It was my company’s IPO celebration. My wife Isabella left the party early and didn’t return. At dawn, she stumbled in drunk, reeking of alcohol, with a vivid red mark on her neck. She hugged me, muttering her first love Paul’s name. Just then, Paul—Hollywood’s biggest star—posted cryptically online: 【We all need to take care of ourselves, so well that regret can no longer disturb us.】 The internet exploded. My wife publicly replied: 【Pretending, so well, that I’ve already forgotten you.】 Chaos followed. Furious fans flooded our company’s accounts, calling me a homewrecker. Rumors spread at work; partners pulled deals. My anxious assistant paced around. I sipped my coffee calmly. “Why panic?” “Send the security footage from last night’s garage to a hundred gossip blogs. Say the ‘wronged husband’ filmed it himself.” “And don’t blur the license plate. Let the whole city see that Lamborghini.” 1 The moment the video dropped, it seized every entertainment headline. 【Hollywood Star Paul Hale Exposed in Cheating Scandal】 【Tech Mogul’s Wife’s Affair with A-List Actor】 【Ethan Hawke Films The Whole Thing】 The three hashtags shot to the top of the trending charts, the heat around them refusing to die down. The street below my office was a swarming mass of reporters. My assistant, Mr. Evans, rushed in, his voice trembling. “Mr. Hawke, your wife… and Mrs. Hale, your mother-in-law, have both called.” I scrolled through the trending topics, my face a mask of indifference. Evans swallowed hard. “They want you to make a public statement clarifying that the man in the car… was you.” A cold laugh escaped my lips. “And why would I do that?” “She abandons me to spend the night with another man, and I’m supposed to cover for her? To drag my own name through the mud?” “Maybe you should book them an appointment with a neurologist. Only a brain-dead fool would think of using their husband as a shield for their affair!” The words had barely left my mouth when the office door was kicked open with a thunderous crack. Isabella stormed in, her eyes bloodshot with rage. She pointed a trembling finger at my face, her voice a raw scream. “Ethan, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you insane? Spreading these lies about your own wife online!” She slammed her phone down on my desk. The security footage was still playing on the screen. “Paul wasn't feeling well, and I was just giving him a ride home! It was nothing like the sordid fantasy you’ve cooked up in your head!” “So we stayed in the car for an extra hour, what’s the big deal? Why are you making a mountain out of a molehill?” “Now Paul’s new movie is being shelved, and his endorsement deals are being canceled!” “You are going to delete that video and issue an apology right now. Then you’re going to sue every single person who reported on it!” My gaze turned to ice. “If nothing happened, then where did that kiss mark on your neck come from?” “If nothing happened, why did you spend the entire night clinging to me, crying out Paul’s name?” She froze for a second, her fury shifting to disbelief. “I was drunk! I wasn't in my right mind!” “And who doesn't have a passionate, unforgettable love from their past? Everyone does!” “Was it really necessary to plaster this all over the internet? To ruin us both just to make a point?” “I’m with you now! What more do you want from me?” I flipped my tablet face down on the table, my eyes like shards of ice when I looked up. “Isabella, you’re the one who destroyed your own future. And you’re the one who destroyed our marriage.” “And another thing. Do you really think a pathetic excuse like ‘I wasn’t in my right mind’ erases the disgusting thing you did?” “A woman like you, with no self-control, deserves to be publicly shamed, again and again.” “Don’t you dare wrap your infidelity in the pretty packaging of ‘unforgettable love.’ You make me sick.” Isabella’s chest heaved with rage. She kicked the coffee table over with a crash, the veins on her forehead bulging. “Ethan!” She snatched a heavy glass ashtray from the floor, her hand stopping just inches from my face. I didn’t flinch. I smiled. “Go on. Smash it. Tomorrow’s headline will be ‘Heiress of the Hale Corporation Attacks Husband in Violent Rage.’” “I guarantee you, it will be even more popular than your little tryst with Paul.” Her body went rigid, and her hand fell, trembling, to her side. A short while later, Isabella’s mother—the executive CEO of the Hale Corporation—called me herself. Her voice dripped with condescension. “Ethan, I’m giving you one last chance.” “You have five minutes to delete that video. Then, you will use the official Nexus Corp account to release a statement, telling everyone that you were the man in the car.” “The Hale family will not tolerate a scandal of this magnitude.” I leaned back on the sofa, swirling the wine in my glass. “Mrs. Hale, I’m not the one who caused a scandal. Your precious daughter is.” “After what she did, the fact that I didn't halt my own company's IPO is a kindness I’m already regretting.” The line went dead silent. Then, through gritted teeth, she asked, “What is it you want?” “Money? Resources? Shares in the Hale Corporation?” “Name your price. Just make this right with the media.” I took a sip of red wine. “I don’t want anything.” “I just want Isabella to pay for what she’s done.” Mrs. Hale laughed, a sound devoid of humor. “Pay? Ethan, are you sure you want to openly challenge the Hale family?” “Let me make one thing clear. Without us, you are nothing.” “You have ten minutes. If you haven’t done as I said by then, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” 2 The line went dead. Mr. Evans looked at me, his face etched with worry. “Sir, Mrs. Hale… she has a certain amount of influence.” “The projects we’ve been negotiating recently all rely on technology from the Hale Corporation. We can’t afford to—” “It’s fine.” I cut him off, my voice cold as I swiped through my phone. “I’m actually curious to see what they’ll try next.” Time ticked by. I didn’t call a single press conference. Instead, a photo surfaced online, posted by Paul’s agent. It showed him lying in a hospital bed, tears streaming down his face. The caption read: 【Thank you all for your concern. Please don’t attack anyone. This is all my fault.】 