Beyond Betrayal: A Billionaire's Fall

EO husband, Jakob. Pregnant with our child, I belie

on stolen code. Then I overheard his real plan: to drug me, publicl

my hand. I watched him destroy my art-my last dream-befo

taken everything-my love, my

being held. I showed him a fabricated DNA report proving the baby wa

red the son he never knew he could

the divorce papers and a full transfer of

pte

ss marvel overlooking the city, was a testament to his genius, his company's meteoric rise. I, Clara Stone, a burgeoning artist before love convinced me to put down my brushes, had built my world aro

aching, a grand event at the city's most prestigious museum-the same museum where, ironically, some of my early, forgotten sculptures were st

dule, making sure his organized chaos remained functional. His desk, usually a fortress of sleek gadgets and complex

k caught my eye. It wasn't completely flush. A small, almost imperceptible gap.

ing, pricked at me. Inside, nestled on a velvet lining, was a sleek, unmarked USB dri

like Jakob. He was meticulous, almost pathologically so, about his work. Hidden

Then, an insistent voice in my head, a whisper of suspicion I couldn' t

- Alpha Code (Final Build)`. My breath hitched. That name. Chimera. It was the name of the software t

ithms, and intricate data structures. My knowledge of coding was basic, but I recognized the elegant logic, the

lopment dates, but something older. Much older. And then, at the ve

ree years ago, before he could launch his own revolutionary project. Jakob had always spoken of him with a dismissive air, a bri

s code. Stolen. Plagiarized. Jakob' s "genius" was a lie. A cold, clammy sw

myself. The polished wood felt rough against my shaking palms.

s, the quiet pride in his achievements-was it all built on a

urred at the edges. My head throbbed. The air in the room suddenly

to my pocket. My movements were jerky, desperate. I stumbled out of t

colliding: Jakob's boastful pronouncements, Alden Boyer's knowing smiles, the hushed rumors of Thorne's unfinished wor

disheveled, my breath ragged. I ignored the receptionist's surprised glance, march

b's office. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of dread. I slowed my pa

h amusement, cut through the air. "The devoted artist, sacr

f against the wall, hidden by a la

s certainly played her part. Made you look like the

ny was going p

s that she' ll be clueless until it' s too late. We sell, cash out, and then... poof.

in his tone. "What happens to our little artist th

wife who outlived her shelf life. Besides, we have the 'liability file,' ready to go if she even thinks about getting suspicious. Co

heir, though," Alden mused.

child who thinks he' s a Johnson but is actually the spawn of some random hookup. It was your ide

y. Our baby. The life growing inside me. They knew. They

omfort, the love-all illusions. All lies. Jakob, the man I loved, the father of my child, had just casually dism

ntor, a man I thought was kind. He was the architect of this c

grief. My tears, hot and stinging moments ago, dried on my cheeks. Thi

ike a death knell in my ears. My feet moved on their own, guiding me b

shaking, but my voice, when I spoke, was steady, eerily calm. "I need

idn't break. The decision, born of the deep

ing." I said.

he other end of the line soun

lright, ma'am?"

taring blindly at the city l