The Heir's Revenge

Chapter 9: Phase One Over

The snow was light that morning in Zurich, thin flakes swirling like white dust around the glass tower of LanceCorp.

The city was crisp and alive, but inside Lawrence’s new office that once belonged to that late CEO, the air was steady, calm and commanding. Floor to ceiling windows revealed a skyline that stretched endlessly, and for the first time in his life, he was looking up to power or kneeling to it, he was in it.

He was dressed in one of the custom black suit that he had gotten from the tailor’s studio. The tailor had called it “the emperor’s cut.”

Every movement he took in the suit felt extremely expensive.

He was reviewing acquisition reports when his secretary’s voice came through the intercom.

“Sir, a woman is here to see you. She’s causing quite the nuisance here, she’s saying she knows you….that she’s your wife—“

“Nuisance?!” The woman screamed from the background.

He leaned back in his seat upon hearing that familiar voice, a voice he always longed to hear back then.

“Send her in.”

“Yes, sir.”

The door opened slowly. She entered like a scene from a memory he’d buried. Flawless makeup, soft curls falling over her shoulders, red silk dress that clung to her body like temptation itself. She wore his favorite perfume, vanilla musk with hints of amber, and when the scent hit him he almost laughed.

She was playing a role.

The same role that had fooled him once.

“Isn’t this all a bit much?” He asked her.

“Lawrence…” she began, her voice trembling slightly as if she was fighting back tears. “You look….different.”

He said nothing. He simply gestured to the chair across his desk.

Rebecca hesitated before sitting down, crossing her legs elegantly, eyes darting around the office like she couldn’t believe the man in front of her owned it.

“I….i didn’t know where else I could see you, so I decided to try—your company.” She said softly, as she emphasized his company. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“I know.” He said, taping his pen against his desk. “That’s why I deleted your number.”

She winced but continued, her tone shifting from timid to pleading. “Lawrence I made a mistake, I was seriously wrong, and sacred. My parents pushed me to choose Jordan. They said it’s best for the family, and you of all people know how important family is—“

He let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.

“You know me Lawrence, you know how much I loved you…”

“Loved….” He interrupted. “Past tense.”

She sighs. “Oh come on Lawrence, I only did what I did to protect you, I didn’t want to hurt you—“

“Hurt me? Rebecca, you didn’t just hurt me. You used me. Laughed at me. Mocked me. You abandoned me while your family and that idiot Jordan threw me out of your mansion like garbage. You stood by and did nothing, telling me to accept my fate.”

Tears began to gather in her eyes, “I didn’t mean it! I tried to stop them….”

“And which part was that exactly? When they made me sell my car, or was it my land? Or was it when they emptied all my bank accounts.”

“Baby don’t say that—“

“You took a loan on my head! Forged my signature, told me to go to prison for your sake.”

She tried leaning closer to him. “It’s all in the past now…”

“Stop.” He said, raising a hand. “Don’t insult my intelligence.”

Rebecca’s lips quivered, but she leaned forward, despite his raised hand, already desperate now. “Lawrence please, we can start over. I miss you. You’re everything I ever wanted, and I was too blind to see it. But I see it now.”

“Because the world has started to see me now? Or because you’re seeing my wealth now.”

“No, no, of course not. This is real.”

He finally stood up from behind the desk. His presence filled the room instantly. He picked up a folder from the desk and walked toward her.

Inside were the divorce papers.

He placed them in front of her carefully, the way a chef would set down an egg.

“Sign these.”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

“The divorce papers.” He said. “Sign them, and you can go back to pretending I never existed, to Jordan.”

She shook her head, eyes wide.

“Lawrence, no…please. Don’t do this. We can fix it. We can make it work again. I know what I did was wrong, but—“

He leaned forward slightly, towering over her, voice low. “Rebecca, you didn’t come here because you loved me or now love me. You came because you realized I’m not the broke nobody you thought I would end up being after that night. I’m the CEO of LanceCorp now. That’s why you’re wearing my favorite perfume, my favorite color. You came to seduce power and wealth, not to find forgiveness.”

Her face flushed red. Anger, shame, maybe both.

“You’ve changed.” She whispered. The so called tears now dried from her eyes.

He smiled faintly. “That’s the point.”

Rebecca’s eyes darted between the papers and the expression on his face. “I’m not signing these, I’m not doing it.” She said quietly, as if defying him would give her leverage.

“Then you’ll regret it, I’ll make sure every single lawyer and court in Europe knows exactly what you and your family did to me.”

She stood up abruptly, glaring at him now. “You think you’re powerful? You think this makes you better than me now?”

“No, I don’t think I’m better than you Rebecca. I am.”

“And besides you said it yourself, money is the most important thing. It’s all I’ve been thinking about and seeing lately.”

For a moment, silence consumed the office. The kind of silence that came before a storm broke. Then, finally, she grabbed the pen and with trembling hands she scrawled her signature across the bottom of the page.

When she was done, she dropped the pen and looked up at him, eyes glistening with humiliation and anger.

“You’ll regret this.” She hissed.

“I already regretted you. I don’t have much regrets in me anymore.” He said simply taking the papers back.

Rebecca blinked rapidly, her composure crumbling. “I loved you, Lawrence. I really did.”

He tilted his head, as if mocking her. “Enough to have been sleeping with another man while we were married?”

Her breath hitched, as if a bandage was ripped from an open wound.

Then she straightened up, clutching her purse harder.

“I hope you choke on your success, and when it comes back to bite you I hope you know I tried to reason with you.” She said, storming toward the door.”

He didn’t respond this time. He simply watched her leave.

He picked up the signed papers and placed them in a drawer.

He’d send her copies of the divorce papers later.

Phase one of his plan is already over.

He exhaled.

And for the first time in years he felt light, the guilt he expected to feel wasn’t there.

There was no shame, no pain.

His phone buzzed. A message from Kent flashed on the screen.

Kent: Board meeting tomorrow, our overseas partners are all eager to meet the new CEO. Are you ready?”

Lawrence: more than ready.