Opening my eyes, I found myself back on the exact day I was supposed to sign my life away. In my previous life, I listened to my wife, Serena, blindly. But the very second she got my signature on the asset transfer, she conspired with her lover to orchestrate a fatal car crash, sending me plunging into the freezing river. What I could never forgive, what truly damned her in my eyes, was what she did next. She cut off the funding for my critically ill mother's life-saving medication, leaving her to die in agony. And she ruthlessly terminated our three-month-old unborn child without a single ounce of remorse. Right now, Serena walked into the bedroom holding a warm glass of milk. She forced a luxury fountain pen into my palm, her voice dripping with sickly sweet affection. "Babe, if you just sign this paperwork, I'll finally believe you truly love me." I stared at her hypocritical, beautiful face for a few seconds before a cold chuckle escaped my lips. Then, without a moment of hesitation, I signed my name on the dotted line. 1 She leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "You're the best husband in the world! I'm going to go make you a special breakfast!" Clutching the documents, she practically skipped out of the bedroom, her footsteps light and eager. I watched her back, the smile on my lips vanishing inch by inch. I picked up my phone. It rang twice before my assistant answered. "Transfer all core patents to my mother's name immediately," I ordered. "Empty the corporate liquid funds and route them into our offshore accounts. Work through the night, bypass the standard auditors, and leave absolutely zero trace." The line was dead silent for two seconds. "Understood, Mr. Wright." I hung up the phone and let out a long, heavy breath. In this life, I was going to make them pay in blood. During the day, I played the part of the doting, oblivious husband to perfection. Serena cooked, flirted, and chatted with me, wearing her mask of the perfect, loving wife without a single flaw. She even rubbed her flat stomach, her eyes turning convincingly red as she whispered softly. "Babe, we're going to have a beautiful baby soon. I'm going to give you the healthiest, perfect little angel." I smiled and agreed, but my eyes were completely devoid of warmth. Deep in the middle of the night, a faint rustling sound woke me. The space beside me in bed was empty. I didn't move. I waited until she tiptoed completely out of the master suite. Then, I slid out of bed and followed her barefoot, silent as a ghost. The study door was left slightly ajar, a sliver of yellow light spilling onto the hardwood floor. I pressed my back against the wall and held my breath. From inside, I heard Serena's voice, trembling with suppressed excitement. "He signed it! He actually signed it!" Next came the voice of her lover, Derek, oozing with greed and malice through the video call. "Let me see it!" Just as I thought. They couldn't waste a single second once they had my assets in their sights. "Once he's dead, this estate will be enough to keep us living like royalty for the rest of our lives!" Serena's eyes practically glowed with avarice. Derek's next words made my blood boil so hot I nearly kicked the door down to snap his neck. "The brakes are already rigged. We just wait for him to take the coastal highway out by Westridge Canyon. There are so many blind hairpin turns out there. Once he goes over the cliff, not even God could save him." The phantom sensation of freezing river water flooding my lungs and choking the life out of me surged back into my mind. "His mother burned through twenty grand at the clinic just this month," Derek continued. "The second Gideon is dead, the first thing we do is pull the plug. We can't have her fighting us in probate court for the leftover assets." Serena frowned slightly. "Isn't that a bit too cruel? It is his mother, after all..." "Cruel?" Derek scoffed. "You didn't think it was cruel when you scraped his parasite of a kid out of your stomach, did you?" Serena went dead silent. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. My heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice, the pain so intense I could barely breathe. I silently retreated to the bedroom, slipped under the covers, and closed my eyes. The next morning, Serena woke up earlier than usual. She stood in my walk-in closet, meticulously picking out a dark grey casual suit for me. With feigned innocence, she casually made a suggestion. "Babe, the weather is gorgeous today. Why don't we take a drive?" "How about Westridge Canyon?" I sneered internally, but my face remained perfectly calm. I nodded. "Sure. I've been exhausted lately. A drive to clear my head sounds perfect." 2 "Then it's a date!" Serena's eyes lit up. She quickly added, "You should take the Aston Martin. It's been sitting in the garage forever. It needs a good run." "Whatever you say." She nodded in satisfaction and turned back into the closet to change her outfit. Serena, were you really that impatient? I pulled out my phone and shot a text to Marcus, my head of security. "Are we ready?" Marcus replied instantly. "Everything is in position." I deleted the text thread and slid the phone back into my pocket. Before I left the house, Serena thoughtfully adjusted my tie and pressed the keys to the Aston Martin directly into my palm. "Drive safe, honey. I'll be waiting for you right here." I leaned down and placed a flawless, deceptive kiss on her forehead. "Okay. Wait for me." Wait for the spectacular gift I had prepared for you. The sports car roared out of the gated community, speeding toward the western outskirts. I didn't