Chapter 16


    Elysia’s brow furrowed as she thought of the fifty million hanging over her head. She didn’t want her


    three kids to worry, so she fibbed,


    ‘No, sweethearts, it’s all water under the bridge now. You kids keep ying, mommy’s just going to pop


    to the restroom.”


    After she’d excused herself, the trio huddled in the bedroom for a ndestine meeting.


    Elliot spoke up, “It’s not as simple as Mom’s making it out to be. Something’s still up, or they wouldn’t


    have locked her up.”


    Evan clenched his little fists, his face a picture of determination, “They think it’s over? Well, I beg to


    differ! Are we just going to let those bullies push our beloved Mommy around? No. way! You and


    Emmett keep herpany, and I’m going to sort them out. They need to learn there are consequences


    for messing with our mom!”


    Evan was all set to take action, but Elliot stepped in front of him, “Not this time. I’ll handle it.”


    “You? But they’ve got bodyguards, and I’m worried you can’t take them on.” Evan said.


    Elliot squinted his eyes and put on a serious look on his young face as he stared at his little; tablet,


    “Mom said we live in a society ruled byws. We need to y by the rules and find a legal way to make


    them pay.”


    While the trio were discussing, Elysia was oblivious to the kids‘ plotting revenge on Tarquin. That night,


    shey awake, haunted by the fifty million albatross around her neck.


    She couldn’t cough up that kind of cash even if they took her life! And the man’s face kepting back


    to her, which made her blood boil- he bore such a striking resemnce to Elliot and Evan. That meant


    it’s highly possible that he was the mysterious man from that fateful day. The thought filled her with


    such rage she could strangle him! But without absolute certainty, she was at a loss for what to do.


    After a sleepless night, Elysia finally came up with a n by dawn. She couldn’t pay the fifty million, not


    now. And with the risk of that wild man snatching her kids, she decided to expedite the divorce from


    Tarquin and get out of Dodge.


    So, Elysia got up, freshened up, left a note instructing the kids to stay indoors, and left the house.


    She hailed a cab straight to Tarquin’s ce to confront him and demand a divorce.


    At the same time, Tarquin’s world was in disarray. He received startling news early in the


    morning.


    The prime real estate he’d been eyeing had been bought out overnight by an anonymous high bidder,


    the parcels ofnd he coveted had been snatched up while he wasn’t looking….


    18:50


    And the lucrative deals he was about to close? They were all intercepted by an unseenpetitor.


    Preliminary estimates put the Bradford Group’s losses in the billions.


    But Tarquin wasn’t fazed by the loss of money; what irked him was the clear indication that someone


    was targeting him! He’d been a titan of industry for years, a name that echoed with authority. No one


    would dare to raise his voice in front of him, not to mention provocation. Bud now…


    And to make matters worse, even his top–notch hackers couldn’t trace the culprit. Enraged and without


    an outlet, Tarquin’s bad mood cast a dark cloud over the entire Bradford Group.


    Lowell was run ragged, his phone ringing off the hook.


    Just as they were grappling with the chaos, the Bradford Group’sputers crashed, leaving


    employees idle and confused.


    “Are the tech guys good for nothing?!” Tarquin roared in frustration.


    Lowell, sweating bullets, prodded the tech department relentlessly.


    The tech team was on the brink of tears; they werepetent, but today they had met their match.


    “Okay, okay, power–on!” After much ado, theputers finally booted up, and the techs breathed a h


    of relief.


    But as the screens flickered on, everyone’s jaws dropped.