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Chapter 15: Scandal
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2026-01-14 16:41:48
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The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 45: The Win
GRACE'S POVThe DA filed charges against Marcus three days later. Fraud, conspiracy to commit defamation, witness tampering for paying Stella. The news broke at nine in the morning and by noon my stock price had recovered everything it lost and then some. Investors who'd pulled out were calling back. The IPO underwriters confirmed the new date, two weeks from now, exactly as planned. GRACE was going to be worth two billion dollars and Marcus Webb was going to jail.Naomi called at one. "We won. Sarah Martinez published a full retraction with an apology. The Business Journal is settling our defamation suit for an undisclosed amount that's going to be very disclosed when I'm done negotiating. And Marcus's lawyer just called asking if we'd consider dropping charges in exchange for a public apology and restitution.""No." I didn't hesitate. "He tried to destroy my company. He coordinated with his boys' club to fabricate evidence and ruin my reputation. I want him prosecuted to the fullest
The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 44: Working Together
GRACE'S POVThe deposition lasted six hours. Carter sat across from Marcus's lawyer and calmly recited every detail of that phone call, every confession Marcus had made, every piece of evidence that proved the articles were fabricated lies. I watched from Naomi's side of the table, taking notes, trying not to notice how good Carter was at this. How he stayed composed when Marcus's lawyer tried to rattle him, how he answered every question with precision, how he never once looked at me for reassurance.Marcus sat next to his lawyer looking like he wanted to kill someone. Probably Carter. Possibly me. His face got redder with each question, each answer that proved he'd orchestrated the whole thing. When Carter detailed the payment to Stella, Marcus actually stood up. His lawyer had to physically pull him back down."That's enough." Marcus's voice was tight with rage. "This is bullshit. Carter, you know I was just venting on that call. You know I didn't actually do any of this.""I know
The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 43: His Answer
GRACE'S POVCarter called at midnight. I was still awake, going through financial projections with David over video call, trying to figure out if delaying the IPO two weeks would be enough time to recover investor confidence. My phone lit up with Carter's name and I almost declined it. But something made me answer, made me put David on hold and take the call I'd been avoiding since I left Naomi's office six hours ago."It's midnight, Carter. Whatever you want, it can wait until morning." I kept my voice flat, professional. The voice I used with people who didn't matter."I know. I'm sorry. I just needed to say something and if I waited until morning I'd talk myself out of it." He sounded tired. Raw. "Grace, I need you to understand why I'm really helping you. Not the noble answer I gave in Naomi's office. The truth.""I don't need your truth. I need your testimony against Marcus." I pulled up my laptop, tried to focus on the numbers David was showing me. "Save the confessions for your
The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 42: Unlikely Alliance
GRACE'S POVCarter showed up at my office three hours after the second article dropped. I was in an emergency board meeting, watching my directors debate whether to postpone the IPO or push through the crisis, when Meredith knocked and whispered that Carter Vaughn was in the lobby refusing to leave until I saw him."Tell him I'm busy. Tell him to go through my lawyer like everyone else." I turned back to the board, tried to focus on David explaining how we could stabilize investor confidence if we moved fast enough. But my brain was stuck on Carter downstairs, on what he could possibly want now when my world was burning down around me.Meredith came back ten minutes later. "He says it's about Marcus. Says he knows how to stop him. Grace, he looks desperate. I think you should hear him out."I excused myself from the meeting, took the elevator down to the lobby already regretting this decision. Carter was pacing near the security desk, still in yesterday's wrinkled clothes, looking lik
The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 41: The Article
GRACE'S POVThe article went live at six in the morning. I knew because my phone started buzzing before my alarm went off, texts and calls coming in so fast the vibrations blended into one continuous hum. I grabbed it off the nightstand, saw Naomi's name on the screen along with fifteen missed calls, and knew something terrible had happened."Tell me you haven't seen it yet." Naomi's voice was tight. Angry. "Grace, don't read it. Let me summarize so you're not blindsided by the details.""Seen what? Naomi, what's going on?" I was already opening my browser, typing my name into the search bar. The Business Journal article was the top result. Headline in bold: "Grace Monroe's Secret Affair & Baby Trap: The Untold Story Behind the Billion Dollar Victim."My stomach dropped. I clicked the link before Naomi could stop me, started reading. The article was long, detailed, written by Sarah Martinez who I'd never heard of but who apparently had sources close to the situation. Sources who claim
The Billion Dollar Bet Chapter 40: Marcus's Move
MARCUS'S POVI found out Carter was chasing Grace from Richard's text at two in the morning. "Your boy's in Portland stalking his ex. Got himself arrested. Thought you should know before this blows up."I called Carter immediately. Voicemail. Called again. Nothing. Sent a text: "What the fuck are you doing in Portland?"No response. I sat in my home office staring at my phone feeling something cold settle in my chest. Carter was supposed to be past this. Past Grace, past the guilt, past caring about what happened to the woman who'd destroyed us. We'd made a pact after the scandal broke. Brothers before anyone else. The club above everything. No woman was worth betraying that.And now he was in Portland. Chasing after Grace and the kids everyone kept saying were his. Kids I'd told him couldn't possibly be real, that Grace was using for sympathy, that he needed to forget about. He'd agreed. Said he was moving on. Fucking liar.My phone rang. Carter finally calling back. I answered ready
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