drive fast. I intentionally idled at several traffic lights, giving Serena more than enough time to confirm I was on the road. Checking the rearview mirror, I spotted a black sedan tailing me from a distance. It was Derek's men. I let out a cold laugh and slammed my foot on the gas. Half an hour later, I pulled into an abandoned gas station near the canyon, the prearranged swap point. A black SUV was already idling in the shadows. Sitting in the driver's seat was my most trusted operative, Jax, a former professional stunt driver. "Bail out at the second hairpin turn. Are you sure you can pull this off? They are tailing me tight. We can't afford a single mistake." Jax took the keys to the Aston Martin and flashed a confident grin. "Mr. Wright, I could do this blindfolded." I patted his shoulder, got into the SUV, and drove off in the opposite direction. ... At ten o'clock sharp, breaking news alerts flooded every screen in the city. BREAKING: Gideon Wright, Chairman of Pinnacle Group, missing after fatal car crash off Westridge Canyon cliff. Presumed dead. I was sitting in my heavily fortified safehouse. A massive wall of monitors illuminated the dark room, broadcasting live feeds from my corporate headquarters and my private estate. Everything was right under my nose. On one of the screens, I watched the living room of my own house. Serena was collapsed on the sofa, clutching her phone, crying hysterically. "Husband... how could you leave me all alone... I don't want to live without you..." I watched her performance with ice in my veins. The doorbell rang. Serena instantly wiped away her fake tears and practically sprinted to the door. Derek stood on the porch, holding a bottle of vintage champagne. "Get in here!" She yanked him inside, slammed the door, and ripped the curtains shut. She began jumping up and down like a lunatic. "It worked. It really worked!" Derek wrapped his arms around her waist, a massive, arrogant grin on his face. Suddenly, Serena pushed him away. She marched to the center of the living room, ripped our massive wedding portrait off the wall, and smashed it onto the floor. She stomped on the glass twice. "Just looking at him makes me sick." She bent down, ripped my face out of the canvas, tore it in half, and tossed it into the trash can. "I'm hiring a crew tomorrow to gut this place. We're hanging our wedding photos up instead." Derek frowned slightly. "Gideon is only listed as missing. He hasn't been legally declared dead yet. We have to wait out the legal probation period." Serena's eyes darted around, calculating. "I'll file a petition for an expedited death certificate. I'll tell the courts he suffered from severe clinical depression and had suicidal tendencies." "I've already bribed the medical examiner. We'll have the court order in three days." "Once I inherit his company, it won't matter even if he magically survives." Derek gave her a thumbs-up. "I always knew I picked a brilliant woman." Serena smiled smugly, wrapping her arms around Derek's neck. "So... does that mean we can finally celebrate?" Derek scooped her into his arms and carried her toward my bedroom. Sitting in the glow of the monitors, I casually picked up my teacup and took a slow sip. Serena. Derek. Enjoy the high while it lasts. Because the higher you climb, the harder you will shatter when you fall. Especially that brilliant idea to expedite the death certificate. You just saved me a lot of bureaucratic red tape. I picked up my phone and texted Marcus. "Execute the next phase. Cooperate with her legal filings. Let her officially take over the company. Hand the empty shell right into her greedy hands." 3 Three days later. Serena successfully forged my psychiatric records and cashed in her bribes. The moment the court finalized the death declaration, she couldn't stop smiling. She genuinely believed the entirety of Pinnacle Group was now her personal piggy bank. From my safehouse, I watched the corporate boardroom cameras in crystal clear high definition. The atmosphere in the massive conference room was suffocating. The founding executives and core management team were all seated, faces grim. Serena slammed the forged will and the court order onto the mahogany table, her tone dripping with arrogance. "Listen up. Gideon Wright is legally dead. As of this exact moment, I am taking absolute control of Pinnacle Group!" Vice President Bennett, a loyal veteran who had built the company alongside me and owed his life to my late father, immediately slammed his hands on the table. "Ms. Serena, the probate process isn't even fully finalized. You have absolutely zero corporate management experience. If you take the helm now, you will run this company into the ground!" Derek stepped forward smoothly, tossing a thick stack of printed documents onto the table. He offered a slimy, threatening smile. "Vice President Bennett, I have the exact paper trail of the twenty million dollars you embezzled from the corporate accounts." "The financial crimes unit is sitting in the lobby right now. Keep barking, and I'll have them escort you out in handcuffs." Bennett's face turned ash grey. He clenched his fists and fell dead silent. Seeing him back down, Serena grew even more power-drunk. She lifted her chin and barked her first order. "From now on, the finance department reports directly to me. Not a single cent leaves this building without my signature!" The moment the words left her mouth, several core executives stood up in perfect unison, exactly as I had secretly instructed them days ago. "Ms. Serena, Pinnacle Group is Gideon Wright's legacy. We only answer to him. We resign." Without a shred of