All Chapters of After The Divorce: The Nobody Became a Billionaire : Chapter 41
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60 chapters
Chapter 34: The Unlikely Alliance
I never thought I’d see Vanessa Hale again. Not like this. Not as an equal.The gallery was quiet, the kind of quiet that eats sound. Clean walls, cold light, a sterile stage for a conversation that could change everything. I stood by the window, looking out over the city, the reflection of two lives that had burned each other to ashes. Elena stood behind me — calm, sharp, eyes scanning the room like a tactician waiting for a signal.The door opened exactly on time. Vanessa stepped in, her heels clicking a rhythm that sounded like judgment.“Adrian,” she said flatly. “You picked an interesting place to beg.”“I didn’t ask you here to reminisce.” I turned to face her. “I asked because I need your help.”Her lips twitched — a smile, but one lined with scorn. “That must’ve hurt to say.”I didn’t deny it. “It did.”She crossed her arms, posture like a blade. “You were never good at apologies. So go on. Convince me why I shouldn’t walk out that door.”“Because if you do,” I said evenly, “w
Chapter 35: Genesis: Global
The war was won, but I couldn’t stop hearing the noise. Guns. Screams. Silence. Victory meant nothing when your nerves were still wired for combat. The king had his crown, but I was still the soldier beneath the armor.We stood in the command center, lights dim, screens glowing blue and cold. The Genesis schematics filled the main display — lines, energy paths, harmonics — a monstrous puzzle built from genius and madness.Vanessa broke the silence first.“This isn’t a power grid, Adrian.”Her tone was ice and certainty. She pointed at the pulsating lines. “This wiring pattern—it’s an energy projector. Not distribution. Directional output. It’s a weapon.”I folded my arms. “A weapon that uses Genesis tech?”Elena leaned over the console, her eyes narrowed. “They inverted the harmonic frequency stabilizers. That means it’s not channeling power, it’s absorbing it.”“Meaning?” I asked.“Meaning they’re creating energy sinks.” Her voice was low, urgent. “Dead zones. Permanent ones. Places
CHAPTER 35 (Continued): Genesis Global
The words hung in the air like a gun cocking. Genesis III.Vanessa’s eyes flicked to me. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”“I shut it down years ago,” I said. “Or thought I did.”Elena turned the screen toward us. “They didn’t just rebuild it, Adrian. They upgraded it. I’m reading new data pathways, global uplink nodes, real-time adaptive AI. It’s the same architecture but smarter, colder.”I clenched my jaw. “Location?”“Underground. Arctic region. Remote enough to hide a civilization.”Vanessa crossed her arms. “Then we go there next.”Elena’s tone was sharp. “You can’t just walk into the Arctic and fight an AI superweapon like it’s a bar brawl.”Vanessa shot her a look. “Watch me.”“Enough!” I snapped. “Both of you. We do this by plan or we die. There’s no margin for ego here.”Vanessa met my gaze. “You’re not used to being challenged, are you?”“Only by people worth listening to.”She gave a small, dangerous smile. “Then you’re welcome.”Elena stepped between us. “Adrian, she’s v
Chapter 36: The Reckoning of the Past
The engines of the Cole Dynasty jet hummed beneath my feet as Ravencrest City glimmered in the distance. Everyone on board was silent, the kind of silence that comes after victory but feels nothing like peace. I looked out the window—skyscrapers shining, banners celebrating the world’s savior. They didn’t know how hollow that sounded.Leo’s voice cracked through the quiet. “Leader’s secure. International authorities want to take over, but there’s confusion about jurisdiction. They’re calling it… corporate espionage.”I turned from the glass. “Espionage?” My tone cut sharper than I intended. “After everything that’s happened, after all those lives lost, they want to bury this as business misconduct?”Leo hesitated, lowering his eyes. “That’s what they’re saying. Politics. The Council’s pressuring everyone to wrap this clean.”“Clean?” I shot back. “There’s nothing clean about this war.”Vanessa shifted beside me, her voice calm but firm. “Adrian, they’re terrified. If the truth about T
Chapter 37: The Ex Wife's Gambit
The enemy always attacks from the past, disguised as the future. I stared at the grainy photograph glowing on the command center screen — the face of Marcus Trent’s half-sister, the lawyer leading the final strike against me. Her expression was sharp, predatory, almost smug. I felt the slap of it — the first real hit I’d taken in weeks.“She’s good,” Elena murmured beside me, arms folded tight across her chest, her gaze fixed on the same image.“She’s better than good,” I said. My voice was steady, but I could feel my pulse pounding in my throat. “She’s vindictive, brilliant, and she knows every thread of Trent’s old web. The Nexus is out of moves — no force, no hacks, no infiltration. So now they attack me through the one system Genesis can’t fight back with.”“The legal system,” Elena finished grimly.I nodded. “Exactly. They’re trying to bury me in legitimacy — lawsuits, claims, injunctions. Everything they lost in the shadows, they’ll try to win in daylight. Face-slapping move num
