All Chapters of After The Divorce: The Nobody Became a Billionaire : Chapter 31 
				
					- Chapter 40
				
59 chapters
				Chapter 26: The Betrayal Within
			
He had faced down enemies from outside. The real test was facing the one who had always been inside. The call with my father had confirmed the chilling truth: Julian Cole, my own uncle, was the enemy. I didn't wait. I drove straight to the family estate, the place where all the Cole secrets were buried.  I shoved the door open so hard the wood groaned. My father sat slumped at his desk, the air heavy with the weight of secrets. He looked smaller, weaker, like the walls of this study had been feeding on him for years.  Me: “Julian. It’s him, isn’t it? Don’t you dare lie to me. Tell me everything—now.”  He raised his eyes slowly, and the sadness in them made me want to smash something.  Father: “Adrian… sit down. This isn’t—”  Me: “Don’t say it’s not easy. Nothing about this is easy. Your brother is tearing down everything we built, with a terrorist AI you let crawl through our system. He’s been inside the whole time. And you? You’ve been protecting him. Why?”  His shoulders sagged
				Chapter 27: The Choice of a King
			
For years, I'd built my life on two foundations: my empire and my family. Now, an enemy from within was forcing me to choose which one to tear down.  The video feed wouldn’t stop playing. My father, trapped in his study, pacing like a caged lion. His hands slammed against the locked doors, his face pale but defiant. And behind the screen, Julian’s voice cut through like a knife. Julian (on feed): “Your empire or your family. Which do you choose?” The words replayed, over and over, until I wanted to smash the monitors with my bare hands. Elena gripped my wrist so tight it hurt. Her eyes—wide, desperate—fixed on mine. Elena: “Adrian, don’t just sit here. Tell him you’ll give him the key. We can trace the signal. We can save your father!” Me: “No.” The word came out flat, sharp as steel. Elena: “No? He’s going to kill him—” Me: “Julian knows me. He knows I don’t bend. He’s counting on that. If I give him the key, it’s over—Genesis, the AI, the empire, everything. He wants me pre
				Chapter 28: The Final Confrontation
			
He had walked into this building as a doormat. He would walk out as a king. The air in the former Hale Group headquarters was thick with the dust of old betrayal and the promise of new power. I walked into the building alone. Every step echoed through the hollow corridors, my pulse steady, not a hint of hesitation. This wasn’t the walk of the humiliated heir they once knew. This was the stride of someone who had already claimed victory.The penthouse doors opened. Julian was waiting for me, sprawled in my father’s old chair like he’d owned it his whole life. His glass of whiskey caught the light, his smirk sharp and poisonous.Julian: “You came, Adrian. I knew you would. Sentimentality—your family’s favorite weakness.”Me: “I’m not here to indulge you. Where’s my father?”Julian: [laughs] “Straight to business? Good. But you’ll have to earn that answer. First… the future.”He snapped his fingers. A massive screen slid down from the ceiling, alive with files, blueprints, data streams 
				Chapter 29: The Last Piece of the Puzzle
			
The armored car door slammed shut. Julian shuffled forward in cuffs, dragged by two of my men, his head bowed, his empire reduced to dust.I stood at the entrance of the Cole Dynasty tower, watching.His eyes found mine—burning, cracked, alive with hate. As they forced him past me, he jerked against their grip and leaned close enough for me to hear his rasp.Julian: “You think you won, Adrian? You think you know the game?”Me: “It’s over. You lost.”He spat at the ground, his voice raw and venomous.Julian: “There’s a reason I took that coin. The truth isn’t what you think.”Then he was shoved into the car, the door locked, the convoy gone.His words clung to me like poison.Inside, the tower was quiet. Too quiet. My steps echoed through the marble halls until I reached my father’s study. The shelves were bare, the desk empty, the air heavy with finality. He looked almost… serene.Father: “You did well, Adrian.”Me: “Julian called me blind. He said I don’t know the truth.”He studied 
				Chapter 30: The Broken Trust
			
The divorce was a lie. The betrayal was real. But the greatest lie was the man I called Father.I stood in his study, the leather-bound journal heavy in my grip, the words on its last pages drilling through my chest like bullets. My father—The Chairman—sat in his high-backed chair, staring at me with eyes emptied of fight.I raised the journal. “It’s all true, isn’t it?” My voice carried no rage, no theatrics—just the flat edge of devastation. “The Hales. Vanessa. The Genesis project. My entire life—nothing but a script you wrote.”His head bowed, a single slow nod. “The Nexus,” he whispered. The word left his lips like venom. “A cabal. Global. Ruthless. They demand a Cole heir to serve as shadow. A proxy. If we refuse, we’re erased. Dynasty gone.”I laughed once, short and sharp. “So you sacrificed me. My happiness. My life. For your dynasty.”“I sacrificed to save it,” he snapped weakly, voice brittle but defensive. “I chose the Dynasty. I chose to keep our name alive. I chose to sh
				Chapter 30: The Broken Trust (Continued)
			
