Chapter 4

It was late at night, and Victoria lay in bed, her thoughts wandering back to her previous life.

She remembered everything she'd sacrificed for Richard: her family's legacy, her friends, even her own passions.

She had always believed that if she gave someone her whole heart, they would love her in return. But all she got back was betrayal and lies.

The worst part was that she hadn't seen it coming. Richard and Chloe had been carrying on for three years, and Victoria, his actual wife, had no clue. If she hadn't been given a second chance, she would have never known the truth.

But this time, things were different.

Fate had handed her a do-over, and she was determined to reclaim everything she had lost in her previous life. More than that, she was going to make those cheating bastards pay for every ounce of pain they had caused her.

She thought about the confrontation waiting for her tomorrow, and her lips curved into a cold, mocking smile. 'Richard, the real game is beginning now.'

*****

The next afternoon, the conference room on the 22nd floor of the Financial Tower was thick with tension. The air felt heavy enough to ignite.

Richard sat at one end of the long table, flanked by his top-tier legal team, whom he'd called in at the last minute.

Across from him sat Victoria and Lucas.

Victoria wore a sharp black business suit, her makeup flawless and professional. She looked every bit the confident, commanding woman. Nothing like the quiet, defeated person who had been packing her bags at home three days ago.

Richard fixed his gaze on her, searching her face for any hint of emotion or weakness.

But she remained perfectly composed, the hint of a barely-there smile tugging at her lips.

Lucas opened his folder. "Good afternoon, everyone. We're here today to revisit the property division between Mr. Grant and Ms. Lane. Our investigation has uncovered that during the marriage, Mr. Grant engaged in extensive transfers of marital assets."

Richard's lawyer shot back immediately. "My client never transferred any assets. All his business dealings were legitimate and necessary for his company's operations."

"Really?" Lucas smiled faintly, pulling out a thick stack of documents. "Then maybe you can explain why, in March 2020, only three months after Ms. Lane invested in ByteTech Solutions, Mr. Grant signed over three of his most valuable subsidiaries to his brother?"

Richard's expression shifted.

Lucas continued, "And let's not forget May 2021. After news broke that Ms. Lane had made a huge profit from her investment in the new energy company, Mr. Grant immediately transferred 250 million dollars' worth of shares to his business partner.

"On paper, it looked like a legitimate investment, but in reality, it was a zero-dollar transfer."

"These are all—" Richard's lawyer tried to interject.

"Not done yet," Lucas cut him off. "The most outrageous part is, in early 2022, Mr. Grant even fabricated a 100-million-dollar debt, claiming it was a loan from a friend that went bad. But in reality, that money ended up in an offshore account."

With every revelation, Richard's face grew darker. He'd thought he'd covered his tracks perfectly, but now it was all out in the open.

"According to our calculations, the total value of the marital assets Mr. Grant has transferred over the past three years exceeds 600 million dollars," Lucas said.

The number left everyone in the room stunned.

Even Victoria was taken aback. She'd known Richard had been hiding assets, but she never imagined the amount would be this massive.

"That's impossible." Chloe blurted out, jumping to her feet. "Richard would never do something like that."

It was only then that Victoria noticed Chloe was actually present. She shot Chloe a frosty look. "Do you think you have a say here?"

"I'm Richard's girlfriend, so I have every right to—" Chloe started.

"Girlfriend?" Victoria scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "So tell me, do you even have a clue how much your boyfriend has stolen from me over the past three years?"

Chloe was left completely speechless.

Richard finally spoke up. "Victoria, I know I screwed up, but—"

"But what? You thought I'd never catch on? You thought I'd just sit here and let you play me for a fool?" Victoria's voice was steady, but every word sliced right through Richard.

"I never wanted to lie to you—" Richard tried to defend himself.

"Really? Then how do you explain all these shady asset transfers?" Victoria grabbed the stack of documents from the table. "Richard, you know what pisses me off the most? When someone treats me like I'm stupid.

"For three years, I thought we were partners. I thought we actually talked things out. But you were sneaking around behind my back and messing around with my best friend. What did you take me for, some idiot?"

Richard was left completely speechless.

Lucas stepped in, his voice steady. "According to the marriage law, Mr. Grant's malicious transfer of marital assets means he will have to pay back everything he took and cover the damages too."

"How much are we talking about?" Richard's voice was hoarse.

"At a minimum, 1.5 billion dollars," Lucas replied.

The number made Richard jump to his feet. "No way. I don't have that much."

"Oh really?" Victoria sneered. "So where did all those millions you siphoned off over the past three years go? Suddenly pretending you're broke now?"

"I can't get that money back now," Richard muttered.

"That's your problem," Lucas said coldly. "The law doesn't care how clever you were with your tricks. You're still on the hook."

Richard felt lightheaded, completely blindsided. He never imagined things would spiral this far out of control. He had thought 15 million dollars would be enough to get rid of Victoria, but now he was staring down a 1.5 billion dollar bill.

"Victoria, can we talk? The two of us alone?" Richard pleaded, his voice thick with desperation. "Doesn't our marriage mean anything to you?"

"Our marriage?" Victoria stood up, looking down at him with icy contempt. "Richard, answer me. When did things start between you and Chloe?"

He lowered his head, guilt written all over his face.

"Answer me!" Victoria's voice rang out, sharp and commanding.

"T-Three three years ago," Richard stammered.

"Three years ago? That was right after we got married." Victoria's eyes blazed with fury. "So you started cheating on me from day one?"

"I—" Richard tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come.