Chapter 2

As I expected, Fraasaldan blew up the next morning.

The regulators stormed into Starlight Tech for a full-scale investigation.

Every piece of evidence I anonymously submitted about Eddie's shady dealings and financial fraud nailed every red flag.

The investors rushed out statements overnight, pulling their money. Banks showed up demanding loan repayments.

The stock price, which had been skyrocketing, crashed at the opening bell, with sell orders stacked sky-high.

In one night, Eddie, who was the rising star of Fraasaldan, became a loser who was on the edge of bankruptcy.

Eddie was in full-blown panic mode.

He scrambled to every big shot in Fraasaldan and begged every risk control expert in the business, but everyone told him the hole at Starlight Tech was way too deep.

No one wanted anything to do with that train wreck.

The only person who could possibly save him was the legendary industry fixer, the anonymous co-founder of Horizon Capital, Consultant Terry.

No one in the industry knew Consultant Terry's real identity. All they knew was that she never failed.

No matter how big the bomb, she could defuse it. No matter how bad the mess, she could make it profitable.

But Consultant Terry was extremely low-key. She never appeared in public, and no one could ever get her to take a job.

Eddie went crazy, burning through every dollar he had, pulling every string he could, and finally, thanks to a big shot in Fraasaldan, he managed to score a meeting with Consultant Terry.

The meeting was set for the next afternoon, in the Horizon Capital conference room on the top floor of the National Finance Center.

For this chance, Eddie pulled an all-nighter, reworking his proposal a dozen times.

He even showed up three hours early at the National Finance Center, his palms slick with nervous sweat.

He thought that if he could get Consultant Terry on board, his company would come back from the dead, and he could keep living large as the hotshot CEO everyone envied.

But he never imagined that the Consultant Terry he was begging to meet was actually me, his ex-wife, the one he pushed to divorce and forced to abort our child.

At two in the afternoon, in the Horizon Capital conference room.

I walked in, dressed in a sharp black suit and heels, flanked by Russell and a group of senior executives.

Eddie was hunched over, nervously flipping through his proposal. When he heard footsteps, he shot up and bowed at a perfect 90 degrees, his voice dripping with respect.

"Consultant Terry, thank you so much for giving me this chance. I'm Eddie Barlow from Starlight Tech. I know you're super busy, but I really appreciate you taking the time..."

But before he could finish, he looked up, saw my face, and froze on the spot.

The respect, humility, and hope on his face instantly twisted into shock, disbelief, and a flicker of panic.

"Jessica, why is it you?" Eddie's voice shook, and his hands trembled so badly that his proposal slipped to the floor. He didn't even realize that.

I walked to the head of the table, sat down, and shot him a mocking smile. "Surprised, Mr. Barlow?"

The executives exchanged uneasy glances, none of them daring to speak. Russell discreetly handed me a glass of warm water and placed it by my hand.

Eddie finally came to his senses. He looked at me, then at the executives all treating me like royalty, and a horrifying realization hit him.

Eddie staggered back, nearly losing his balance. "You are the legendary Consultant Terry from Horizon Capital?

"That's impossible. You were nothing but a useless gold-digger, always blowing cash at home..."

"Gold-digger?" I smirked, grabbed a file from the table, and tossed it right in front of him. "Mr. Barlow, did you forget?

"Three years ago, your company crossed a policy red line, your cash flow tanked, and you were about to go bankrupt.

"An anonymous 15 million dollar investment patched up your mess. Who do you think saved your ass?"

Eddie's face went ghostly pale.

"And that patent you think is your crown jewel. Do you really believe you lucked into that exclusive license?

"I called in favors from friends overseas, spent three months hustling negotiations, all so you could have it.

"Every risk control plan, every PR disaster fix your company had these past three years was me, staying up all night, patching things up for you.

"Every time you ran into a mess, it magically got solved the next day. Do you seriously think that was luck?"

With every word I spoke, Eddie's face went a shade paler. By the end, he was shaking, lips quivering, totally speechless.

It finally hit him.

His so-called empire, his flashy life, and all those times he bragged about being self-made were all because of me.

The ex-wife he always looked down on, the one he thought was there to spend his money, turned out to be the very person holding his fate in her hands.

"No. This can't be..." Eddie shook his head in disbelief. "Jessica, you have to be lying, right? How could you possibly..."

I cut him off, "Why wouldn't I? Eddie, did you really think I married you because I was trying to climb the social ladder? That I wanted your family's money?

"I married you because my grandma was dying, and her last wish was to see me happily settled. I thought you could give me a real home.

"I hid all my talents, gave up my own career, and willingly became your ornament because I once truly cared about you.

"But what did you do?" I stared straight at him, every word cold and clear.

"You crushed my feelings under your feet, took everything I did for granted, and for a woman who deceived you, you tried to force me to abort our child."

Eddie finally snapped. He lunged at me, desperate to grab my hand, but the security guards stepped in and held him back.

With a thud, he dropped to the floor, tears streaming down his face, crying his eyes out like a kicked dog.

He said, "Jessica, I messed up. I really messed up, I must've been out of my mind. I was a total jerk. Can you forgive me?

"Let's get remarried. I'll break it off with Phoebe right now. The company's yours. I'll do whatever you want from now on.

"Please, Jessica, help me. I'm begging you!"

He thought that by begging like this, he could actually move me.

But he had no clue that the moment he forced me to sign that abortion consent form, any last bit of feeling I had for him was dead and buried.

I looked at him, who was a wreck, and felt nothing. I only felt endless contempt.

I leaned back in my chair, coldly watching him. "Eddie, did you forget what I said the day we got divorced? I told you, even if the world ends, don't ever come crawling to me.

"And do you really think your company crashed out of nowhere?"

I smirked, pointing at the evidence on the table. "Every violation and every risk control hole was all me. This mess you're in? You earned it."

Eddie's eyes went wide, all the strength drained from him as he collapsed to the floor, his face utterly lifeless.

I stood up, adjusted my suit jacket with deliberate calm, towering over him. "Eddie, I was the one who gave everything you ever bragged about to you. Now, I'm taking it all back."

With that, I turned and walked away, not sparing him another glance.

As I stepped out of the conference room, Russell handed me another thick file. "Ms. Terry, everything you asked for on your parents is here.

"There is tax evasion, illegal guarantees, and the evidence that they hid your college acceptance letter back then. It's all here."

I took the file, flipped through a couple of pages, and a cold smile tugged at my lips.

Next, I was going to deal with my parents.