Chapter 2

Donna’s POV

A loud thud echoed in the hallway as Angela hit the floor. She curled in on herself, clutching her stomach and gasping for air.

Before she could even manage to scream my name in anger, the sound of footsteps approached the doorway.

Michael rushed past the door, his eyes squinting in shock as he stepped into the chaos outside my brother’s room.

"What is going on here?" his deep voice ordered.

The moment his eyes landed on Angela on the floor, the stupid and meaningless gentleness he always faked for me instantly vanished. 

 He rushed forward, completely ignoring me, and dropped to his knees to pull her into his arms.

"Michael..." she cried, and hid her face in his chest, her fake tears quickly soaking his expensive shirt. She clung to him, looking up at me with pitiful eyes. 

"What is wrong with her? I just asked her for a simple favor to get me a drink... Has she gone crazy? She just attacked me for no reason!"

A simple favor, right? Asking a traumatized, deaf boy to go into a terrifying basement in the dark was a simple favor to her.

I stood there, pulling Simon behind my back, and stared at the two of them holding each other on the floor.

The memories of my past life clawed at my mind, snatching the last piece of my foolishness. They had been doing this for years. They had been sharing laughs, sharing a life behind my back, all while mocking my desperation. They had been living luxuriously on my genius, treating me like a piece of trash.

"Donna," Michael growled, gently setting Angela aside and standing up to his feet. "Apologize to her right now."

I didn't flinch. I just stared right into his empty eyes.

"There will be no apology," I said, my voice heavy with disgust. "Only a divorce."

The room immediately went silent and Angela stopped crying at once, staring at me in shock. 

Micheal froze for a second before letting out a dry, mocking laugh. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at me like I was just a pathetic and stupid thing he always had to deal with.

"A divorce?" Michael scoffed, his voice heavy with contempt. "I see, you’ve really lost your damn mind! But let me remind you of exactly who you are, Donna. You were a rat in the slums when I found you. You were begging for food and shelter just to keep this deaf brother of yours breathing."

He took a step closer, pointing a finger at my chest.

"You own nothing," he spat. "Everything you wear, everything you eat, the roof over your head, it all belongs to me. Me!” He screamed in my face. “You think because you drew up a few blueprints for my company, you suddenly have power? You are nothing without me."

I stared at him, feeling absolutely nothing. The toxic fear that had chained me to this house was long dead.

"Michael, my stomach hurts so much..." Angela wailed loudly from the floor, her cry perfectly interrupting his rage.

His hand dropped and he looked back at her, his expression softening with that genuine concern I had always craved but never received. He turned his back on me and scooped her up into his arms.

"You're lucky she needs me right now," he spat over his shoulder. "I was going to take you to the charity auction tonight to show you to the board, but you can forget it. I'm taking Angela instead. She actually knows how to behave."

He turned to carry her down the hall, but then he paused and turned back to me with a cruel smile.

"You really want a divorce?" he asked, his voice calm and didn't wait for my response. "Fine. I actually knew this day would come. I knew you would eventually do this because you never appreciated what I did for you."

He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a piece of folded paper, and tossed them onto the ground in front of me.

"The documents are already prepared," Michael sneered. "I had my lawyers draft them weeks ago. Sign them if you want to end up back on the streets with nothing. Or, if you finally wake up and realize how stupid you're being, get on your knees and wait for me till I get back from the auction."

"Let's go," he whispered softly to Angela, carrying her away without a second glance back.

I watched him disappear down the staircase. My chest, which would have once ached with betrayal and panic, felt entirely empty.

I turned to the papers on the ground, walked over, picked up the pen resting beside them, and turned to the last page. I didn't even bother reading his terms. I knew what they said. He was stripping me of everything, leaving me with zero assets, and zero rights.

Without a single second of hesitation, I signed my name right there.

I heard him laugh from the stairs. He probably heard the scribbling of the pen. He thought I was really joking and would be starving and begging at his feet tomorrow.

Let him laugh.

I turned back to Simon. He was standing in the doorway of his room, his eyes filled with worry. 

I walked over and gently brushed his hair, raised my hands and signed to him.

“Go grab your bags, Simon. We're leaving.”

He didn't ask questions, he just nodded, his trust in me glowing in his eyes, and immediately turned to grab his backpack.

I walked into my bedroom and locked the door behind me. Then I grabbed my phone and dialed a secure number.

I was stuck. I needed money. The apocalypse was exactly ninety days away, and surviving the flood required enough resources. I needed to build a fortress, store food, and secure medical supplies.

"David," I said, tapping my fingers.

"Donna," my PA answered, his voice heavy with concern. "I heard shouting, ma'am? Is everything alright?"

David had been my PA since the day I joined the company. He was the only person who knew the truth. He knew I was the brains behind the entire operation and he had always hated Michael’s arrogance and had constantly warned me that I was being used. I just didn't listen.

"I signed the divorce papers, David," I said flatly. "We're leaving the house today. But I have a problem. I need capital, and I need it immediately. How much cash can I get from my personal accounts before he freezes them?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of David adjusting his glasses.

"Your personal accounts are already flagged, Donna. He’s cut you off," David said quietly.

My heart skipped a beat. If I had no money, I couldn't prepare. I couldn't save Simon.

"But," David continued, his voice confident. "you don't need those personal accounts. Have you forgotten about the new project?"

The new project. Yeah, the tech launch that had just gone live this week. It was the only reason Michael's company was still alive. It was the main thing bringing in revenue keeping his heavily indebted empire running.

"What about it?" I asked, my grip tightening on the phone. "He owns the patents. He made me sign them over to the company last year."

"He owns them under standard operating conditions," David corrected. "Donna, I never trusted him and you knew it. So when I drafted those transfer documents for you to sign, I hid a property reversion clause in it."

I stopped breathing for a second, my heart racing. "A reversion clause?"

"Yes," David said, the thrill clear in his voice. "The clause clearly states that if your employment is terminated without cause, or if the marital union between the creator and the CEO is legally dissolved, all patents, prototypes, and exclusive ownership rights of the new project revert immediately and unconditionally back to you."

Damn!

"He didn't read it," I whispered, not in shock, but overwhelming happiness.

"He never reads the documents," David laughed coldly. "And thankfully, he didn't let his lawyers go through it either."

A beautiful smile touched my face as the realization hit me. The second I signed those divorce papers, I took his empire with me.

 The helpless orphan Michael thought he was throwing away was gone.

"David, listen to me carefully," I commanded, my voice firm. "File the paperwork immediately. Trigger the clause. Transfer the project ownership to a new private company under my name."

"With pleasure," David replied, the sound of furious typing echoing in the background. "He won't know what hit him. What's our next move?"

"Liquidate my new shares immediately," I said. "We are going to buy a fortress.”