Todos los capítulos de My Stolen Providence: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

The confirmation email was still on my screen when my dad called. He did not ask when I had gotten home the night before or who had paid the extra 18,000 dollars for the party. "Be at the office before nine. Ryan's taking over your project, so get the materials ready for him." I held my phone, my fingertips growing cold. I had negotiated that project myself after joining Wellington Group. To secure the other company's use license for their technology, I had flown out eleven times. Despite my alcohol allergy, I drank with clients until I had stomach bleeding. Dad had patted my shoulder back then and promised me a seat on the board once the deal became final. Now, when we were one step away from signing the contract, he wanted to hand it to Ryan. The conference room was full of senior members from the management team. When I walked in, Ryan's nameplate was already in front of my seat. He wore my dark suit and was flipping through the proposal I had spent six months writing.

I watched the footage three times. I downloaded the original video and made two backup copies. I no longer expected Natalie to come back to me. But Joseph and Tina… They were still my biological parents. They might have given in out of sympathy or blinded by gratitude to the man who had saved me, but surely they would not keep treating me this way once they saw the evidence? I returned to the Wellington residence with my laptop. Everyone was in the living room. Ryan was holding my mom's arm as they picked out wedding invitations, while my dad and Claire were discussing the project. Natalie was sitting beside him, peeling grapes for him. I connected my laptop to the television. "Watch this. Then I want an explanation." The footage began playing. Ryan's laughter filled the living room. Nobody spoke. Claire moved first. She rushed over and unplugged the television. The last image on the screen before it went black was Ryan's smug face. "Why do you still have access to th

It was barely dawn when my plane landed. Peter's personal assistant was already waiting at the exit and handed me the keys to an apartment and my new employee badge. The title printed on it was "Director of Liverian Projects." I stared at it for a long time before hanging it around my neck. On the way to the office, I brought up the Wellington Group. "I have worked on their project. To avoid any dispute, I won't use their internal information. I can also step aside from the review if necessary." The personal assistant passed my message to Peter. A few minutes later, Peter called me himself. "Leon, Summit hired you for what you can do, not for what you could bring us from Wellington Group." I tightened my hand around my new badge. Being valued didn't have to depend on blood ties. I did not have to accept being mistreated to earn it, either. Meanwhile, back at the Wellington residence, Mom frowned at the empty dining table. "He hasn't made the glazed fish or picked up the

When Natalie returned to the marital home, Ryan was telling the housekeepers to clear out the clutter. My mugs, books, and picture frames had all been piled by the door. "There's no point keeping these," he said as he tossed a mug into a cardboard box, cracking its base. Natalie grabbed his hand. "Who told you to touch these?!" Ryan froze. "Didn't you say I could stay here for now?" Natalie looked around. Ryan's suits filled the walk-in closet. Not a single thing belonging to me remained in the shoe cabinet, the bathroom, or by the bed. The digital photo frame was still connected to my account. Its screen lit up and began showing photos from when I was furnishing the house. In one image, I was asleep against a cabinet I had not finished assembling, still holding our wedding checklist. Back then, Natalie had promised that once we were married, she would never let anyone mistreat me. Now, she had taken my savings to order a custom suit for another man and stood beside him a

News that Summit Group had ended the exclusive partnership spread through Wellington Group. The banks that had been waiting for the project to go ahead put plans to extend more credit on hold. Two suppliers demanded a review of their orders. Even the technical team that had already agreed to come aboard sent a letter asking about the risks involved. Dad spent the entire day in the conference room. Claire carried my work notebook as she led a team through the past three years of company projects. That was when they discovered that Wellington Group had once come within a single signature of a major breach of contract. I had spotted a hidden clause that would have made the company jointly liable for damages and had contacted the legal department that night to get it amended. Two years earlier, when cash flow had been tight, I had taken the proposal to six banks before securing enough time to keep the company afloat. Even the two clients Claire thought she had landed had only agr