Chapter 7 - THE PUBLIC RECKONING
The news broke the next morning.
"Titan Falls: Adrian's Empire Crumbles Amidst Scandal."
The headlines were ruthless.
The details of his embezzlement and his affair were splashed across every tabloid.
The board issued a statement distancing themselves from him.
Julianne vanished,
rumored to have fled the country to avoid the lawsuits.
I stayed in the house,
the gates locked.
Reporters camped outside,
hoping for a glimpse of the "fragile widow."
I didn't give them anything.
I was busy restructuring the firm.
I took the seat he had occupied.
I walked into the boardroom,
not as a wife,
but as the primary shareholder.
The men in suits looked at me with a new kind of fear.
They had seen what I did to Adrian.
They knew I wasn't "safe."
"Let's get to work,"
I said,
opening the meeting.
We spent the next week cleaning up the mess he had made.
We repaid the stolen funds.
We settled the lawsuits.
We restored the company's integrity.
I realized that I enjoyed the power.
I enjoyed the clarity of it.
I was better at this than he ever was.
I didn't need to lie to get results.
I didn't need to hide to feel important.
I received a letter from Adrian a few days later.
He was staying in a cheap motel on the edge of town.
He was asking for mercy.
He was asking for a second chance.
He said he still loved me.
I didn't even finish reading it.
I dropped it into the shredder.
The sound of the blades was the only response he deserved.
He had lived in a world of his own making for too long.
It was time for him to live in the real one.
A world where actions have consequences.
May you like
A world where silence isn't weakness.
A world where Mara is the one in charge.
