I spent three months in an overseas convalescent hospital.

Theo arranged for the best doctors and used the best medicine for me.

The physical wounds slowly healed, but the void inside could never be filled.

Every night, nightmares haunted me.

I dreamt of Wilbur's cold gaze, the divorce papers, and the baby who left me before even taking shape.

When I woke, my pillow was always damp.

Theo seldom visited me.

He kept busy.

As the head of the Norris Group, every second counted for him.

In the fourth month, I walked into his study with a thick stack of design blueprints in my hand.

"Mr. Norris," I said, placing the blueprints on his desk. "This is the upgraded version of the Northern Lights Initiative. I've named it the Nirvana Project."

Theo lifted his gaze from his documents.

He was expressionless, and his gold-rimmed glasses reflected a cold light.

He picked up the blueprints and flipped through a few pages.

His initially casual gaze gradually turned serious and then eventually transformed into one of admiration. "Did you make this?"

"I did."

"Did Wilbur know you had this talent?"

A self-deprecating smile tugged at my lips. "In his eyes, I was just a spendthrift who loved shopping. When I was drawing, he thought I was doodling. When I stayed up late working on plans, he assumed I was binge-watching dramas."

Theo closed the blueprints, and his gaze towards me changed.

He didn't evaluate a commodity when he looked at me. Instead, he seemed to be appreciating a rare treasure.

"Alina, you've truly surprised me."

He stood up and walked to the large window, where the bustling nightscape of the city unfolded outside.

"The Norris Group is currently expanding into the domestic market, is just in need of a good project. So I'll take the Nirvana Project." He turned back and extended his hand to me. "Welcome to join the Norris Group as the director."

I shook hands with him. "Thank you, Mr. Norris. But I have a condition."

"Go ahead."

"Three years from now, I want to return to my native country as the Norris Group's representative to oversee this project."

Theo raised his eyebrows. "You want to go back and humiliate Wilbur?"

"You are right."

"Wilbur is now a rising star in the domestic business field. After swallowing the Hayes Group, the market value of the Chapman Group doubled."

"So what?" I look up, my eyes blazing with the fire of hatred. "I will make him regurgitate what he swallowed with interest."

Theo smiled.

It carried a hint of indulgence this time.

"Alright. I'll give you three years. During this time, I'll teach you how to be a true hunter. Three years later, I'll go back with you. I'm curious to see Wilbur's expression when faced with his own oversight."

From that moment, I was no longer the weak woman who was easily bullied.

In my place was the decisive Director Hayes of the Norris Group.

I cut my long hair and exchanged my gentle dresses for sharp business attire and donned four-inch heels.

Like a sponge, I absorbed everything Theo taught me.

I learned business negotiations, capital operations, and mental chess games.

I worked day and night.

Only in utter exhaustion would I not think of the past.

Theo was a strict mentor and a devil. He never praised me.

If I did well, it was okay. If I did poorly, he would give me a sharp critique. "Alina, tears won't help you win in business. Don't let me see you be weak. If you want to win, you must be tougher than your opponent."

I gritted my teeth and fell and rose time and again.

The scars on me became my strongest armor.

Three years later, at the Bexwell International Airport, I walked out of the VIP passage wearing sunglasses and pushing my luggage.

Theo was next to me.

He was still dressed in a tailored black suit, his intimidating aura keeping others at a distance.

"Are you nervous?" he asked softly.

I smiled as I took off my sunglasses.

Gazing at the city that felt both familiar and strange, I said, "Mr. Norris, when I'm on the hunt, I only feel thrilled, not nervous."

Theo chuckled. "Good. It is the Chapman Group's celebration banquet this evening. Wilbur has invited a lot of influential figures in the city to celebrate acquiring the land in the southern part of the city. Our invitation has already been sent over."

I glanced at the large billboard not far away.

It was a photo of Wilbur and Nora.

They looked like a perfect match.

The headline read, "Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are in deep love."

In deep love?

I let out a cold laugh.

My fingers gripped the edge of my sunglasses tightly.

"Wilbur, I'm back. Are you ready to see me?"

At seven in the evening, It was at the seven-star restaurant under the Chapman Group.

A fleet of gleaming luxury cars converged amidst perfumed air and graceful figures.

Theo and I walked into the banquet hall hand in hand.

We immediately drew everyone's attention.

Theo was the mythic heir of a mysterious conglomerate and rarely appeared in public.

Although I looked different, I still bore Alina's face.

"Oh my God, is that Mr. Norris?"

"Who's that woman with him? She's stunning and exudes such a commanding presence."

"She looks a bit familiar."

"Isn't... isn't she Mr. Chapman's ex-wife, Alina Hayes?"

"How is it possible? Didn't Alina go bankrupt and disappear long ago?"

"I heard she died overseas. How could she show up here with Mr. Norris?"

The whispers filled the air.

