Chapter 3 - The Reconstruction
Three weeks later.
I sat in the penthouse suite of the Sterling Medical Center, looking out over the city skyline. The wounds on my back were healing, thanks to the world’s best dermatologists, leaving only faint silver lines that would soon vanish completely. But the scars on my soul had transformed into iron armor.
My father walked in, holding a tablet. "You look beautiful, my star. The color is coming back to your cheeks."
"Thanks to you, Dad," I smiled, sipping my tea. "How is the demolition going?"
Arthur smiled warmly, taking a seat opposite me. "Adrian Vale is currently out on a twenty-million-dollar bail, which he had to liquidate his last remaining personal assets to afford. His company, Vale Enterprises, has been completely delisted from the stock exchange. The board members kicked him out, and yesterday, I purchased the remaining carcass of his company for one dollar."
"One dollar," I chuckled. "That's more than it's worth."
"Indeed. But there is more. Vanessa’s family logistics company went under last week. Her father is currently suing her for destroying their life, and it gets better—medical records we subpoenaed for the divorce court revealed that Vanessa’s 'pregnancy' was entirely fabricated. She used a fake clinic report to force Adrian into the divorce."
I shook my head, not surprised by the depth of their depravity. "Adrian must be furious."
"He is losing his mind, Elena. He’s living in a dingy two-bedroom motel on the outskirts of the city. He’s been trying to reach you. He has sent over a hundred emails begging for mercy, claiming he was brainwashed by Vanessa."
"Mercy?" I stood up, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window. The gentle, silent girl who allowed herself to be stepped on was dead. "He didn't show mercy when the riding crop hit my skin. He didn't show mercy when he let his mistress insult my honor. I don't want him just bankrupt, Dad. I want him to watch me take everything he ever dreamed of having."
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"What do you want to do, my CEO?" Arthur asked, his eyes gleaming with pride.
"Rebrand Vale Enterprises as Sterling Phoenix," I declared, my voice echoing with absolute authority. "I will take over as the chairperson. And for our first public launch, I want to invite Adrian Vale as a special guest. Let him see the 'dead weight' he threw away become the ruler of his universe."
