Chapter 9
702words
"How pathetic. You're nearly dead, and you still don't know why. Jocelyn, you're such a fool. Maxwell's been planning to get rid of you since high school.
"Your dad reported his dad for embezzlement back then. Mr. Sutton went to prison, while his mom couldn't handle the humiliation and abandoned him. But your dad got promoted for exposing the corruption. You're the one who ruined his family."
The truth hit me like a freight train. What I had thought was love in my previous life had been nothing but a meticulously planned act of revenge from the start.
"He pursued you, then planned to marry you. All of it was for revenge," Angelica said, her eyes gleaming with malice.
She continued, "And me? I just liked taking things that belonged to you. Life isn't fair. Why did you get the grades, the friends, and the rich dad? Am I not prettier than you?
"But what's the use of being pretty? You could sit in your office using your brain and make millions, while I got reduced to 'eye candy.' I was jealous of everything you had, so I took it all."
With that, she descended into hysterical, unhinged laughter, wholly and finally surrendering to her madness.
Maxwell was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Angelica received an 18-year sentence on multiple charges. It was reduced to ten years due to her mental state and would be transferred to a psychiatric facility upon release.
…
Zachary had almost fully recovered and could be discharged from the hospital.
I led the company to clear Maxwell's remaining influence, then resigned.
"Are you really walking away from all this?" Zachary asked from his wheelchair as he watched me clear my desk.
"Not walking away. It's starting over," I responded, placing the last photo in a box.
"I only joined this company to avoid Maxwell in the first place. There are too many bad memories here. I need a clean slate."
"So… Is your new venture looking for a partner?" Zachary asked, handing me a business proposal. "I've got some ideas."
I opened the file, and my eyes lit up. It was the co-working model that would only appear five years later in my previous life, but this version was far more refined.
"You've been planning this? Since when?" I asked.
"Since the day you said you never wanted to see Maxwell again," he said earnestly.
He went on, "From the moment I met you five years ago, I knew you'd change the world. I just wanted to be part of it."
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating his profile. For the first time, I really looked at the man who'd been quietly supporting me all along. He had such a charming smile.
"You're capable of so much more than this, Jocelyn. Whatever you do next, I'm with you," Zachary said, his eyes full of warmth.
"Then I have one condition," I said, extending my hand. "I want 51% of the shares."
He burst out laughing and gently clasped my hand. "Deal, Ms. CEO."
…
A year later, our new company became an industry sensation.
Today was also the day Maxwell's prison appeal got rejected. He remained as stubborn as ever, showing zero remorse.
"Aren't you going to see him?" Yvonne asked.
"No need," I replied, calibrating the prototype for our new product. "He's part of the past."
I had called my dad to ask about the feud. He told me that Albert had managed the largest factory branch of their Elmshore-based conglomerate, and that Albert was a man drunk on power.
That year was particularly cold, and he had deliberately withheld the workers' wages. When a group of them went to confront him, his bodyguards beat them to death.
Later, Albert tried to flee the country with the embezzled funds, leaving most of those workers who couldn't afford heating to freeze to death in their homes.
My dad had just started his new position when he discovered the accounting discrepancies. He immediately submitted an audit request to headquarters.
That investigation put Albert behind bars, and he got exactly what his greed deserved.
