All Chapters of After The Divorce: The Nobody Became a Billionaire : Chapter 11 
				
					- Chapter 20
				
59 chapters
				Chapter 11: A New Foundation
			
 My lungs burned with dust, and Elena’s fingers were still gripping mine like a lifeline. The data core was in my other hand, slick with sweat, heavy with everything we’d risked our lives for. The limousine crouched at the curb like a black beast waiting to devour us. Damien stood by the rear door, hands clasped behind his back, expression stone until he saw me. His eyes flickered—worry, relief, calculation—all hidden again in a breath. He opened the door without a word. I caught his gaze. “You’re not going to ask?” His voice was quiet steel. “I don’t need to, sir. The Chairman is waiting. Private office.” I slid in first, pulling Elena in beside me. The door closed. Leather swallowed us whole, the faint cologne of wealth pressing against my nose. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then Elena exhaled hard, leaning back, hair stuck to her damp face. “I can’t believe we made it out alive.” “We didn’t have a choice.” I rubbed the core with my thumb like it was a talisman
				Chapter 12: The Past and the Price
			
The text message lit up my phone like a blade pressed against my throat.I’ve made a choice, Adrian. I’m ready to face the consequences.Vanessa.I sat in the waiting room, white walls humming with fluorescent light, disinfectant stinging my nose. Elena was beside me, calm but coiled. She hadn’t said a word since we arrived. She didn’t have to. She knew why I was here.I rose when the nurse nodded. My legs felt heavy but steady. Elena stood with me, and together we pushed through the door.Vanessa lay in the bed. Bruised. Cast on her arm. Eyes swollen, face drained of vanity. A ghost of the woman she used to be.Her gaze lifted and froze when she saw me—and then slid toward Elena, panic flickering.Her voice was raw, scraped thin. “Adrian. You came.”“I’m here.”Elena moved to the far corner, silent, arms folded. She didn’t look away.Vanessa swallowed, trembling. “Why? Why would you? After everything—”“Because you called,” I cut in.Her lips parted. Shock. “You shouldn’t have.”“The
				Chapter 13: A New Dawn
			
The boardroom smelled of leather and polish, the kind of room designed to remind you of power. But today the power was shifting. I felt it as soon as my father called the meeting. Every director had shown up in person, some sweating already, others masking nerves with cold stares. My father rose slowly. His voice was calm, but each word landed like a blade. “Gentlemen. The Cole Dynasty has weathered storms, destroyed rivals, expanded beyond every prediction. But today marks a turning point. I am retiring.” The silence cracked. “You’re what?” Director Marsh barked, half-rising from his chair. “You can’t just walk away,” Director Price said, shaking his head. “Not now, not when the markets are—” “I said I am retiring.” My father didn’t raise his voice, but it cut them down anyway. “And the new leader of the Cole Dynasty is my son, Adrian Cole.” The reaction was instant—an explosion of outrage, disbelief, panic. “Adrian?” “He’s reckless!” “He dismantled Hale’s empire, yes, but 
				Chapter 14: The Final Word
			
 The night air was sharp, clean, and laced with the electricity of the city that never slept. I leaned on the balcony rail of my penthouse, Ravencrest glittering beneath me. A living map. A kingdom. Mine. Elena’s head rested on my shoulder, her hand wrapped tight around mine. Elena: “We did it, Adrian.” Her whisper was soft, almost carried away by the wind. Me: “Did we?” Elena: “Don’t start.” She tilted her face up to mine. “Look at it. You stood against them all and you won. The Hales. The Beaumonts. The ones who thought you’d break. They’re gone, Adrian. This—” her free hand swept toward the skyline “—this is ours now.” Me: “It’s just the beginning.” She smiled faintly. “Always restless. You can’t enjoy the view for even one night, can you?” Me: “The view’s dangerous. From the top, every enemy sees you clearly. From the top, you’re the target.” She studied me for a moment, then turned back toward the city lights. Elena: “Then we fight again, if we must.” Inside, the penth
				Chapter 14: The Final Word (continued)
			
 The phone’s glow cut through the room like a blade. Midnight. It begins. Elena was on her feet, pacing. Her voice was sharp, demanding. Elena: “Tell me the truth, Adrian. Who’s behind this? Who’s the dragon?” Me: “Names don’t matter.” Elena: “Stop hiding behind riddles!” I turned toward her, the words cutting out harsher than I meant. Me: “I’m protecting you!” She froze, then shook her head. Elena: “No. You’re shutting me out. That’s not protection. That’s control.” Her eyes glistened, not with tears, but fury. Elena: “We’re supposed to be partners. You said it yourself. Us. But every time it gets dangerous, you push me to the sidelines like some fragile decoration. I won’t be that.” I swallowed hard. Me: “You think I don’t want to tell you? That it’s easy keeping this inside? If I open my mouth, Elena, I paint a target on you even bigger than the one already there.” Elena: “I’d rather have a target and stand with you than live blind while you walk into the fire alone.”
				Chapter 15: The Unspoken Promise
			