In the picture, Paul was dressed in a hospital gown, an oxygen mask over his face, his eyes red and swollen with tears. Simultaneously, the news that Paul had attempted to take his own life by overdosing shot to the top of the trending charts. Public opinion turned on a dime. My company’s social media was bombarded by his fans, a torrent of vicious curses aimed directly at me. 【He’s a monster! He’s trying to bully Paul to death!】 【Ethan Hawke needs to die! Give Isabella back to Paul!】 【We support Paul! The one who isn’t loved is the real victim!】 My phone rang again. It was Isabella, her voice seething with a hatred she couldn't hide. “Paul tried to kill himself. Are you happy now, Ethan?” “If anything happens to him, I swear to God, I will drag you down to hell with me!” The sheer absurdity of it was staggering. “Isabella, stop blaming me for everything.” “Did I force him to swallow those pills? Did I force him to become your mistress?” “If you love him so much, why don’t you just go die with him?” “Oh, and by the way, tell Paul that next time he tries a stunt like this, he should use something stronger than a handful of vitamins.” “It’s one thing for you to be an idiot, but don't assume the rest of the world is too.” I slammed the phone down. But my actions had thoroughly enraged Mrs. Hale. That afternoon, our company’s overseas expansion plans hit a wall. One after another, our partners sent termination letters. Not only that, but investors began pulling out of our new projects, citing “high risk due to the misconduct of Nexus Corp’s executive management.” Mr. Evans put down the phone with a heavy sigh. “Sir, another contract terminated.” “They’re trying to burn us to the ground.” In the span of a single day, I went from the celebrated CEO of a newly public company to a man drowning in astronomical debt. A message from Isabella popped up. 【This is what you get for crossing the Hale family, Ethan.】 【Apologize now if you know what’s good for you. Don’t make us get nasty.】 【The divorce papers are in the mail. Don’t even think about fighting it.】 I let out a soft laugh. And replied with a single word: 【Pathetic.】 Isabella, apparently shocked that I still refused to bow, stormed into my office with her entourage in tow. “Ethan, get the hell out!” “This is my company now. You have no right to be here!” I remained seated on the sofa, watching her with detached amusement. “Have you lost your mind, Isabella?” “I made you a general manager at my company, and suddenly you think you own the place?” “Why don’t you go check who the majority shareholder is?” “This place has absolutely nothing to do with you, or the Hale family.” She stood frozen, dumbfounded. She had assumed that the shares I’d given her when we married, combined with her own clandestine acquisitions, would have secured her the top spot. But I had been prepared for this. Standing behind her, Paul’s lower lip trembled, his eyes welling up with tears. “Isabella, maybe we should just go.” “If we make him angrier, who knows what other lies he’ll spread about me online…” He blinked, and a fat tear rolled down his cheek. The sight of it sent a pang of protectiveness through Isabella. She spun back to me, her eyes blazing. “Don’t get too comfortable, Ethan!” she roared. “Every ounce of pain Paul has suffered, I will repay to you, tenfold!” “You just wait! One day, I will run you out of this city! I’ll have you blacklisted from the entire industry!” I smirked, giving her a lazy nod. “Alright. I’ll be waiting.” 3 My gaze shifted to Paul. “By the way, Mr. Hale, next time you fake an overdose, you might want to bring a toxicology report from the hospital.” “Falsifying medical records is a serious crime, you know.” Paul’s face went white, the blood draining from his lips. Isabella shoved him behind her, her embarrassment turning to fury. “That’s enough, Ethan! You will not threaten him again!” Seeing her stand there, a righteous defender of her lover, was so laughable I could barely contain it. “Isabella, you’re the one who turned him into a homewrecker.” “You love him, but you couldn't stand that he had no power, no status. You couldn’t give him a legitimate title, but you were more than happy to use my family’s resources to claw your way up…” “You’re the one who dragged him into this scandal! It was your insatiable greed, your need to have everything, that did this!” Isabella’s fists clenched, her chest heaving. She grabbed Paul by the arm and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. In the days that followed, the Hale family launched an all-out assault. My personal information was leaked online. Photoshopped images of me in a coffin circulated widely. My company’s internal network was repeatedly hacked by anonymous attackers. Mr. Evans reported it to the police, but each report only triggered a fresh wave of retaliation. Meanwhile, Isabella brought Paul as her date to the Hale Corporation’s annual gala, declaring her love for him in front of the entire media. “Paul,” she said, her voice ringing with emotion, “let’s get married.” The world cheered for their "epic love story." And I was cast as the villain, a sick, twisted man. When Mrs. Hale called again, her voice was dripping with smug triumph. “Ethan, I warned you. The Hale family is not to be trifled with.” “However, if you publicly admit that you maliciously fabricated this entire story, and then get on your knees and beg me…” “I might consider letting you off the hook.” I toyed with a teacup, then lowered my voice. “Mrs. Hale, your memory must be failing in your old age. You seem to have forgotten my last name.” My father, though long retired, was a man whose word was still law in this city. My mother had founded a world-leading research institute, with connections spanning the globe. I hadn’t used my family’s power because I still held some small sentiment for the marriage we once had. I didn’t want to be utterly ruthless. But now, I could see they weren't worthy of such sentiment. Isabella’s voice came through the line. “You’ve seen what my mother can do. If you don’t clear this up, we will crush you completely.” “I’m going to teach you the true meaning of regret.” A small, cold smile touched my lips. “We’ll see about that.” I was dying to see how a pathetic, second-rate dynasty like the Hales planned to go up against the Hawke family of New York.
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