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CHAPTER 26
Last Updated:
2025-04-03 23:08:05
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My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 27
Michael POVThe expensive whiskey in my crystal glass remained untouched, the hand-carved ice slowly melting into a diluted amber pool as I stared with growing intensity at the high-resolution photograph displayed on my phone's screen.Alexandra.My wife. My wife, regardless of what legal papers might claim to the contrary.Even after all these years of calculated distance and deliberate indifference, the unexpected sight of her sent a violent, uncontrollable rush of heat through my veins like molten steel. But this time, it wasn't just her familiar silhouette that captured my attention—it was the impeccably dressed man standing confidently beside her in the dimly lit street.James Dean.Billionaire entrepreneur. CEO of the rapidly expanding Dean Holdings. A man whose carefully cultivated name carried significantly more weight in elite boardrooms than mine ever had, despite my own considerable success. And there he was, his manicured hand resting possessively on the small of my wife's
Last Updated : 2025-04-04My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 28
Alex POV"Mom, is he a dinosaur expert?" Griffin asked, bouncing on his toes as we waited at the park entrance. His dinosaur t-shirt—the one insisting "Paleontologists Dig Deeper"—was freshly washed for the occasion, and he'd insisted on wearing his special fossil-hunting hat despite the perfect weather."I don't think so, sweetie," I replied, smoothing down a stubborn cowlick in his sandy brown hair. "But he said he's been reading up on them just for you."Griffin considered this with the serious deliberation only a six-year-old could muster. "That's acceptable. But I'll test him."I bit back a smile. "Be nice, Griffin.""I'm always nice," he protested, then spotted something over my shoulder. His eyes widened. "Is that him? The one with the blue car?"I turned to see James parking his sleek Audi—notably not one of his more ostentatious vehicles. He'd been listening when I mentioned Griffin's fascination with blue things. As he approached, I was struck by how different he looked—casu
Last Updated : 2025-04-05My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 29
James POVThe children's section of the Natural History Museum buzzed with the controlled chaos of weekend visitors. Excited voices echoed off the vaulted ceilings as parents chased energetic children between exhibits. Through it all, I focused on one small figure in a paleontologist vest, currently pressing his face against the glass of a fossil display with reverent attention."The Archaeopteryx is my third favorite," Griffin informed me solemnly, pointing to the delicate impression of feathers preserved in stone. "It proves the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.""Third favorite?" I asked, genuinely curious. "What are the first two?""Triceratops is second because of the defensive capabilities," he explained with the air of a military strategist. "And Ankylosaurus is first because it has the best armor and a tail club that could break a T-Rex's leg with one hit.""Practical choices," I nodded. "You've thought about this carefully."Griffin beamed at the recognition of h
Last Updated : 2025-04-06My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 30
Alex's POVThe shrill ringing of my phone jolted me awake. Sunlight barely filtered through the curtains as I fumbled for the device, my heart already pounding before I even saw Sally's name flashing on the screen. Four-thirty in the morning—never a good sign."Alex, turn on CNBC. Now." Her voice was razor-sharp, the kind of tone that meant disaster. Not the usual crisis we could manage with a carefully worded press release or strategic silence. This was something else.I grabbed the remote, my fingers numb with sleep and dread. The screen flickered to life, and there it was—my face, a decade younger, splashed across the news ticker:"LANE INTERNATIONAL CEO ALEXANDRA LANE LINKED TO BILLIONAIRE MICHAEL COLEMAN IN SHOCKING SECRET PAST."A cold wave crashed over me. The headline was bad enough, but the photo beneath it—our photo—was worse. Michael's arm draped possessively around my waist at some forgotten charity gala, my smile bright but naive. The Guggenheim benefit, 2013. Back when I
Last Updated : 2025-04-07My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 31
Alex POV Lane International Headquarters – Midnight The office was silent except for the hum of servers in the tech room. The skyline glittered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, a stark contrast to the darkness I felt gathering around me. I scrolled through the flagged emails on my laptop, the blue glow casting shadows across my face as I hunted for the leak that had been draining company secrets for weeks. "Got you," I whispered, satisfaction curling through my veins. A series of encrypted messages between a Lane employee—Daniel from Accounting—and an unnamed external party. Attachments: financial projections, client lists, merger strategies. All marked "For EC's Eyes Only." EC. Elias Coleman. Michael's shell company, the one he thought I didn't know about. The one he'd used to purchase that vacation property in the Caymans where he'd taken his mistresses. The one that now, apparently, he was using to orchestrate corporate espionage. My fingers tightened around the mouse u
Last Updated : 2025-04-08My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 32
