Chapter 3
Back in the bedroom, I locked myself in, bolting the door behind me.
Charles didn't follow. Downstairs, I could hear the sound of him throwing and breaking things, over and over.
I tuned out the crashing sounds from downstairs and headed straight to my desk, firing up the old laptop that had been gathering dust for years.
This was a keepsake left behind by my brother, Eric Shaw.
Three years ago, my brother, a genius programmer, fell to his death in a mountain climbing accident. Not long after, his best friend and business partner, Charles, showed up with their joint project, saying he wanted to carry out Eric's last wish.
Back then, I was lost in the pain of losing family, and Charles felt like a light in the darkness.
I fell for him, married him, and handed over all of Eric's research and code without hesitation.
Thinking about it now, it was honestly a joke.
Lost in my thoughts, my fingers moved on autopilot, quickly entering the password and opening up the encrypted folder.
Inside were all of Eric's dev journals, original code, and timestamped files.
This was more than enough to show the world who truly owned the core of NovaSpark Technologies.
[Here we go! Vivian's finally starting to collect evidence!]
[Not gonna lie, watching her boss up and focus on her career is way more satisfying than seeing her sob over romance.]
[So, what's Lily gonna do next?]
The flood of comments snapped me back to reality.
Lily, of course.
In these face-slapping dramas, a fake innocent woman like her never went down without a fight.
Sure enough, the next second, the bullet comments started flooding in again.
[Heads up! Lily's about to stir up some trouble!]
[She's gonna fake a tumble down the stairs and blame it on Vivian, saying she pushed her!]
[Yep, and then Charles will totally lose it and kick Vivian out of the house for good!]
I glanced at the barrage of comments, a cold smirk curling on my lips.
Trying the same old stunt?
No way.
I got up, headed to the staircase, used my phone to check the angle, and slipped a tiny camera cleverly into the ornate carvings of the handrail.
After that, I returned to my room, bolted the door, and dialed a number.
"Hello, Mr. Clark? This is Vivian Shaw. I need you to draft a divorce agreement and a share transfer contract for me," I said calmly.
*****
The next morning, when I came downstairs, Charles was already sitting at the dining table.
He had dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept a wink.
When he saw me, he just shot me a cold look and didn't say a word.
Unbothered, I walked straight over and took a seat across from him, taking my time with breakfast.
The tension was so thick, it felt like even the air had frozen.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
The maid rushed over to open it, and there was Lily at the door, tears still glistening on her cheeks like she'd just been crying her heart out.
She'd changed into a white dress, looking even more like the very picture of innocence and misery.
"Charles..." Lily began, her voice thick with tears. "I... I came to apologize to Vivian."
Charles' expression softened immediately. He got up and walked over to her, his voice gentler than I'd ever heard. "I told you not to come, didn't I? Let me take care of this."
"No, it's all my fault," Lily insisted, shaking her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "If it weren't for me, you and Vivian wouldn't be fighting. I need to apologize to her in person."
She stepped right around Charles and came straight over to me.
I set down my milk, sat back, and waited to see what kind of show she'd put on.
[Here we go! The legendary scene is about to happen!]
[Look at her feet; she's making a beeline for the stairs!]
[Vivian, run!]
I didn't run.
I stood up and walked a couple of steps toward her, my face showing just enough surprise and a touch of caution.
"What are you doing here?" I said, eyeing her.
Lily came up to me, standing just a step from the stairs.
She took my hand, her eyes swimming with tears. "Vivian, please forgive me, okay? I know you weren't really trying to target me; it's just because you love Charles so much..."
"Let go," I said, my voice icy.
"Vivian..." Lily choked out, her voice tearful as she tried to sound close.
Just as she was about to keep pretending to be all sweet and sisterly, I yanked my hand away from hers.
"Ahhh!"
Lily shrieked, her whole body rolling helplessly down the stairs like she was weightless, as if she had no control at all.
Everything happened in a flash.
Charles didn't even have time to react.
By the time he rushed over, Lily was sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, her forehead gashed open, blood pouring down her face.
"Lily!" Charles roared, his eyes nearly bursting with rage.
He grabbed the unconscious Lily in his arms, then glared up at me, his bloodshot eyes full of murderous fury.
"Vivian, you vicious woman!" he spat, voice trembling with anger.