All Chapters of Once Downtrodden; Now Divine: Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
119 chapters
Chapter 41
When Ivy arrived at the meeting venue, the conference hall buzzed with executives exchanging measured greetings, assistants moving briskly with tablets in hand, and low conversations blending into a steady hum—but Ivy barely registered any of it. Her mind was alert, guarded, and sharpened by what she now knew.She adjusted the sleeve of her blazer and scanned the room. That was when she saw Donald.He stood near one of the tall glass windows overlooking the city, sunlight casting sharp lines across his tailored suit. As always, he looked immaculate.His posture was relaxed, almost casual, yet it carried a confidence that naturally drew attention. People gravitated toward him without realizing why.When their eyes met, Donald inclined his head slightly and offered her a polite nod, the same calm courtesy he had always shown her.“Ms. Harrington,” he said smoothly. “Good to see you.”Ivy paused just long enough to acknowledge him with a restrained nod of her own. Her expression was c
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Without hesitation, Ivy reached into her handbag and brought out her phone.“You keep saying you were framed,” she said coolly. “Then listen to this.”She tapped the screen and played the audio Jane had sent her.Donald’s voice filled the space—strained, exhausted, apologetic. He was pleading, his tone low, his words fragmented. To an outsider, it sounded exactly like a confession from a desperate man who had done something unforgivable and wanted freedom at any cost.Ivy watched Donald carefully as the recording played.But instead of panic, instead of outrage, Donald let out a soft chuckle.When the audio ended, Ivy frowned. “You find this funny?”Donald shook his head. “No,” he said calmly. “I find it predictable.”Ivy stiffened. “Predictable?”Donald met her gaze. “That recording is real,” he said. “But it’s not complete.”Ivy’s fingers tightened around her phone.Jane hadn’t only sent the audio. She had sent screenshots, timestamps, fragments of messages, carefully curated to su
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The final piece of evidence still glowed faintly on the screen when Ivy reached forward.She leaned back in her chair, her fingers tightening around the armrest. When she finally spoke, her voice was controlled—but the disappointment beneath it was unmistakable.“Jane,” Ivy said slowly, “I have built DeGrand Corporation on integrity. I can tolerate mistakes. I can even tolerate ambition. But I will never tolerate deceit of this magnitude.”Jane stood frozen in the middle of the office, her face pale, her lips trembling. Moments earlier, she had still believed she could talk her way out, twist the narrative one last time. But now, faced with irrefutable proof and Ivy’s cold gaze, that illusion crumbled completely.“I… I was just trying to protect myself,” Jane whispered weakly.Ivy’s eyes hardened.“Protect yourself?” Ivy repeated. “You fabricated evidence. You attempted to destroy a man’s reputation. You dragged my company into a personal vendetta and tried to manipulate me into bec
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“I’ll make sure he regrets this! I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Jane let out a shaky, humorless laugh, the sound brittle and tired. “Sorry doesn’t fix humiliation, Jaxon” she said quietly. “It doesn’t erase the looks, the whispers, and what I went through.” Jaxon exhaled slowly on the other end of the line. “No, it doesn’t. But revenge does.” Jane turned her head slightly, her body stiffening as she processed his words. The bitterness she had been drowning in sharpened into something more alert and more focused. She listened more closely now. “You don’t deserve what happened to you,” Jaxon continued. Jane swallowed hard. “I feel useless,” she admitted after a moment. “Like everything I worked for was just… erased. Years of effort, gone in a single meeting.” “Jane,” Jaxon said firmly, “listen to me. This is not the end. What you’re experiencing is a temporary setback.” She scoffed weakly. “Temporary? I was dismissed in shame. They didn’t even let me
Chapter 45
Donald sat quietly in the back seat of his car as it rolled through the familiar iron gates of Halcyon Global Holdings.The vehicle slowed, then passed smoothly through security, the guards offering respectful nods without hesitation. Donald did not acknowledge them, and his gaze remained fixed ahead.His expression was calm—carefully composed and unreadable.Very few people knew the truth.To the outside world, Donald was still the man with a stained past, the one whose name carried whispers and half-told stories. But what they saw was only the surface—what had been allowed to remain visible.After his release from prison, Donald’s life had taken a turn no one could have imagined.He remembered the day clearly. The chairman who had once handed him the black card and the red antique ring had not done so out of pity or nostalgia. There had been no sympathy in the chairman’s eyes that day. Only assessment.Those two items had represented trust, authority, and silent influence. They we
