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Chapter 8: The Shadow of George Reed

Author: Frank J.P
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-06 04:12:02

The alliance between Bella and Jason, though born of necessity, was a fragile spark in the middle of a storm: volatile, intimate, and haunted. Each late-night meeting and whispered theory began to pull them closer, but this wasn’t about rekindled love. Not yet. It was about survival.

They dug through spreadsheets and financial audits like archaeologists unearthing a corrupted empire. Bella’s sharp instincts and Jason’s determination to right his past wrongs created a synergy neither had expected. But beneath the growing teamwork, a darker force was stirring one more dangerous than Veronica: George Reed.

Jason’s trusted CFO, Ryan Cole, joined their inner circle. After reviewing the video footage of Veronica’s deception, Ryan’s reaction was visceral. “This isn’t just corporate sabotage,” he said grimly. “It’s personal. And calculated.”

With Ryan’s help, they began connecting dots that stretched further back than Veronica’s time with Reed International. Bella found something Jason had mi
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  • Once my Wife   Chapter 20: The Unseen Strings

    The media firestorm surrounding Reed International had escalated into a full-scale siege. Headlines blared fresh accusations daily; corporate misconduct, internal sabotage, and even whispers of federal investigations. Behind the chaos, George Reed’s hidden network operated with surgical precision, pulling invisible strings and manipulating public perception like a master puppeteer.Jason had bought a sliver of time with a narrow board vote of confidence barely enough to breathe. His office became a war room, cluttered with documents, transaction maps, and red-eyed associates fighting to trace the poison bleeding into the company’s core. He stood before a digital board, outlining the web of financial manipulation and media leaks.“They’re shorting the stock, controlling the narrative, and manufacturing panic,” Jason said, his voice low and grim. “This isn’t just an attack, it’s a hostile operation. They’re trying to destroy Reed International from the inside out, force a devaluation, a

  • Once my Wife   Chapter 19: The Poisoned Whispers

    The morning light filtering through Jason’s penthouse windows did little to brighten the mood. Bella sat on the edge of the leather couch, hands wrapped tightly around a mug of untouched coffee, replaying the kiss from the night before. It hadn’t been just physical. It was raw, emotionally charged, scar reopening. Yet now, with daylight came the retreat, the second-guessing. The war outside their doors had only escalated.Jason stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, eyes scanning a barrage of breaking news headlines scrolling across his tablet. Each one was a blow to his public image, a calculated attack launched with precision and malice.“Reed International in Crisis: Whistle-blowers Confirm Financial Irregularities.”“Insider Claims CEO Jason Reed 'Mismanaged Funds' – Federal Inquiry Looming?”“Grace Monroe Speaks Out: 'Reed International Needs a New Era of Leadership.’”Bella’s stomach churned as she watched a video clip of Grace speaking on a morning financial show, her voice syr

  • Once my Wife   Chapter 18: The Old Flame’s Embrace

    The digital trap had worked like clockwork.Silas Thorne’s signature was all over the infiltration logs, his reckless brilliance, his arrogance, his fingerprints. With every line of code, every unauthorized access, he had not only buried himself but dragged Veronica Pierce and George Reed into the light with him. Mark Jenkins and his cybersecurity team moved swiftly, documenting the breach, assembling airtight evidence for Detective Harris. The noose was tightening. Slowly, methodically. And this time, it wouldn't loosen.But amid the chaos and corporate warfare, something more subtle and far more dangerous was happening.Bella and Jason had been forced into close quarters for weeks now. Emergency meetings turned into late-night strategy sessions. Mutual blame had transformed into shared purpose. And beneath the tension and high-stakes maneuvering, an old, simmering current had begun to rise again quiet, potent, undeniable.It came to a head one night, just past midnight.The office w

  • Once my Wife   Chapter 17: The Bait Taken

    The trap had sprung.Inside Jason's office, the tension was suffocating. Mark Jenkins’s screens pulsed with lines of code, log access trails, and metadata overlays, each confirming what they had hoped for: the digital infiltration was underway.“They’re in,” Jenkins murmured. “Silas Thorne’s signature is unmistakable.”Bella leaned in, eyes fixed on the scrolling activity. The invaders were navigating the decoy server like seasoned professionals, slipping past firewalls, decrypting dummy files, scanning fabricated financial logs designed to mirror Reed International’s true accounts.“They’re after the embezzlement records,” Jenkins confirmed. “They think they’ve found the mother-lode. I’d bet money they’re preparing to inject false transactions that pin it all on you, Bella and then wipe the server clean.”Jason clenched his jaw. “Let them. Every keystroke is a nail in their coffin.”But something tugged at Bella's instincts. Her gaze narrowed. “Mark,” she said, pointing at a data log

  • Once my Wife   Chapter 16: The Digital Trap

    The truth about Silas Thorne and George Reed’s continued, ruthless orchestration behind the scenes landed like a professional boxer’s punch. Bella sat still for long moments after Jason revealed the financial links, her body trembling from the sheer weight of betrayal. It was no longer just Veronica’s venom or corporate ambition, it was George himself, lurking in the shadows like a puppet master, weaponizing surveillance and fear against them. Against Lila.That realization didn’t break Bella it strengthen her resolve and forged her.Jason, no longer just the heir or the leader, had shifted. The warmth in his eyes was still there when he looked at Bella, but the fire had hardened into something colder, more dangerous. The protective instincts he’d once dulled out of obligation were now sharpened into a blade of vengeance.“Jenkins,” Jason said, voice clipped and steely, “I want full visibility on Silas Thorne’s firm. I want his staff tracked, I want every server ping logged. No more h

  • Once my Wife   Chapter 15: The Game of Cat and Mouse

    The game had shifted. This was no longer a matter of corporate espionage or bruised egos it was war. With each passing hour, the threat loomed larger, more insidious, and now unbearably personal. Bella could feel it in the cold tightness of her chest, in the way her gaze never strayed far from her phone, expecting another anonymous message, another veiled threat. But it wasn’t herself she feared for—it was Lila. Her daughter had become the center of this dangerous game, the ultimate prize.Jason’s entire demeanor had changed. The protective shell he once kept so carefully measured had cracked. Now, he was all edge, operating on cold fury and precise urgency. He wasn’t just fighting for Bella anymore. He was fighting for his child.Mark Jenkins delivered the first breakthrough.“We’ve tracked a physical address,” Jenkins said in his usual gravelly monotone, standing in Jason’s office like a silent predator. “The original server registered under an inactive shell corporation was linked

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