Coleman Corporation – Next MorningMichael's fist hit the mahogany desk hard enough to rattle the monitors displaying the morning's market reports. Red numbers flashed across the screens, Coleman stock down three points already."What do you mean Titan Industries pulled out?" His voice was dangerously soft, at odds with the vein throbbing at his temple.Rachel shrank back, clutching her tablet like a shield. Even after fifteen years as his right hand, she still flinched when his temper flared. "They signed with Lane International an hour ago. Their CEO cited 'ethical concerns.'""Ethical?" Michael's laugh was venomous, scraping across the room. "Alexandra's little press stunt has them running scared of bad publicity."He stalked to the window, adjusting his cufflinks with precise, controlled movements that betrayed his fury. The Coleman Tower afforded a perfect view of Lane International's sleek headquarters across the financial district. A decade newer, a shade taller. Alex had made
Last Updated : 2025-04-09My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 33
Alex POVLane International Headquarters – 7:03 AMThe espresso machine hissed and spat like an angry beast as I poured a triple shot into my mug. The bitter aroma sliced through the morning haze in my office, sharper than any alarm clock. Manhattan glittered through the wall of glass behind me, all chrome and promise and lies. I sipped slowly, letting the bitterness burn the edges off my fatigue.Sally leaned against the edge of my desk, one stiletto heel hooked behind her calf, tablet in hand. She was scrolling, but her eyes weren’t glazed over with distraction—they were gleaming with anticipation."Titan Industries just landed at JFK," she said without looking up. Her voice was smooth, edged with satisfaction. "Their CEO’s texting me like a nervous prom date. Wants to meet before their 10 AM with Coleman Corp."I glanced at the digital clock on the far wall—7:03 AM. Perfect. I set the cup down, wiped the condensation off the rim with my thumb, and opened the drawer to my right. Ins
Last Updated : 2025-04-10My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 34
Maria's fork clattered against her plate loud enough to make their youngest daughter flinch. Claire, twelve years old and already hypersensitive to the atmospheric pressure changes that preceded her parents' storms, hunched her shoulders and fixed her gaze on the uneaten salmon on her plate. The dining room's chandelier cast sharp shadows across the table, highlighting the lines of tension etched into everyone's faces. "You've been staring at that phone for twenty minutes," Maria hissed, her voice low but edged with the sharpness of a blade that had been sharpened too many times. Michael didn't look up from the Lane International stock ticker, the blue glow illuminating the angles of his face. The stock had risen another eight percent since opening bell. "Business," he replied, his voice flat and automatic, a recording he'd played so many times it had lost all meaning. "Bullshit." Maria slammed her wine glass down, ruby liquid sloshing onto the white tablecloth like blood seeping t
Last Updated : 2025-04-11
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My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 65
Outside the Courthouse – 11:47 AM The October sun cast long shadows across the courthouse steps, but none as dark as the black Mercedes sedan idling at the curb. Its engine purred like a waiting predator, patient and menacing against the backdrop of victory cheers and reporter questions that followed us from the building. I kept my eyes forward, chin high—the pose I'd perfected for cameras since taking over Lane International—but I felt the weight of that car's presence like a physical touch.Griffin's fingers tightened around mine, his sixteen-year-old hand now nearly as large as my own. He'd grown so much in the two years since choosing to leave his father's house. The transformation from the withdrawn, frightened boy who'd appeared at my door with a duffel bag and his coding manuals to this tall, observant young man still amazed me. But now I felt his composure waver, sensed the childhood fears resurface as the sedan's tinted window rolled down another inch—just enough to reveal
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 64
Federal Courthouse – One Week Later Michael's cuffs gleamed in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the courtroom as marshals led him past the cameras and the packed gallery. The orange jumpsuit hung loosely on his frame—he had already lost weight in the seven days since his arrest, his cheekbones more pronounced, the skin beneath his eyes shadowed with exhaustion or calculation or both. Yet he maintained the ramrod posture that had intimidated boardrooms across three continents, his gaze sweeping the courtroom with the confidence of a man who still believed, against all evidence, that he would somehow emerge victorious.When his eyes found mine in the front row, something flickered across his features—not quite regret, not quite defeat, but a momentary crack in the facade of invincibility. He held my gaze as he was guided to the defense table, his lips forming two words, distinct enough that I could read them even from a distance:"You win."Beside me, Griffin tensed, his fourteen-yea
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 63
Coleman Corp Headquarters – Dawn Flames licked the skyline as firefighters hosed down the ruins of Michael's empire, their water arcs catching the first light of dawn and fracturing it into ephemeral rainbows above the destruction. The acrid smell of burnt plastic and melted wiring carried on the cold morning air, mixing with the steam rising from the overheated structure. From where I stood across the street, the Coleman Corp logo—once illuminated in blue neon fifty stories above Manhattan—was now a blackened skeleton against the lightening sky.Reporters swarmed behind the police barriers, their satellite vans creating a secondary perimeter, their cameras and microphones thrust toward anyone who might have information. Their headlines were already writing themselves, scrolling across the bottom of live broadcasts on the screens visible through the media vans' open doors:ARSON SUSPECTED IN COLEMAN CORP INFERNO – INSIDERS CLAIM "REVENGE"I stood on the periphery, Griffin's hand clu
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 62