The gun pressed harder into Elena’s temple. She winced but didn’t cry out. Her eyes—terrified, but burning with defiance—locked onto mine.“Step away from the weapon,” the man ordered. His voice was low, calm, too calm.“You think you can walk in here,” I growled, “threaten her in front of me, and live?”He smirked. “We’ve already lived inside your head for years. Tonight, we take the rest.”“Elena—don’t move,” I warned, my eyes locked on him.She nodded slightly, lips trembling.Two more shadows emerged, weapons trained on me. One shoved a black case onto the counter. The man with the gun to Elena’s head gestured toward it.“Open it.”“No,” I said flatly.He cocked the gun. Elena gasped.“Do it, Adrian!” she cried.My teeth clenched. I stepped forward, flipped the latches, and pushed the lid open. Inside lay restraints—cold steel cuffs, lined with tech. Nexus-grade.“Put them on,” the man ordered. “Now.”I looked him dead in the eye. “You first.”He chuckled, amused. “Still mouthy. G
				Chapter 31: The Shadow Heir
			
The locket burned in the dim light of the command center, its tiny engraving like a razor across my thoughts. The coordinates weren’t a mystery. They weren’t hidden. They were a challenge.Elena paced, her heels striking the steel floor. “Adrian, don’t look at it like that. It’s not an invitation—it’s a death sentence.”“They knew I’d crack it,” I said. My voice was flat, cold. “They wanted me to see.”She spun on me. “And you want to walk straight into it? Do you even hear yourself?”“Yes.”Her eyes widened. “Yes? That’s all you have to say? Yes?”“Yes,” I repeated. “I’m going.”She strode forward, jabbing a finger into my chest. “You think this is a movie, Adrian? You think you’re invincible because you’re angry enough? You’re not. You’re flesh and blood. And if you step into that vault, you’ll be nothing but another Cole they bury.”“I’m not my father.”“Exactly!” She shouted it so loud the console beeped, registering a voice spike. “You’re not him, so stop making his mistakes!”I 
				Chapter 31: The Shadow Heir (Continued)
			
Elena. I barely moved my lips. “Abort.” Her whisper hit my ear. No time. Plan B. “Plan B?” I repeated under my breath. The Curator tilted his head. “Talking to ghosts?” I forced a smirk. “You’d be surprised who answers.” He gestured, and two guards in exosuits stepped forward. “Escort Mr. Cole to the observation chamber. We’d like to observe his cooperation.” I tensed, but the guards were already at my sides. Their grips were iron. “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “On the contrary,” the Curator replied. “I must. You’re too valuable to destroy—yet.” They dragged me down a corridor of glass, past humming data cores and hydro conduits. My mind raced. Elena, where are you? Inside, she answered. They’ve traced the virus, but not me. I’m ghosting their firewalls. “How long do I have?” Three minutes before they start extraction protocols. “Extraction?” I muttered. The guard on my right barked, “Quiet.” Elena whispered, They’ll scan your neural signature, copy your memories
				Chapter 32: The Final Chess Game
			
The board was set. The pieces were moving. And the new king was finally ready to make his checkmate.The moment I saw the vault’s network flicker, I knew the quantum virus—our Trojan horse—had breached the enemy lines. But I also knew the Curator was right. They always played three moves ahead.Elena stood beside me in the Cole command center, light from the holo-screens painting her face blue and gold. Cables ran everywhere, humming with heat.“They’re not happy, Adrian,” she said, fingers a blur across her console. “The virus didn’t just map them; it’s exposing their critical server clusters. They’re in chaos. Beautiful chaos.”“It’s a quantum slap to the face,” I muttered, eyes locked on the live data feed.Leo, our systems tactician, spun in his chair. “They’re counter-attacking. Massive breach attempts. They’re trying to sever our digital link to the Cole network. They want to frame you, Adrian—paint you as the rogue heir.”“Anticipate the firewall sequence,” I said. “Elena, pull
				Chapter 33: The Quiet Vigil
			
“I asked you to look at me,” Elena said, stepping into the room like a verdict. Her hand landed on my arm. Warm. Insistent.“I am looking,” I said without turning. “At everything.”“You call this looking?” She laughed once, bitter. “You stand like a statue and call it vigilance. Adrian, there’s life outside your screens.”“There’s also a war outside my screens,” I shot back. “You think I can just—turn it off?”“You could try being human for one minute,” she said. “For one minute, choose me over whatever phantom you're hunting.”“One minute?” I barked. “One minute isn’t enough.”She pulled her hand away like I’d burned her. “You think you’re noble because you suffer. You think you earn us through deprivation. It’s an addiction.”“Maybe it is.” I let the word hang. I turned then, finally, and met her face. She was fierce. She always was. “Maybe it keeps me alive.”“Elena.” She stepped closer. “Do you hear yourself? You sound like your father.”“That’s because he taught me how to listen