Chapter 2

I tried our anniversary, her birthday, my birthday. All wrong.

She'd changed the password.

My heart sank another level.

But I didn't give up.

As a top-tier programmer, I know data doesn't just vanish.

If it ever existed, there's always a trace. Always.

I didn't try to crack her password. That was illegal.

I opened the iCloud Drive folder.

It was meticulously organized: "Project A Contracts," "Supplier Info," "Employee Files"...

Everything looked so normal.

But I knew the most dangerous things are always hidden in the most unassuming places.

I opened the Trash folder.

Mostly expired files and images.

I scrolled through them, forcing myself to be patient.

Then, a torn file icon caught my eye.

The file name was gibberish.

Taking a deep breath, I used data recovery software to restore it.

The folder's original name appeared: "Debt Settlement Agreement."

My hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

I opened it.

Inside was a single PDF file.

A Deed of Transfer.

Party A: Vanessa Lynn.

Party B: Brandon Harris.

The content burned my eyes: Party A, Vanessa Lynn, having incurred a massive debt to Party B, Brandon Harris, due to personal reasons and unable to repay, hereby transfers her 80% shareholding in "Lynn & Lucas Tech" to Party B, Brandon Harris, to settle all debts.

Transfer price: 100,000 dollars.

I had put more than three hundred thousand dollars into Lynn & Lucas Tech's account over these three years, to say nothing of the company's actual value.

A hundred thousand for eighty percent of the company?

This wasn't a transfer. This was daylight robbery!

The agreement was dated a month ago.

At the very bottom of the file were the signatures of Vanessa and that man Brandon, along with the stark red company stamp.

My company... had changed hands without me knowing a single thing.

As if all my strength drained away, I collapsed into my chair.

So, she hadn't been "playing" with the company. She'd been gutting my hard work to fill another man's black hole of debt.

The Ferrari? It was just a celebratory gift after they'd finished carving up the spoils.

I couldn't accept this.

Inside "Recently Deleted," I found a trashed photo.

The background was exactly the red Ferrari I'd seen in the message yesterday.

Vanessa was intimately snuggled up to a strange man, both of them beaming radiant smiles.

He had one hand on her waist, and in the other, he held the car key.

That had to be Brandon Harris.

The photo was taken last Wednesday.

The day Vanessa told me she'd be staying at her parents' for a couple of days to spend time with them.

I looked at the happy, genuine smile on her face in the picture — a joy I'd never seen before, not once.

So, her "trip home" had a new destination.

It turned out that the "cozy nest" I'd poured my all into building for her was nothing more than her launchpad to another man's embrace.

I saved the agreement and the photos onto an encrypted USB drive.

I shut down the computer, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside, the sun was bright, and children were playing and laughing below.

The world was still beautiful. It was just my world that had collapsed.

No.

I told myself.

You can't let it end like this.

Lucas, you're a man.

If a dog bites you, you don't just accept it. You pick up a stick and beat it to death!

The first thing I did was to see a lawyer.

Ms. Reynolds was recommended by an old college buddy—a sharp, capable woman in her forties, well-known for handling financial disputes.

I gave her the encrypted USB drive and laid out the whole story, no sugar-coating.

After reviewing all the files and photos, Ms. Reynolds' expression was grim.

"Mr. Lucas, the situation is more complex than you think, but it's not entirely without hope." She pushed her glasses up.

"How so?"

"First, with 'Lynn & Lucas Tech,' even though you put up the registered capital, the stock rights are registered under Vanessa Lynn's name. Legally, she is the owner of the company. She has the right to transfer her own shares."

My heart clenched.

"However," she said, switching gears, "any transfer must be based on a real and lawful reason. The 'debt settlement' mentioned in this Deed of Transfer is the key."

"If the debt in question is fabricated, the entire share transfer is a complete and utter fraud. This wouldn't be a mere civil dispute anymore. It would be a criminal case of contractual fraud."

"Fraud?"