The Broken Heart

The Revenge

Chapter 3

The very next day after the whole scandal the entire company buzzed with voices of betrayal. Simmon and Julie's affair was known by everyone now and the tapes of their sordid encounter passed from hand to hand. The atmosphere was fully electrified. The scandal had sent a shockwave through the business world. The name Maranzano, once synonymous with respect and adoration, was now a household word for disgrace. But for me, it was just the beginning. Vengeance is sweet, but not sweet enough. Simmon and Julie had taken everything that mattered to me from my trust, most tragically, even my love and with it, my child. I vowed they would pay to the last cent for all their evil deeds. They had to know just how awful I felt. The sole route that had to take them would be to do away with what they desired most the way they had done to me. The first thing that had to go was Simmon. It was a unanimous board's agreement that he had to be removed. By this time, people have been clear that he would not even receive respect from the people working under him. They voted him out, and I made sure it was both swift and very public. I was present to see the humiliation on his face as he is paraded out of the building with his things hurriedly crammed into a cardboard box. The man who once strode those halls with an air of superiority was now rendered into nothing. My carefully crafted plan didn't spare Julie either. She had been staying in my house, wearing my clothes, and enjoying all the privileges of being my "friend." She was nothing but a freeloader, and it was time for me to cut her off. I got locks changed on every single door in the house and revoked all of her access to my accounts and assets. So when she went back, she was locked outside, out of the life she had attempted to steal. How I had enjoyed seeing the despair in her eyes, how she pounded on the door, begging to be let in "Oh Bella, Please! please! please! you have to let Me in! " she wailed, her voice breaking. I stood on the other side of the door listening to her plead with cold satisfaction. Finally, when I opened the door, I didn't offer a word of assurance or forgiveness, nothing of the sort; I just said, "So this is how it feels to be betrayed, Julie. You made your choice; now live with the consequences." Julie's face creased and she kneeled down, but I turned my back to her. She was no longer a friend, and she would never be more to me than the recollection of the blackest treachery day that ever fell across my life. My work of vengeance, though, was not nearly complete. I had more in store for both of them yet. Next, I had their finances in view. I was sure that Simmon had been embezzling money from the company in order to set up a concealed offshore account for him to use in conjunction with Julie in order to escape after I moved out of the way. So I hired the best investigators money could buy, and before long I was sitting on the information I needed. Within hours, I had the account frozen, the funds seized, and Simmon's financial lifeline shut off. Simmon was now left with nothing except the clothes on his back he had been forced to sell his home, his cars, his businesses, all of his possessions, just to get by. Julie had been so eager to share in his wealth, but deserted him in no time when she discovered that the money had run out. She had no loyalty to him, just as she had no loyalty to me. Eventually, they ended up destitute, picking up the pieces of their shattered lives. But there was one last thing that I had to do to let them know how much pain they had put me in. It was time to confront the two of them, let them know that the lady that they could manage to swindle into dating was no more.

I was stronger now, fueled by the fire of my revenge, and they needed to see it. I arranged a meeting at some place so isolated they couldn't run or hide. I knew curiosity, fear, and desperation would drive them there. When they arrived, they found me waiting, standing tall and unflinching. Simmon's face was gaunt, his eyes hollow. Julie stood beside him, looking just as broken. They were no longer the confident, scheming pair who had once conspired against me. Now they were hollowed-out skeletons of who they had been. "Bella," Simmon started, trying to speak around his sobs, "please, we need to talk." I lifted my hand to stop him. "There's nothing more to say, Simmon. You've squandered everything for greed and betrayal. You had everything you could have wished for, and you risked it all." Julie stepped forward, tears still streaming down her face. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I was stupid, greedy. I didn't realize what I was doing." "Save your apologies," I said coldly. "You both made your choices. You betrayed me, and now you're paying the price." They stood there, their faces a mix of fear, regret, and desperation. But I didn't care anymore. They were no longer worth my time or my tears. I had avenged myself then; they no longer held power over me. "And you two will remain reformed for the rest of your lives," I continued, in my steady, firm voice. "I have taken all you have, as you tried to take everything away from me. Now go. I never want to see either of you again." Simmon and Julie exchanged a hopeless look, but they knew there was nothing left to say. They turned and just walked away, their shoulders slumped in defeat. As they disappeared into nothing, I felt a sense of closure. The wounds which they had inflicted on me would never really heal, but I had got back a part of my life. I was no longer a victim; I was a survivor and emerged so much stronger in so many ways. The company, my home, and my life were mine again. As I stood there and watched the sun sink below the horizon, I knew that, finally, the dark presences they brought to my life were gone. There was one thing that I could never have back: the life of my child, a pure soul who paid with its life because of their greed. Ache would linger forever, reminding me of what betrayal had cost me. But in that pain, I found determination. I vowed I would live my life in honor of the child I had lost, building a future deserving of the love that had once existed within my heart. Simmon and Julie meant nothing to me anymore. They were just glistening shards of a past I'd gotten over. As I turned to leave the meeting area, the burden of my past felt all too heavy on my shoulders. I was ready to keep going, ready to rebuild, and ready to live a life out of the chains of betrayal.

The future was mine, and I would embrace it with open

arms.