Chapter 2
Samuel's expensive antique vases, limited-edition vinyl records, and paintings he'd personally bid on were all smashed to pieces in the chaos.
He was like a caged beast, letting out an angry, guttural growl.
He could smash all those things all he wanted. It was all under his name now. None of it mattered to me anymore.
I watched Samuel's wild breakdown on the security feed, feeling nothing inside. If anything, I almost wanted to laugh at him.
This was the man I spent eight years loving. A madman, obsessed and violent to his core.
I used to believe my love could heal him.
Now I knew better. A leopard couldn't change its spots, and a madman would never be normal.
His tenderness? Just an act he put on whenever he needed something from me.
Once he'd gotten everything he wanted and no longer needed me as his crutch, he'd tear away the facade without mercy, showing his true, ugly self.
After his rage had burned out, Samuel slumped amid the ruins, wild, bloodshot eyes fixed on his phone as he started frantically calling me.
He called once, twice, a hundred times.
I didn't block his number. I just let him keep calling.
I let him listen to that never-ending busy tone, letting it slowly eat away at his patience and sanity.
Early the next morning, Samuel, still hungover, was jolted awake by a frantic phone call. It was from the company.
His assistant said, "Mr. Powell! Something terrible's happened! Our stock price crashed and hit the lower limit the moment the market opened!"
"What?" Samuel's head was pounding as he shot upright in bed.
His assistant was nearly in tears. "Last night's photos of you and Izabella at the banquet got leaked. The headline reads, 'Powell Group CEO cheats on wife. New flame is a dead ringer for the original!' The internet is roasting you right now!
"And... someone leaked a scanned copy of your divorce agreement. In the property division section, it says Ms. Julie Giles only asked for the 1.5 million-dollar shares she invested back then..."
As soon as the news hit, public opinion went wild.
Everyone knew Powell Group wouldn't be what it is today without me risking everything I had to support it back then.
Now, with Samuel worth billions, all he was "giving back" to me in the divorce was those original shares, which had skyrocketed a thousand times in value.
And to top it off, the cheating scandal was stone-cold proof.
The internet branded Samuel as a heartless, ungrateful jerk overnight.
As a publicly traded company, Powell Group lived and died by its reputation.
The CEO's personal scandal triggered a full-blown crisis of confidence among shareholders.
"Explain yourself, Samuel!"
Samuel's father, Robert Powell, the former chairman of Powell Group, called in a rage. He did not even give Samuel a chance to speak before launching into a furious tirade.
Robert said, "I've told you time and again. Julie is the pillar that keeps our family steady! But you just had to mess around with other women! Now look at the mess you've made.
"The company's in shambles because of you! Hear me loud and clear. If you can't bring Julie back, you're out of the Powell family. For good!"
Samuel, at his wit's end, finally grasped the gravity of the situation.
He wasn't that impulsive kid who could do as he pleased anymore.
He was the CEO of a prestigious family business, and every move he made affected a massive web of interests.
And I was the linchpin holding it all together.
For the first time, Samuel finally started to seriously think about something.
What would happen to him if I were gone?
Just then, the nanny rushed upstairs, frantic and out of breath.
She said, "Mr. Powell, Andrew and Ellie are missing!"
Samuel's heart sank straight to the bottom.
Of course, the kids weren't missing. I took them.
At four in the morning, I used my spare key to unlock the villa's door. In their rooms, I quietly packed up all their things.
I gently carried my six-year-old son, Andrew, and four-year-old daughter, Ellie, still fast asleep, out to the car.
They rubbed their sleepy eyes and asked in soft, sleepy voices, "Mommy, where are we going?"
I kissed Andrew and Ellie on their foreheads and said gently, "Mommy's taking you to a new home."
My new place was a high-end apartment right in downtown. Finally, somewhere that felt like mine.
With tight security and a peaceful atmosphere, it was a world away from the chaos I'd left behind.
No sign of Samuel here, and no more of that suffocating stress that used to hang over me. Here, it was just my kids and me.
Once everything was settled, I called my mentor, Maisie Peterson, the queen of venture capital in the country.
"Maisie, I'm divorced now," I said.
She paused for a few seconds, then chuckled softly. "Congrats, you finally figured it out. So, when are you coming back? The chief analyst spot is still yours, you know."
This was what it meant to have real backbone. I wasn't some parasite who could only survive by clinging to Samuel.
Before I ever became "Mrs. Powell," I was Julie Giles, the brightest star in finance, and Maisie's favorite protégé.