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Jane’s laughter rang sharp and cruel across the pavement as Donald turned away from her.“Look at him,” she scoffed loudly, folding her arms. “A real wanderer, aren’t you? From one company to another, always drifting, always unwanted!”Donald paused for half a second, his hand resting calmly on the glass door of the building. He didn’t turn back.Behind Jane, Jaxon stepped forward, emboldened by her tone and the belief that Donald was once again nothing more than a rejected nobody.“Exactly,” Jaxon added mockingly. “First DeGrand Corporation. You were hovering around there like a stray, pretending you mattered. Now you’re here, doing the same thing.” He chuckled coldly. “What happened, Donald? Ivy finally saw through you and kicked you out, so you came here to beg for another low-status job?”Jane laughed again, louder this time. “He really thinks he can keep climbing like this. From place to place, hoping someone will throw him a bone. Fool!”Donald slowly turned his head, his gaz
Chapter 47
As soon as Victor Hale heard Jaxon’s voice on the phone, his tone shifted instantly, bright and welcoming.“Jaxon!” Victor exclaimed cheerfully. “It’s been a while. Come on up—take the elevator to the fifteenth floor. I’m already waiting for you.”Jaxon smiled broadly and ended the call. He turned toward Jane, who had been watching his expression anxiously.“He wants us upstairs,” Jaxon said confidently. “Fifteenth floor.”Jane’s eyes lit up at once. Excitement surged through her chest, washing away the bitterness that had followed her since she’d been dismissed from DeGrand Corporation. To her, this meeting felt like a turning point—proof that she wasn’t finished, that she still mattered.“This is it,” she said breathlessly. “If Victor helps us, my family’s company can finally stabilize. We’ll grow stronger and more grounded. Everything that fool, Donald, tried to ruin—it’ll all be restored.”Jaxon nodded, pleased by her optimism. “Exactly. Just leave everything to me.”They stood
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“…people like that don’t deserve a platform,” Victor concluded. “You can rest assured, Jaxon. I won’t let him step out of line here. Not even for a second.” He folded his hands together, signaling finality. Jaxon Brown relaxed into the leather chair opposite him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. This was exactly what he had expected to hear. Everything was falling into place just as planned. He glanced sideways at Jane, his expression calm, confident—almost smug. Jane Wilson felt a surge of relief rush through her chest. Her shoulders eased, and the tension that had been gripping her since her humiliating dismissal from DeGrand Corporation finally loosened its hold. For days, she had replayed every accusation, every whispered judgment, every sideways glance. Sitting there now, hearing Victor’s assurance, it felt as though the scales had finally begun to tip back in her favor. For the first time in what felt like forever, she allowed herself a small smile. But be
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Victor didn’t need anyone to explain the weight of the instruction he had just received.The moment the call ended, his instincts as a seasoned corporate survivor kicked in. In a place like this—where power decided everything—hesitation was the same as self-destruction. One wrong move, one misplaced loyalty, and years of hard work would evaporate in seconds. He had risen by making quiet deals, choosing his allies carefully, and always sensing change before others did. And now, everything had changed suddenly.The name on that call alone was enough to remind him who truly held the reins.Across from him, completely unaware of the storm that had just broken, Jaxon sat comfortably in the leather chair, one leg crossed over the other. He casually adjusted the cuffs of his tailored shirt, his posture relaxed, his confidence overflowing. He looked like a man who believed he had already won. Leaning closer to Jane, he lowered his voice and whispered near her ear with a smug smile tuggi
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Jaxon stood squarely in the middle of the office, arms crossed over his chest with his body forming a solid barrier between Victor and the door. His earlier confidence had hardened into stubborn defiance. His jaw was clenched and the muscles along his face were tight as he fixed Victor with an unyielding stare, daring him to repeat what he had just said.“I’m not leaving,” Jaxon said firmly. His voice carried a sharp edge now, stripped of patience. “Not until you tell us why you suddenly changed your attitude. Five minutes ago, you were ready to help us. Now you’re throwing us out like trash. Explain yourself!”Jane stood beside him, close enough that she could feel the tension radiating from his body. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides, fingers curled into her palms as if holding herself together through sheer force of will. The excitement she had carried into the building was draining away fast. Her face had gone pale and her lips pressed together as she searched Vi