He Played Me, I Took Back My Fortune

Chapter 5

Lyra did not want to say anything more. She just left one line: "The truth you dig up yourself carries far more weight," and hung up the call.

It took me forever to drag myself out of my numb stupor. My hands shook so hard I could barely tap the screen as I called a close friend who lived abroad.

"Help me find a solid, reliable detective."

Barely half a day later, a video popped up on my phone, sent all the way from the West Coast.

Arthur was holding an East Asian woman tight in his arms, his voice soft and sugary as he spoke. "Roxy, only when I'm with you do I feel like a real man. If it weren't for the Storm family's money, I never would've married that domineering ice queen Ivy Storm. She's got nothing on you, nothing but her fancy family background."

Right after he said that, the two of them locked lips in a deep, hungry kiss. Next to them, a little kid around two years old lay fast asleep in a crib.

My nails dug so hard into my palms they almost broke the skin. Biting back the white-hot rage bubbling up in my chest, I kept watching.

Once their heated moment was over, Arthur spoke again. "Roxy, just hold on a little longer. As soon as this last sum of money hits the account, the three of us can finally settle down together as a proper family, no more hiding. We'll never have to be apart again."

That sum included two parts: the 1 billion in financing the Storm Group had promised to extend to the Callahan Group, plus 2 billion in liquid cash held in the Callahan Group's operating accounts.

That is when it clicked. The line he had thrown out before he left about the time being ripe had not been about expanding into the West Coast market at all. It was about moving all our marital assets out of the country.

"All these years, I used the Storm family's resources to prop you up, and this is how you repay me? Betraying me both in our marriage and for money?" I shot to my feet and slammed my phone onto the floor, c***k, it shattered into tiny, useless pieces. "Arthur Callahan, you're a f*****g animal!"

But that fiery burst of rage did not last long. Just as quickly, I forced myself to calm down.

Arthur had gotten so cocky he had forgotten a key detail: all of his company's core staff had been assigned there by the Storm Group back when we supported his business.

"Anyone stupid enough to stab Ivy Storm in the back is going to pay a price in blood." I pulled out my other phone and dialed the senior management of the Storm Group. "Get everything ready. Wipe the Callahan Group off the map in seven days."

"Yes, Ma'am!" A chorus of crisp, respectful replies rang out in unison from the other end of the call.