After He Betrayed Me, I Took My Empire Back

Chapter 4

It was seven o'clock in the evening when Warren finally showed up. He dove straight into the water himself, hauling me up into the cabin.

"Still breathing, huh?" His tone was sharp and gruff, but his movements were surprisingly gentle as he wrapped a thick blanket tight around me. "The bad ones live forever, huh?"

I let him lead me into the submarine, and the warm air immediately wrapped around my frozen, stiff limbs.

I hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful on top of rushing over in such a panic. He'd even prepared hot tea and a fresh set of dry clothes for me.

After I changed, he was still standing with his back to me, and when he spoke, his voice was ice-cold.

"Your wonderful husband's trending."

I took the phone he held out. The screen showed Roldan and Abby standing with their child at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new mall I had poured two full years of my life into building.

The man was in a crisp tailored suit, the woman was beaming like she owned the place, and the kid was in a custom little formal outfit.

What a perfect, happy little family picture.

My heart squeezed so hard it ached, a sharp twinge catching in my chest.

Once upon a time, Roldan had stood right next to me just like that, squeezing my hand tight when another project of ours wrapped up, and said, "Trina, without you, I'd be nothing."

Back then, the gratitude and love in his eyes had made me feel so warm, so loved, so happy.

Now, just thinking about it made my skin crawl.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Told you not to marry him, but you just wouldn't listen." Warren gave a cold snort. "That leech built his entire career on your Ashton family's resources. Spent your money, lived in your house, swapped your kid, and tried to kill you with his mistress on top of it all.

"f*****g piece of trash. I'm gonna beat the s**t out of him the second we get back!"

I closed the video and pulled up the family portrait taken at our house in my photo album.

"Save your energy. Beating him would land you in jail. I've got a plan to deal with him, and I'm gonna make him wish he was dead."

Warren froze, stunned, and turned to stare at me and said, "I thought you'd still be delusional, still buying that deadbeat husband of yours crap."

I ignored his jab, too exhausted to care, and collapsed onto the cabin seat.

"Someone who's already died once isn't that naive," I said.

He went quiet all of a sudden, no more snarky comments left. All I could see in his eyes when he looked at me was raw, worried heartache.

Warren took me to a luxury penthouse apartment in the middle of the city.

"All the properties under your name are being watched right now. Stay here for now, it's safe." Then he held out a new phone, his tone cocky. "Don't go saying I'm a cheapskate. It's the latest model, and the number's super easy to remember."

Before I could even get the words 'thank you' out, he waved off the gesture like it was nothing and walked out.

I stood there alone, holding the phone, for a long, quiet moment.

The hotel right across from the apartment? That was where Roldan and I got married.

Not long after my parents passed, I was a total mess. I could barely get out of bed some days, and I even thought about ending it all more than once.

It was Roldan, that scrappy poor kid from the small mountain town, who stayed by my side day and night, taking care of me in the clumsiest, most earnest way.

He'd run all over the city just to buy my favorite snacks. He'd hold my hand all night long when I woke up screaming from nightmares.

He'd say the same thing to me over and over again, "Trina, you've still got me. Hold on, okay?"

During the darkest time of my life, he'd chipped away at the walls around my heart, slow and steady, until he'd fought his way inside.

Looking back now, I realize he knew exactly what that hotel meant to me from the very start.

It was where my parents had fallen in love, the spot my mom had taken me to more times than I could count before she passed.

He'd chosen to propose there on purpose, making me fool myself into thinking it was a sign of fate.

How ridiculous.

The salvation I thought I'd found? It was nothing but a premeditated trap from the very start.

Shaking off the bitter memories, I pulled out my phone and called my aunt.

The second she picked up, her voice shot up in shock. "You're alive? Roldan specifically told everyone you were out at sea and…"

"I got rescued. Didn't die like he planned." I stared out the window at the hotel across the street. "Auntie, I need you to come back and chair the emergency Ashton Corporation board meeting.

"If I'm right, Roldan is going to call an emergency board meeting tomorrow to force his way into the chairman position. You hold more minority shares than anyone else besides me. I need your support to stop him."

"Okay." Her voice immediately turned grave. "But can you tell me what on earth is going on?"

I squeezed my phone so hard my knuckles went white.

"Someone killed my baby, and they tried to kill me too. They want to wipe out the Ashton family line and seize every last bit of our wealth."

I stood by the window, drew in a deep, steadying breath, and shot Warren a text.

Trina: Eight a.m. tomorrow. I want that headline trending.

He texted back instantly.

Warren: You got it, my lady. Sit back and enjoy the show.