hesitation or regret, they turned on their heels and marched toward the exit. Panic flashed across Serena's face. She shot up from her leather chair and shrieked. "Stop right there! Who gave you permission to leave?" "I am the legal owner of this company! If you walk out that door, it's a breach of contract! I'll sue all of you into bankruptcy!" Ignoring her completely, the rest of the room stood up, grabbed their briefcases, and filed out the door. Within seconds, the packed boardroom was entirely empty. A heavy, dead silence settled over the room. Serena stood frozen at the head of the table, her entire body trembling with rage. Derek panicked, grabbing her arm to ask what their next move was. Serena just screamed at him hysterically. "How the hell should I know?! A bunch of ungrateful traitors! Do they think they'll die without Gideon?!" I watched the two idiots panic on the screen. Every single one of those executives was my person. We had an agreement: the moment Serena officially claimed power, they would trigger a mass exodus. Did she honestly think a piece of paper made her a CEO? Absolutely delusional. Without the core management team, Serena and Derek were nothing but figureheads staring at an empty fortress. They were running around like headless chickens. Desperate to project power, they began a suicidal spending spree. They drained the corporate petty cash to buy luxury sports cars and designer watches. They even forged procurement contracts to siphon cash out of the accounts, turning the ledgers into a chaotic mess. Every single illegal transaction they authorized became airtight evidence for corporate embezzlement. While Serena was frantically trying to clean up the operational nightmare, she finally set her sights on my mother. The security feed captured the audio of her cold, emotionless voice as she called the private clinic. "Hello, this is Serena. Stop all billing for Gideon Wright's mother immediately." "Starting tomorrow, cut off all imported medications. Cancel the private suite and dump her in the general ward." The administrator on the other end must have questioned the decision. Serena snapped impatiently. "That old hag is just wasting perfectly good oxygen. She's better off dead anyway. That way she won't be around to fight me for my money." Staring at the screen, I cracked my knuckles, a dark fury simmering in my chest. In my past life, this was the exact moment my mother's medications were cut. Three days later, her complications flared up, and she died in agony. In this life, the day after I faked my death, my private security team quietly transferred her to a world-class facility in Switzerland with round-the-clock intensive care. But this recorded phone call? This was ironclad proof of attempted murder. Tomorrow was Serena and Derek's highly publicized "Chairman Inauguration Ceremony." They had invited every major media outlet in the city. They wanted to officially crown themselves royalty in the grand lobby of Pinnacle Group headquarters. And I was going to make sure they remembered tomorrow for the rest of their miserable lives. 4 The grand lobby of Pinnacle Group Headquarters. Serena and Derek were desperately trying to hold together an absolutely pathetic inauguration ceremony. Pinnacle Group was currently nothing but an empty shell. But driven by pure arrogance, they had invited over a hundred journalists, hoping to use a flashy ceremony to trick new investors into bailing them out. The crystal chandeliers were blindingly bright, but the guest seating was embarrassingly sparse. The few business partners who did show up had dark, unimpressed expressions. The reporters were whispering among themselves, clearly just waiting for the circus to start. Serena clung to Derek's arm, forcing a confident smile as she walked down the red carpet, though her perfectly manicured fingers were trembling slightly. The moment she stepped up to the podium, the microphone let out a piercing, ear-splitting feedback screech. There wasn't even a sound technician to fix the backup audio. The entire administrative department had been reduced to two clueless interns. They couldn't run a bake sale, let alone a corporate press conference. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to speak through the agonizing awkwardness. "Distinguished guests, members of the press. Due to Gideon's tragic and sudden passing, I will be taking the helm of Pinnacle Group..." Before she could finish her sentence, the massive glass doors of the lobby were violently pushed open. Every single executive and manager who had resigned three days ago marched back into the building, heads held high. The entire hall fell dead silent. Serena's face turned sheet white. She pointed a shaking finger and shrieked. "What are you doing here?! Security! Get them out!" Vice President Bennett stepped to the front of the pack, his voice booming across the lobby. "We are here to reclaim the legal management rights of Pinnacle Group!" "Serena and Derek have illegally embezzled corporate assets and maliciously terminated key management. Today, all resigned employees are officially reinstated. Furthermore, we have partnered with the board of shareholders to launch a joint legal strike!" Right on cue, the massive LED screens behind the podium flashed to life. They displayed notices of suspended core projects, massive contract terminations from major suppliers, and the staggering resignation logs. Serena's sheer incompetence and criminal negligence were broadcast live to every camera in the room.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "441012", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel