Chapter 4

NATHANIEL

6:00pm

“Never for once trusted these Financial Technology Platforms, with no bank for customers to go to”

“So much for a platform that guaranteed our money safety”

“When I saw that the thirty-eight year old owner of PayNexus was screwing his twenty -four year old inlaw to be, I just knew nothing good could come out of him”

This doesn’t look good,” Nolan muttered, setting the iPad on the table. His jaw was tight. He’d driven over the moment the news broke, even though I told him not to bother.

“The shareholders are panicking already. My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing,” he said, pacing toward me.

“And with the loan losses, this couldn’t have hit at a worse time.”

I clenched my teeth, staring into nothing. My whole body hummed with restrained fury.

“How much are we looking at?”

“Five hundred million.”

My exhale came slow, heavy. I pushed myself off the couch with a low grunt.

“Can profit from the other businesses cover it?”

Nolan hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod.

“Maybe. But it’ll shake us, Nathaniel. That’s half a billion dollars.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, slipping my hands into my pockets, my decision instant.

“Pull it. Refund every single customer first. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

“You’ve spoken to the backend team?”

“Charlie’s reinforcing the firewall, but the money trail …” Nolan broke off for a moment.

“It’s a mess. Whoever did this knew exactly where to cut us.”

“It’s Adrian.” I said cutting him off. Nolan blinked.

“You can’t just …. Nathaniel, you can’t accuse without proof.”

“Don’t tell me it’s coincidence.” My voice sharpened. I dropped my hands from my pockets and crossed them hard over my chest.

“Adrian is humiliated at the altar, and hours later my company bleeds half a billion? This is clearly his revenge.”

“Is there anyway I can help?!” I heard Delany’s voice and to be honest, I had totally forgotten she was standing in the living room. I slowly turned to her.

“You shouldn’t worry about this,” I said flatly. “Go upstairs.”

Her lips parted to say something, but Nolan’s voice stopped her.

“Actually,” he cut in, stepping toward her,

“There might be a way.” He said. Delany’s gaze snapped to him, alert now.

“Step one: clear the rumors. Go public with the truth, why you walked out on Adrian. Use the way your family’s treated you to win sympathy. Don’t worry about evidence, I’ll look for it. People need to see you, not them.”

Delany’s fingers twitched, but she didn’t interrupt.

“Step two: your stepmother seized your inheritance because you’re unmarried, right? Get the certificate. Marry Nathaniel. That makes you heir to the company. Step into the spotlight, take over as Chief of Operations.”

“Step three: once PayNexus stabilizes, Nathaniel steps down. You take the CEO seat, to gain back public trust , With your new image and position, the company rebuilds its reputation. One year, maybe less, you’ve flipped the story entirely.”

“No.” My voice cut sharply. I moved closer, glaring at Nolan.

“We’re not dragging Delany into this circus. Her life isn’t a PR stunt.” Nolan didn’t flinch.

“It’s the best shot we’ve got.”

“It’s reckless,” I snapped.

“It’ll cost us investors before we even start. I’ll find another way.”

“Have you forgotten that Delaney and I are in this scandal together? If anything someone who is not involved with our family issue should rather take over!”

With finality, I turned and started up the stairs.

“I’ll do it.”

The words stopped me cold. I turned back.

Delany stood in the middle of the room, her face unreadable, but her eyes .. those eyes they held determination I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

“Whether you agree or not, I’ll do it anyway,” she said quietly.

“Why?” My voice was a whisper before I could stop it. She lifted her chin.

“Don’t think too much of it.” Her tone was calm, soft.

“This is my revenge,” she added and we just stood there staring at each other.

Then …

Ding-dong.

The doorbell jolted all of us. Delany blinked, breaking our locked gaze.

“I’ll get it,” Nolan said, disappearing toward the door.

“I’ll… go upstairs,” Delany murmured, bowing her head slightly. She’d barely taken three steps when Nolan reappeared, an A4 envelope in his hands.

“This is for Delany.” She turned sharply.

“For me?”

Nolan nodded and handed it over. Her fingers trembled slightly as she tore it open. The paper slipped free, and I watched the color drain from her face.

Her expression moved from Shock to Horror then to Anger. All at once.

“She’s suing me,” Delany whispered, voice breaking as the page fluttered in her grip. “She’s suing me for custody of my mother.”

*******

DELANY

I sniffled, wiped my tears and exhaled deeply as I raised my phone again. I raised the mouth piece of the phone I was holding to the phone I was on live with, so that everyone could hear the nasty things Adrian said to me on voice notes. Immediately the voice note ended, I dropped my phone and continued speaking.

“I did everything right the entire time. I did everything they asked me to do, hoping, believing, that the day they’d treat me better would come. But it never did.”

Tears choked my voice, but I didn’t stop.

“I played along, because I thought silence meant that my mother would live. But silence killed me instead”

“And now, she’s suing me for the custody of my own mother!”

I blinked back the sting in my eyes and stared at the camera, forcing myself to keep going.

“Nathaniel and I weren’t screwing each other, I didn’t at any point cheat on Adrain. Nathaniel looked out for me and always protected me. I fell inlove with him, ofcourse you cannot blame a love starved girl,”

“So, crashing my own wedding is me saying I’ve had enough. I’m done being quiet. I’m done being the girl who only existed to please everyone else. From now on, I choose me and I really do not care about what anyone has to say”

“I’m not sharing this for validation from anyone of you. I’m sharing this for girls who are being forced into loveless relationships, girls who are currently in toxic relationships, this is your cue to walk out of that toxicity, what’s the worse that could happen! You never can tell until you leave. So stop delaying and do it now! Just like I did”

I ended the live and slowly looked up at Nolan. He rubbed my shoulders comfortingly.

“You did good”

“You can take a moment,” he whispered to me. I nodded slowly as I pushed the chair backwards, got up to my feet and headed to my room.

Two days later ….

Monday 19th August

“Do I have a case?” I asked, sliding off my shades and setting them on the table.

The lawyer adjusted his glasses, scanning the documents before him.

“You did sign custody of your Mother over to her.”

“I was deceived. She slipped that clause into the agreement without my knowledge. I signed under duress. Can’t we use that in court?” My voice cracked with frustration. He shook his head slowly, placing the papers down.

“There’s no evidence or no witnesses to prove coercion.” I leaned back, exhaling sharply.

“Then you’ll have to find a way. Nathaniel said you’re the best. I can’t leave my mother in their care.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Delany,” he said firmly.

“I’ll do everything I can to win this.”

“Thank you. How soon before we have the marriage certificate? And when can I confront my mother about my father’s will?”

“The certificate will be ready within twenty-four hours. As for the will, I’ll contact your father’s lawyer and update you.”

I nodded. “I appreciate it.” He gathered his files, standing.

“Then I should take my leave.”

I rose as well. “Thank you.”

I remained standing as he left, the buzz of my phone pulled me back. Digging into my bag, I took out my phone. A message from Nolan lit up the screen.

-your video is making waves. We might have shifted attention from PayNexus to you a little. You came with receipts, and the public is on your side. By now, Adrian and your family should be on the hot seat. Please be careful.

A small smile tugged at my lips. Finally. But as I lifted my head, movement at the edge of my vision caught me off guard.

Adrian?!

He was barreling toward me, face flushed, eyes bloodshot, shirt half-buttoned as if he hadn’t even dressed properly before storming out.

“You bitch!” he roared, seizing a fistful of my hair before I could react. Pain shot through my scalp as he yanked hard. And I made sure to scream just as loud.

He-goat.