Manhattan Safehouse – 3:01 AM The pen felt like a blade in my hand, its weight disproportionate to its size, its purpose more dangerous than any weapon. The heavy parchment of the document lay spread before me on the kitchen table, illuminated by the single pendant light overhead that cast long shadows across the room. Michael hadn't moved from where he stood, his silhouette blocking the only exit, his broad shoulders filling the doorframe as completely as he had once filled my life.Three months of careful hiding, of sleeping in different locations, of burner phones and cash transactions—all undone because I'd underestimated his desperation. Because I'd believed, foolishly, that a man on the run from federal authorities would prioritize his freedom over his obsession."You really think I'd sign this?" My voice was steady, but my pulse roared in my ears like a freight train, the adrenaline making my fingers tingle around the silver pen he'd placed in my hand—the same pen I'd used to
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 61
Manhattan Safehouse – 2:47 AM The window alarm didn't trigger. The motion sensors stayed dark. The silent pressure plates beneath the imported Persian rug registered no intrusion. The thermal cameras mounted discreetly in the crown molding detected no heat signature beyond the expected patterns.But I woke anyway—to the scent of bergamot and betrayal.Michael stood at the foot of my bed, a silhouette against the Manhattan skyline visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse. The city lights behind him created a halo effect that was grimly appropriate—Michael had always cast himself as the avenging angel in his own narrative, the righteous force bringing judgment to those who defied him."You forgot," he whispered, his voice carrying that familiar blend of smug satisfaction and menace that had once made boardrooms fall silent, "I taught you how to disable every security system you own."He had. In the early days of our marriage, when I had still mistaken his controll
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 60
Lane International HQ – 3 Weeks Later The boardroom erupted into startled applause as Griffin's coding demo concluded, the screens around the room displaying the elegant solution he had developed—a cybersecurity algorithm that outmaneuvered every Coleman Corp defense system our team had been able to replicate. The lines of code seemed to dance across the monitor, a digital ballet orchestrated by hands still small enough to struggle with tying shoelaces."He's ten?!" The CTO, Marcus Chen, gaped at Griffin, then at me, as if suspecting some elaborate practical joke. Marcus had joined us six months ago from Google, bringing decades of experience and a healthy skepticism about the hype that often surrounded child prodigies. That skepticism had just evaporated before my eyes as Griffin's program systematically identified and exploited vulnerabilities that Marcus's own team had missed.Griffin adjusted his glasses with his index finger, a perfect mimic of my boardroom stance—the gesture I
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 59
Griffin's Bedroom – 11:08 PM The nightlight cast shadows of rocket ships across the walls as I sat on the edge of Griffin's bed, the starscape projector James had bought him rotating slowly overhead. The room smelled of graphite and apple juice—the telltale scents of my son's peculiar combination of artistic precision and childish appetites. Griffin's small hands clutched the drawing he'd sent Michael, the paper now creased from being folded and unfolded countless times, as if he was trying to reconcile himself with what he had done."Why this one?" I asked softly, careful to keep any judgment from my voice. When Maria had called to tell me Griffin had sent something to Michael's satellite phone—against her explicit instructions—I'd expected to feel anger. Instead, watching my son's solemn face in the dim blue light, I felt only a profound sadness for what he had lost. For what we had all lost.Griffin traced the falling man with his finger, following the pixelated outline with the
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 59
Private Jet En Route to Dubai – 3:22 AM Michael Coleman pressed a bloodied handkerchief to his split lip as the jet climbed through turbulent clouds. The G650 shuddered around him, the luxury cabin's warm lighting contrasting with the darkness that enveloped both the sky outside and his prospects. The handcrafted Italian leather seat that had once felt like a throne now seemed to mock him with its opulence. The metallic taste of failure coated his tongue—worse than the blood.He glanced at his reflection in the darkened window—disheveled hair, the purple bloom of a bruise forming along his jawline, the crisp white collar of his bespoke shirt stained crimson. He barely recognized himself. Just twelve hours ago, he had stood at the podium at Coleman Corp headquarters, assuring shareholders that the SEC investigation was "a minor administrative review." Six hours ago, he had been in his corner office, watching as federal agents seized servers and hard drives. Three hours ago, he had s
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 57
Reykjavik Server Farm – Midnight The Arctic wind howled through the open door like a living thing, carrying stinging particles of ice that bit at exposed skin and infiltrated the seams of even the most technical cold-weather gear. Negative fifteen degrees Celsius according to the readout on my watch, though the windchill made it feel much colder. My breath crystallized instantly, hanging in the air before being whipped away by the relentless gale that swept across the barren Icelandic landscape surrounding the facility.James disabled the last security panel with gloved fingers, the specialized equipment he'd brought bypassing the biometric scanner that would have required Maria's fingerprint or retinal pattern. The facility looked innocuous from the outside—a low-slung concrete structure nestled against the side of a dormant volcano, its exterior designed to weather the brutal conditions of an Icelandic winter. Only the satellite dishes and transmission arrays on the roof hinted at
