Then back at my face.
“What happened?”
“My marriage ended.”
She didn’t ask another question.
That was one reason I trusted her.
“Call the attorney.”
“Which one?”
“Marissa.”
Evelyn nodded.
“And cancel tomorrow’s funding approval for NexoCloud.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Immediately?”
“Immediately.”
She picked up her phone.
I walked to the window.
The city glittered beneath me.
Only a few hours earlier, I had believed I was beginning a new life.
Now I was beginning something completely different.
I wasn’t interested in revenge for the sake of revenge.
I wanted consequences.
There was a difference.
At 1:13 a.m., my attorney called.
“Charlotte, I saw the preliminary message. Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to withdraw from the NexoCloud deal entirely?”
“No.”
There was a pause.
“What do you want?”
“I want the investment committee to review the company exactly as it exists. No special consideration. No personal relationship. No exceptions.”
Marissa understood immediately.
“You want a clean review.”
“Exactly.”
“And if the company fails the review?”
“Then it doesn’t receive the money.”
That was all.
The next morning, Jonathan woke up believing he had won.
He had no idea that his company was already facing a different reality.
At 8:00 a.m., he called me.
I didn’t answer.
At 8:07, he called again.
At 8:13, again.
Then came the messages.
“Where are you?”
“Come home.”
“We need to talk.”
“You embarrassed me last night.”
Then:
“You owe my mother an apology.”
I stared at the screen.
I almost laughed.
Instead, I handed the phone to Evelyn.
“Archive everything.”
She nodded.
At 9:30, Jonathan arrived at my supposed apartment.
The building manager politely informed him that no one by the name Charlotte Davis was listed as a tenant.
Jonathan became furious.
He demanded access.
The manager refused.
Then Jonathan made the mistake of threatening legal action.
The manager simply smiled.
“Sir, this building is owned by Whitmore Holdings.”
Jonathan froze.
He knew that name.
Everyone in his business world knew it.
Whitmore Holdings was the parent company of my investment group.
The same investment group that was reviewing his funding request.
He stared at the building.
