tied to our corporate shares. They're going to take our cars, our personal savings... everything."
"That sounds like a personal problem, Mr. Vanguard."
"Don't be like this!" Brendan begged, tears finally welling up in his eyes. "We were married! We are having a baby girl together! How can you be so cruel to the father of your child? Just give me my job back. Make me the Managing Director. I’ll make it up to you. We can get back together!"
I let out a soft, genuine laugh. It was the funniest thing I had heard in years.
"Get back together?" I stood up, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the city skyline. "Brendan, you didn't love me when you thought I was poor. You only 'love' me now because you realize I own the world you wanted to conquer. You aren't worried about our daughter. You're worried about your lifestyle."
"I swear I’ll change!" he cried, dropping to his knees. "Please, Cassidy! My mother is having a panic attack at the motel we're staying at. She’s losing her mind!"
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"Tell your mother," I said, turning around to face him, my expression deadly serious, "that she should be grateful. At least she's clean now."
I waved my hand. "Guards, throw him out. And inform the legal team to file a restraining order. He is not to come within five hundred feet of me or my child."
