Chapter 2: The Counterattack
The next morning, I woke up in a cheap motel with one goal: revenge.
I spent the entire week tearing their world apart.
First, I leaked the company’s real financial records to the board. Mark was voted out by noon on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the SEC was investigating him for fraud.
Brooke tried calling me a hundred times. I finally picked up on Thursday.
“Ryan, please,” she begged, voice shaking. “I made a mistake. Come home.”
I laughed coldly. “Home? You mean the house I’m selling tomorrow? The one you loved so much? It’s already under contract.”
“You bastard!” she screamed. “I’ll ruin you!”
“No, Brooke. I’m ruining you.”
I had saved every text, every photo, every dirty little secret from the past six years. By Friday, those messages were everywhere — sent anonymously to her high-society friends, her family, and every gossip blog in New York.
She lost everything. Her reputation. Her fake friends. Even her parents cut her off when they saw the truth.
On Saturday night, she showed up at the motel where I was staying, mascara running down her face.
“I hate you,” she sobbed. “I gave you six years of my life.”
I looked at the woman I once loved and felt nothing but ice.
“You gave me six years of lies,” I said. “Now I’m taking back my life.”
May you like
She dropped to her knees. “Please, Ryan. I still love you.”
Cliffhanger: Before I could answer, my phone rang. It was the detective I’d hired. “Mr. Hayes… we found something. Your wife wasn’t just cheating. She and Mark were planning to have you killed after the company deal went through.”
