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Chapter Thirteen First Strike

Aвтор: Jane James
last update Последнее обновление: 2025-04-28 19:46:00

Elena

They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

I disagreed.

I wanted Sophie to feel it. To choke on it. To burn with it.

I wanted every smug smile she’d ever thrown my way to wither and rot.

When I opened the files from the flash drive that night, a sick sort of satisfaction bloomed in my chest.

Bank statements. Names. Dates. Scans of contracts forged under false pretenses. Videos—grainy but damning—of Sophie whispering promises to men who clearly weren’t in their right minds.

I stayed up until dawn piecing together her empire of lies, a twisted mosaic of ambition and destruction. Every click of my mouse stitched a little more resolve into my bones.

By morning, my plan was crystal clear.

No messy confrontations. No screaming matches.

I would end Sophie Mitchell the way she had tried to end me.

Quietly. Thoroughly. Completely.

I uploaded the files to a secure server, wrote an anonymous email to one of the city’s most ruthless investigative journalists, and hit send without a single tremor in my hand.

And then…I waited.

It didn’t take long.

By noon, the story exploded.

“BREAKING: Prominent Attorney Under Investigation for Fraud, Blackmail, and Embezzlement”

I sat in my sunlit kitchen, coffee cooling beside me, as Sophie’s career crumbled across every news outlet.

Social media feasted on the scandal, chewing up her polished image and spitting it out in bloodied pieces.

My phone buzzed non-stop—friends, colleagues, even casual acquaintances texting me variations of:

“Did you hear?”

“Isn’t she the woman Daniel…”

“You must be devastated…”

Devastated?

No.

Liberated.

I had spent too long letting other people’s lies define me. Not anymore.

The front door slammed open so hard it rattled the frame.

Daniel stormed in, his face pale with rage.

He threw his phone onto the counter between us, screen glowing with the latest headline.

“You did this,” he hissed, voice low and shaking.

I arched an eyebrow, unbothered. “Did I?”

“Don’t play games with me, Elena. You wanted to destroy her. And now—” His voice broke, a strangled sound. “Now you’ve dragged us both through the mud!”

I set my coffee down gently. “Dragged us?” I repeated, savoring the word. “You made your choices, Daniel. I’m simply letting the consequences find you.”

He raked his hands through his hair, pacing like a man trapped in a burning house.

“You don’t understand,” he muttered. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far. She—she said she needed help. She promised—”

“She promised you the world,” I said quietly. “And you gave her the match to burn it down.”

For a moment, I saw the man I had fallen in love with—terrified, broken, lost. But I didn’t move toward him. I didn’t offer comfort.

He hadn’t earned it.

He sank into a chair, head in his hands. “What happens now?”

I crossed my arms, feeling the weight of years pressing down, hardening me.

“Now,” I said calmly, “you decide which side you’re on.”

He looked up, eyes bloodshot. “Elena—”

The doorbell rang before he could finish.

We both froze.

Slowly, I rose and walked to the door, heart thundering in my chest.

Through the frosted glass, I saw the dark silhouette of a woman.

When I opened it, Sophie stood there.

Or rather, the ghost of her.

Her hair was tangled, her clothes wrinkled, eyes wild and desperate. She shoved past me into the foyer before I could stop her.

“You think this is over?” she snapped, voice shaking with fury. “You think you’ve won?”

Daniel stumbled to his feet. “Sophie—what are you doing here?”

She ignored him, stalking closer to me.

“You have no idea what you’ve started,” she hissed. “I will bury you.”

I tilted my head, studying her like a specimen under glass.

“You already buried yourself,” I said, voice cold and even. “I just handed you the shovel.”

Her hands clenched into fists. “This isn’t the end.”

“No,” I agreed. “It’s the beginning.”

And with that, I stepped aside, giving her a clear path back to whatever hell she came from.

Sophie hesitated for a heartbeat, trembling with rage.

Then she turned on her heel and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind her.

Daniel collapsed back into the chair, face ashen.

I watched him in silence, feeling something inside me settle.

Not peace.

Not yet.

But something close.

Because Sophie wasn’t just going to lose everything.

She was going to watch me rebuild from the ashes she tried to leave me in.

And that was a punishment far crueler than anything else.

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  • Shattered Vows    Chapter Thirteen First Strike

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  • Shattered Vows    Chapter Twelve: Whispers in the Dark

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