I took a slow step forward, letting the weight of the moment settle. “Did you really think I wouldn’t fight back?” I asked, my voice softer now—almost pitying.
He swallowed hard, but he had no answer.
The mighty, untouchable Ethan Murphy—brought to his knees by the very woman he had underestimated.
I could have left it at that. I could have walked away, let the wreckage crumble behind me without another word.
But I wanted him to remember this moment for the rest of his life.
So I leaned in once more, my voice barely above a whisper.
“You said you had me right where you wanted me,” I murmured. “But Ethan, darling… you never had me at all.”
And with that, I walked away—leaving him standing in the ruins of his own making.
I walked out of that room without looking back, feeling the weight of my own liberation settle over me like a warm, intoxicating rush of victory.
The air outside felt different—lighter, fresher—as if the universe itself had been waiting for this moment, for Ethan’s world to finally collapse under the weight of his own deceit.
For the first time in years, I was free.
But freedom didn’t mean the game was over.
Not yet.
I reached the lobby of our building, my heels clicking against the polished floor, and pulled out my phone. Ethan was still upstairs—probably pacing, probably trying to come up with some desperate attempt at damage control.
But there was no fixing this.
His name. Liam’s name.
It was all over the internet now, and the fallout had only just begun.
A new notification popped up.
Breaking news: high-profile investment firm under scrutiny following internal scandal leak.
I clicked the link.
There was the first real blow—an article detailing suspicious activities within Ethan and Liam’s company, pieced together with anonymous tips and discrepancies that had been hidden for years. The article didn’t name them outright—not yet—but anyone who worked in their circle would know.
I had made sure of that.
I scrolled down, watching comments flood in, speculations growing, people piecing together the puzzle faster than I expected.
Then another message.
“Liam: What did you do?”
I smiled, then locked my phone.
I wasn’t going to waste my time on Liam’s panic. He had spent years treating me like an afterthought, assuming I was just a shadow in Ethan’s life.
But he knew now, didn’t he?
He knew that the woman he had mocked, belittled, whispered about behind her back… had just pulled the ground from beneath him.
I stepped outside and inhaled deeply, letting the crisp air fill my lungs.
It felt good.
It felt earned.
Then my phone rang.
I didn’t even need to look at the screen. I knew it would be Ethan.
I let it ring once. Twice.
By the fourth time, I answered.
Silence—then his voice, low and sharp, teetering on the edge of desperation.
“Ava.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring it—the way my name left his lips no longer filled with arrogance or entitlement, no longer spoken like he owned me.
“What do you want, Ethan?”
His breathing was uneven. “We need to talk.”
“We talked already,” I said, my tone almost too casual. “Back in that room. Unless you weren’t listening.”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
I glanced around, watching people bustle by, oblivious to the chaos unfolding in his world. “I really don’t have time for this,” I murmured.
“Ava, please.”
That word—please.
How many times had I begged for his attention? How many times had I swallowed my pride, told myself I was overthinking it, told myself I was being too sensitive?
And now here he was—the man who once stood so tall—unraveling in real time.
I let the silence stretch, let him feel the weight of it.
“Everything is falling apart,” he admitted, his voice tight. “Liam is panicking. The company—there’s an internal investigation now. I don’t know what you did, but—”
I cut him off. “Oh, Ethan,” I said, smiling as I repeated the words he once said to me, “you could do better than this.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “This isn’t a joke.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s justice.”
“You’re going to regret this,” he snapped, desperation sharpening into anger.
