The Forsaken Bride: Revenge On The CEO

Chapter 7 : The Final Push

To be safe and to make sure the editors see you are serious, let's post Chapter 7. This chapter will be about the "Morning After" the party, where Zainab and Alexander start the actual business war.

Click that plus (+) button one more time and title it: Chapter 7: The Cold War Begins

Chapter 7: The Cold War Begins

The morning sun over Ikoyi was bright, but the air inside Alexander Thorne’s glass-walled boardroom was freezing. I sat at the head of the long table, wearing a sharp, cream-colored power suit that felt like armor. Gone was the emerald silk of last night. Today, I wasn't a guest; I was a predator.

Alexander sat to my right, watching me with a look of quiet fascination. "You didn't sleep much," he noted, sliding a tablet across the table.

"I'll sleep when Kelvin Uzor is filing for bankruptcy," I replied, my eyes scanning the data on the screen.

The news from the engagement party was everywhere. Social media was buzzing with photos of the "Mystery Woman in Green" who had brought the great Kelvin Uzor to his knees. The stocks for his company, Uzor Tech, were already starting to wobble. Investors don't like drama, and they especially don't like seeing their CEO shattered in the middle of his own party.

"Here," I said, pointing to a line of numbers on the spreadsheet. "This is Kelvin’s Achilles' heel. He told everyone his new 'Smart-City' software was original code. But I was there when he bought the base-code from a developer in India who didn't sign a full rights-transfer. Kelvin cut corners to save money for Anabel’s engagement ring."

Alexander leaned in, his shoulder brushing mine. "If we contact that developer and buy those rights ourselves..."

"Then Kelvin is guilty of intellectual property theft," I finished. "His biggest contract with the government will be canceled immediately. He will owe millions in penalties."

Alexander let out a low, dark chuckle. "You really did learn everything from him, didn't you?"

"I didn't learn it from him," I corrected, looking Alexander straight in the eye. "I built it for him. He just had his name on the door."

Just then, my phone buzzed on the table. It was an unknown number, but I knew exactly who it was. I put it on speaker.

"Zainab, please," Kelvin’s voice came through, sounding raw and broken. "I know it’s you. I know you’re behind the rumors about the software. If you do this, I lose the government contract. My parents' house is collateral for the loan. You’re going to put my family on the street!"

I felt a momentary pang in my chest—the old Zainab trying to scream. But then I remembered the smell of the clinic. I remembered him laughing with Anabel while I was in pain.

"My children don't have a house, Kelvin," I said, my voice steady and cold. "They don't even have names because you decided they were 'inconvenient.' Why should I care about your parents' house?"

"I'll give you anything!" he sobbed. "I'll leave Anabel! We can start over!"

I looked at Alexander, who was watching me with an unreadable expression. I reached out and pressed the button to end the call.

"He's desperate," Alexander said.

"He's pathetic," I replied. "Send the legal team to India. I want those rights by noon."

I stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the city I was about to conquer. The war had officially moved from the heart to the bank account. And I was winning.