Chapter 4 - The Fall of CloudAxis
The next hour was the longest and most brutal of Nathan Pierce’s life.
One by one,
I dismantled the lies he had built his company on.
I showed the investors how the AI platform was actually being manually operated by low-cost contractors in Eastern Europe.
I showed how the "proprietary" code was eighty percent open-source material that had been poorly rebranded.
Nathan sat there,
mouth agape,
watching his empire crumble before his eyes.
But you're my wife!
he finally burst out,
forgetting the audience of shocked billionaires around him.
How could you do this to me?
I closed my folder with a definitive thud.
I am not your wife,
Nathan.
We signed the papers this morning,
remember?
You told me to disappear because I didn't "fit the brand."
I am simply following your instructions.
I am removing the Kensington brand from the CloudAxis brand.
And without our name,
your company is worth exactly what that black credit card you gave me can buy:
a cheap apartment and a fresh start.
The lead investor stood up,
his face a mask of cold fury.
The Kensington Group is withdrawing all support effective immediately.
And we will be notifying the SEC about these metric discrepancies.
Mr.
Pierce,
I suggest you find a very good lawyer.
The investors filed out of the room,
leaving Nathan and Madison alone with me and Arthur.
Madison began to sob,
the reality of her legal exposure finally hitting her.
Nathan,
we have to do something!
Tell them it was my idea,
tell them you didn't know!
she cried,
grabbing his arm.
Nathan shoved her away,
his eyes fixed on me.
You planned this,
he hissed,
his voice trembling with rage.
You let me marry you just to destroy me.
No,
Nathan,
I said,
walking toward the door.
I married you because I hoped I was wrong about you.
I spent two years hoping you would prove that you were a man of integrity.
I gave you every chance to see me as an equal.
But you only ever wanted a mirror that made you look bigger.
Arthur stood by the elevator,
his hand on the "up" button.
The building security will be here in ten minutes to escort you both out,
he said calmly.
Your personal items will be sent to the address on file.
And Nathan?
I would advise you to keep that black credit card.
You’re going to need it for the bus fare.
As the elevator doors closed on them,
I felt a strange sense of emptiness.
It wasn't sadness for the marriage,
but a realization of how much time I had spent trying to find gold in a man who was only brass.
But as the elevator rose toward the penthouse,
I looked at my grandfather and saw him smiling.
You did well,
Emma,
he said.
You learned the hardest lesson of all.
That some people can't be saved by love,
they can only be stopped by the truth.
I looked out at the city,
the lights starting to flicker on as the sun dipped below the horizon.
I was no longer a waitress,
and I was no longer a wife.
I was a Kensington,
and for the first time in my life,
I knew exactly what that meant.
May you like
The presentation was over,
but my real life was just beginning.