Chapter 38 – The Genesis of Joy
The world was quiet for the first time in my life.Too quiet.Two years since the Nexus trial, two years of peace everyone kept calling “the golden calm.” To me, it felt like a room with the power still humming under the walls — lights off, but danger breathing somewhere in the dark.I sat in the garden pretending to read an economic report on my phone, scanning every sentence for invisible codes that weren’t there. Elena’s footsteps rustled through the grass before she spoke.“Stop it, Adrian.”Her tone wasn’t a plea. It was a command softened with love. She stood in front of me, hands folded, sunlight weaving through her hair.“Stop what?” I asked automatically, eyes still on the screen.“That thing you do.” She crossed her arms. “You’re searching for enemies again.”I forced a smile. “Habit.”“No,” she said. “Obsession. The world’s safe. The Nexus is gone. The Genesis network is secure. The only battlefield left is the one in your head.”“Elena—”She stepped closer, took the phone
Chapter 39 — The Cornerstone
Every empire begins with a single stone. This one began with a promise.The sun hit the window like it was daring me to back out.I didn’t.“It’s finally time to build that home,” I told Elena. My voice sounded different—stripped of every excuse I’d ever made. “No more penthouses. No more borrowed walls. Ours.”She lifted an eyebrow. “You’re serious this time?”“Completely.”Her grin was small, wary. “Then I’ll hold you to it.”We stood inside the temporary site office, walls of half-finished plywood and blueprints everywhere.Elena unrolled a set across the long table, her fingers leaving pale streaks of dust on the paper.“The blueprints are final,” she said, tapping a corner. “No hidden wings. No panic rooms. Just light, glass, wood. Open spaces, real air.”“You still sure about the location?” I asked.She hesitated. “It’s where everything started, Adrian. The old Project Genesis compound. The ghosts might not like us digging there.”“It’s where everything ends,” I said. “The power
Chapter 40 — The Legend Continues
Five Years Later“Dad! You’re cheating!”Cole’s voice cracked across the courtyard like a starting gun.“I’m teaching,” I shot back, blocking his quick jab with a training stick. “There’s a difference.”“You ducked before I swung!”“That’s called prediction, genius.”He scowled, breathless, ten years old and already all elbows and fury. Elena leaned against the doorway, coffee in hand, shaking her head.“Are you both ever going to learn not to compete before breakfast?”“Never,” we answered in unison.She sighed. “Figures. Breakfast is getting cold.”Cole darted toward her. “Victory by distraction!”I caught him mid-sprint, hauled him over my shoulder. “Wrong again.”“Dad! Put me down!”Elena laughed. “You two are impossible.”“That’s her fault,” I said. “She married impossible.”Inside, sunlight spilled over the kitchen table stacked with half-drawn blueprints and children’s homework. The smell of pancakes and fresh paper—our strange new empire.“You promised to sign the forms for th
CHAPTER 41: THE FINAL GIFT
Twenty years since Vanessa’s final courtroom move dissolved the last legal shadow of the Nexus.Twenty years since I’d stopped waking up expecting the next war.And today—our anniversary.Elena stood by the window, sunlight catching the gold streaks in her hair as she adjusted her scarf. “You’re pacing again,” she said. “You only do that when you’re nervous—or hiding something.”I forced a grin. “Maybe both.”“Adrian Hale,” she said, turning with that sharp glint in her eyes, “if you bought another island, I swear—”“Not an island.” I reached for her hand. “Something bigger.”She raised an eyebrow. “You already run the biggest ethical tech conglomerate on Earth. What’s bigger than that?”I smirked. “Redemption.”Her laughter softened into curiosity. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”“Nope. You’ll see it.”“Should I be worried?” she teased, walking closer, her perfume faintly sweet. “Because every time you say something like that, a helicopter magically appears.”Right on cue, th
Chapter 42: The Wisdom of the Gardner
Ten years of peace. Ten years of rebuilding what the world had lost. The Genesis Institute stood like a beacon, humming with quiet purpose and steady brilliance. To the world, it was progress. To me, it was redemption.Elena and I had built this place brick by brick, decision by decision. It wasn’t perfect, but it was honest. Every room, every corridor, pulsed with the lessons we had bled for. We’d survived war, betrayal, and the corrosion of power. We’d rebuilt an empire of ethics.And then, one morning, over a calm breakfast that should have been unremarkable, my son detonated the peace.“I’m leaving the Institute.”I froze halfway through a sip of coffee. “You’re what?”Cole didn’t flinch. His tone was calm, his expression maddeningly clear. “I’m buying land in the western valley. Agricultural conservation. I want to grow something real.”I set the mug down slowly. “You are growing something real. The Institute is real. Our work sustains half the continent’s eco-systems—”He cut in