“The first rule of war isn’t to win,” I said aloud, staring at the text glowing on my screen. “It’s to survive long enough for the next battle.”My voice sounded cold in the quiet room, too calm for what I was reading.The message on my phone pulsed back at me:The King is Dead. Long Live the King.I muttered, “Sterling CEO… I should’ve known you’d crawl out of my father’s shadow sooner or later.”My phone buzzed again. Not encrypted this time.I tapped the notification. A photo filled the screen. My chest tightened.“Vanessa…”She was on a modest street, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, wearing the simplest dress I’d ever seen her in. No designer logos, no diamonds, no armor of vanity. Just her. And she was smiling — a smile so genuine it cut through me.She was holding grocery bags for an old woman, balancing them against her hip. She even bent down to adjust one so it wouldn’t spill.I whispered, “What the hell are you doing out there, Vanessa? Who are you now?”Another buzz. 
				Chapter 16: The Grand Unveiling
			
The hall was alive with the kind of restless energy that only happens when money, power, and curiosity collide. Crystal chandeliers spilled light over rows of perfectly dressed elites, every suit sharper than the next, every dress dripping with silent competition. The glass walls reflected not just the city skyline but the ambition burning in every eye.I stood on stage, Elena’s hand in mine. My pulse was steady, but the weight of the room pressed down. Tonight wasn’t just another launch—it was my coronation.I raised the mic. “Thank you all for coming.”A hush fell. Reporters angled their recorders closer, phones lifted. I caught Marcus Hale’s former associates whispering in the second row. Even they knew this was no ordinary unveiling.“The old way of doing business,” I said, letting my gaze sweep over them, “was about crushing rivals. It was about monuments to ego.”A ripple of murmurs.One man shouted from the crowd, voice sharp: “You mean the Hales?”Laughter scattered like spark
				Chapter 17: The First Strike
			
The giant screen snapped black. Caleb Sterling’s smug face dissolved into nothing. For a second, only the hush of the hall remained, broken only by shallow breathing and nervous murmurs.The lights flickered once, then steadied. Crystal chandeliers washed the room in sterile brightness. Every eye in that hall was locked on me. The gala—my gala, my father’s legacy turned into a spectacle of power—wasn’t a celebration anymore. It had become a battlefield.I clenched my fists so tightly I felt the bones grind. My gaze shot to Elena. Her face was pale, her body trembling under the weight of what Sterling had dragged into the open. He had threatened her. He had clawed open a wound she’d buried. And he had smiled while doing it.I leaned close, my voice low, clipped, lethal.“We’re leaving.”Elena’s lips parted. “Adrian—”“Now.”My arm slid around her shoulders, firm, unshakable. Security immediately formed a wall, earpieces buzzing with frantic chatter.One guest whispered too loudly: “Did
				Chapter 17: The First Strike (continued)
			
The words seared across the screen:“The game has begun. Your ex-wife is my first pawn.”My jaw locked so tight it ached. I could feel every eye in the command center drilling into me. Elena’s gasp cut through the tension.“He’s going after Vanessa?” she whispered, her voice breaking.I didn’t answer. My hands curled into fists. My pulse hammered in my ears.One of my guards broke the silence. “Sir… this could be bait. Sterling knows you’ll react.”Leo snapped, not looking up from his console. “This isn’t bait. He’s already moving on her. Look at the data trail—he’s got intrusion nodes targeting her comms. This is live.”“Track it,” I barked.Leo’s fingers flew. His team mirrored his urgency, chairs screeching as they shifted between terminals.“Multiple IP bounces, ghost relays—”“Burn through them.”“I need time.”“You don’t have time.”Elena’s voice trembled. “Adrian, if he touches Vanessa, what happens to us? Won’t he just keep coming after everyone tied to you?”My glare snapped 
				Chapter 18: The Shadow of Sterling
			
He had built a city. Now, a ghost from his past was going to burn it down. The message from Caleb Sterling—Your ex-wife is my first pawn—hit me like a blade to the chest. Vanessa. Of all people, he had gone for her.My hands shook over the keyboard as I hammered a reply. I sent a message to her phone. Call me. Trust me. Just leave—now. I stared at the screen, heartbeat slamming in my ears. Delivered. No reply. My jaw locked tight. The silence wasn’t technical. She had ignored me. Distrust still poisoned every word I sent her, even when her life depended on it.I spun toward the ops deck, voice like steel. “Deploy a team. Now. Her apartment. Find her. Secure her. Bring her to me.”The leader of my security detail hesitated. “Sir—”“Don’t ‘sir’ me. Get moving!” I snapped, the command center suddenly too small for my rage.Elena leaned against the server wall, arms folded, eyes fixed on me. Calm, controlled. Silent. I couldn’t read her, but I could feel her judgment like a knife in my ba