The crowd parted, creating a path.

Wilbur, holding onto Nora's arm, stood at the center of the gathering, accepting congratulatory words.

Upon hearing the noise, Wilbur turned around.

The wine glass in his hand froze in mid-air at that moment.

Nora's smile faltered, and a flicker of fear crossed her eyes.

I walked step by step toward them while holding onto Theo.

My high heels clicked crisply on the marble floor, and each step echoed like a blow to their hearts.

"Mr. Chapmen, how have you been?" I greeted Wilbur with a smile.

My voice was frosty, tinged with an aloofness that seemed deliberately crafted to keep him at a distance.

Wilbur stared at me intently.

Shock, confusion, and disbelief swirled in his eyes at the same time.

"Alina?" His voice trembled.

He seemed not to believe that the dazzling woman before him was his same clueless ex-wife, who used to do nothing but revolve around him.

"It's me, Alina." I took out a business card from my handbag and handed it to him. "Let me introduce myself. I am Alina Hayes, the CEO of the Norris Group, overseeing all operations in the country. And I am the largest undisclosed shareholder in the Chapman Group now."

The hall was in an uproar.

Wilbur's face turned ashen instantly.

Nora staggered back a step and nearly fell.

"Impossible..." Wilbur murmured. "How could you be the CEO of the Norris Group? "You actually..."

"What?" I stepped closer. My smile deepened and turned colder. "I actually have died overseas? Or should I have been like a beggar at your feet?"

Wilbur tried to say something, but he couldn't utter a word.

Theo wrapped an arm around my waist and showed his relationship with me silently.

He looked at Wilbur with a mocking glint in his eyes.

"Mr. Chapman, thank you for not recognizing her worth back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found such a great talent."

The room fell into a tense silence.

All eyes darted back and forth between Wilbur and me.

I had once been a forsaken woman, and now I returned triumphantly with the backing of a top conglomerate.

It was like something out of a soap opera.

Nora was the first to react.

She forced a smile and stepped forward, attempting to take my hand. "Alina, is it really you? Where have you been these past three years? We've both been so worried about you. Wilbur often talks about you."

I sidestepped her hand and brushed my sleeve disdainfully as if it had been sullied.

"Miss Clarke, please behave yourself. I am not so close to you, and I felt disgusted when you touched me."

Nora's hand froze in mid-air, and her face turned pale with embarrassment.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Alina, how can you say that... I know you're still upset with Wilbur and me. But love cannot be forced. You signed the divorce papers yourself back then, and you left by yourself..."

Her pitiful appearance used to stir Wilbur's protective instincts.

As expected, Wilbur frowned and instinctively shielded Nora. "Alina, if you have grievances, direct them at me. Don't make things difficult for Nora. We were in the wrong about what happened back then. But you don't need to be so aggressive now, do you?"

I looked at his protective stance and found it ridiculous.

Three years had passed, and Wilbur hadn't changed at all.

He was still blind as ever.

"Am I aggressive?" I sneered. "Mr. Chapman, I think you've misunderstood. I didn't come here today to reminisce or to engage in petty jealousy."

I snapped my fingers, and my assistant promptly handed over a document.

I continued, "This is the Norris Group's acquisition proposal for the Chapman Group. Given the Chapman Group's recent financial troubles and the enormous risk associated with the land project in the southern part of the city, I have the right to request an emergency board meeting as a major shareholder to dismiss the current CEO, Wilbur Chapman."

My words exploded like a bomb among the crowd.

Wilbur's pupils contracted sharply. "What did you say? Did you dismiss me? Alina, have you lost your mind? I built the Chapman Group from the ground up."

"You know clearly whether you built it or not," I said, my gaze as sharp as a knife. "The land in the southern part of the city is a failed project, with severe underground cavity risks. You misappropriated thirty billion dollars of the company's working funds to acquire it. If this news gets out, you know better than I do what will happen to the stock price of the Chapman Group."

Wilbur's face turned deathly pale at that moment, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

That was the Chapman Group's highest secret.

Only he and a few core executives knew it.

"How did Alina know it?" Wilbur wondered.

"You... you're lying," he shouted, and his voice was unsteady. "Security, remove this madwoman."

"Let me see who dares," Theo said flatly.

His sentence was short, but it carried an unquestionable weight of authority.

The surrounding security guards exchanged looks, and no one dared step forward.

Theo looked around the hall, and those under his gaze lowered their heads. "The Norris Group has acquired 40% of the Chapman Group's circulating shares. Combined with Alina's holdings, we have absolute control of the Chapman Group. From now on, Alina calls the shots here."

Wilbur staggered and nearly collapsed to the floor.

He looked at me, and his eyes finally showed fear. "Alina, what exactly do you want?"

I walked up to him and leaned slightly to whisper in his ear, "What do I want? Wilbur, this is just the beginning. I want you to experience the feeling of losing everything."