Divorcing The Female CEO: Leon's Revenge

6. Cracks in the Throne

The front page of the Cloudcrest Financial Times blazed with betrayal.

“Starline CEO Under Fire: Anonymous Leaks Reveal Questionable Financial Ties”

 “Selena Hart’s Downfall: A Queen Without Her King”

Inside the article, selective snippets of documents were plastered with red arrows and bold quotes: Unaccounted fund injections. Manipulated board votes. Undisclosed founder, Leon Grant. Photos of Selena’s past luxury vacations were juxtaposed with her company’s recent layoffs. 

The media had chosen its angle, and Selena was the villain.

Selena sat in her glass-walled office with the blinds drawn, surrounded by her exhausted communications team. Mia hovered near the back, her iPad trembling in her hands.

“We have to issue a statement,” one manager urged. “Deny the leak. Spin the partnership with Leon as mutual strategy.”

Another shook his head. “No one’s buying that. The public thinks she used him and buried him.”

Selena’s voice was hoarse, but commanding. “He’s my ex-husband, not my victim. I didn’t bury him, I didn’t even know who he really was.”

The room went silent.

Mia cleared her throat. “Maybe that’s the problem…”

Selena looked up slowly. “What did you say?”

“I mean…” Mia’s voice faltered. “The narrative’s changed. People used to see you as the bold, beautiful CEO who climbed her way up. Now they see… an illusion. A product. Something he built.”

Selena clenched her jaw. “Get out.”

The room froze. “I said, get out. Everyone.”

Mia hesitated, then obeyed, slipping out with the others.

Selena was alone, again.

At Vanguard Capital Private Office. Jason tapped away at his laptop, analyzing incoming data streams. “Two more articles posted this morning. You’re trending globally.”

Leon barely looked up from his tablet. “Good or bad?”

“Depends who you ask. Investors are pouring in. Your net worth jumped by another 18% this week.”

Jason smirked. “But Selena’s? Dropped by 31%.”

Leon stood and walked toward the window, watching the city like a chessboard.

“She’s not finished,” he muttered.

Jason raised a brow. “You sound almost… disappointed.”

“I’m not,” Leon said. “Just aware. She doesn’t go down quietly.”

Jason hesitated. “You still care?”

Leon’s silence was enough of an answer.

…

Across Town, Selena’s father, Gregory Hart, sat in his luxury estate, holding a scotch glass loosely in his hand. Once the CEO of his own conglomerate, now a fading memory of Wall Street glory.

He watched the news unfold and chuckled. “That girl always thought she could out-climb the world,” he muttered.

Beside him, an assistant cleared his throat. “Should we reach out to Ms. Hart?”

Gregory snorted. “No. She never listened when I warned her about marrying a nobody. Let her learn the hard way.”

But in his eyes, there was a flicker of something else, fear.

Because he recognized Leon Grant’s name.

He remembered once trying to blacklist the man. And failing.

…

That evening, Selena poured another glass of wine. Her penthouse was eerily silent. The night skyline stretched endlessly beyond her floor-to-ceiling windows, a city that used to whisper her name now ignoring her completely.

She pulled out her laptop and logged into her private server, one only she and her former CTO had access to.

There, in the deepest archives, she found it.

A hidden file. “Origin. Angel Seed Capital.p*f”

It was a full breakdown of the original $2 million funding that saved her company from ruin six years ago.

And in the footnote, under anonymous ownership, was a series of routing numbers that matched a firm, Lyra Holdings.

Selena’s breath caught. She remembered Lyra. A silent investor she’d never met. A name Leon once mentioned, casually, over coffee.

“You said you didn’t know…” she whispered to herself.

She stared at the screen, then closed the file. The truth stung worse than the lies.

…

At the edge of the Cloudcrest International District, a private server warehouse buzzed with red lights. An alert flashed across the screen: INTRUSION DETECTED. SOURCE: Silver Axis Group, Node X23.

Jason stormed into the security division. “I want every digital trace isolated and burned. This is not just corporate spying anymore.”

One of the tech analysts turned. “Sir… they didn’t go for Starline.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Then what?”

The analyst pointed to the screen.

“They’re mapping Vanguard’s offshore backup vaults. Including Lyra Holdings.”

Jason’s expression darkened.

“Find out who Zhou Ming is working for. Now.”

…

Flashback to Leon’s Secret Training. Years before the present chaos, a younger Leon sat in a smoky room in Switzerland, across from a woman known only as The Architect. She ran Lyra Holdings.

“You’re smart, Leon,” she said. “But the world eats men like you if you play too publicly.”

“I don’t need fame,” Leon said. “Just power.”

“And what will you do with it?”

“Build someone else’s dream.”

She’d laughed then. “Then don’t be surprised when they crush you under it.”

…

Back to the Present, Selena’s phone buzzed. It was an unknown number.

She hesitated, then answered. A voice, deep and measured, said, “Ms. Hart. I represent Silver Axis Group. You’re in danger.”

Selena froze. “What?”

“We’ve been tracking your former husband’s operations. You’re connected to his offshore shells. They’re preparing to burn everything.”

“Who is ‘they’?”

The line clicked off. She stood in her apartment, trembling. For the first time since Leon left…Selena was afraid.

…

At a secluded underground lounge, Zhou Ming sipped from a wine glass, watching the news scroll past a sleek screen.

“Begin Phase Two,” he said.

His companion nodded. “Do we cut Selena off entirely?”

Zhou’s eyes narrowed. “No. Not yet.”

“She might be useful?”

“No,” he said, swirling the wine. “She might be bait.”