Over the next two weeks, I intentionally slowed down the acquisition of the Chapman Group.

Meanwhile, through several intermediaries, I gradually leaked the core information of the Nirvana Project to Wilbur.

It appeared to be a promising project with astonishing profits, but it was actually a financial quagmire.

As long as Wilbur took the bait and invested everything he had, he would meet his ruin.

And Wilbur fell into the trap as I had expected.

He thought it was a secret from the Norris Group and his only chance to turn things around.

He recklessly mortgaged all remaining assets of the Chapman Group and even took out high-interest loans.

He was eager to start the project before the Norris Group did.

Nora wasn't idle either.

She was busy trying to pull strings, hoping to meet me.

After I rejected her, she commissioned defamatory online content to smear my reputation.

She spread the rumors that I had climbed the ladder by selling my charms and that I had an affair while I was married to Wilbur and was pregnant with an illegitimate baby before being expelled by the Chapman family.

She even fabricated scandalous images of me.

Online public opinion was highly unfavorable towards me for a while.

"Miss Hayes, do you need the PR department to handle this?" my assistant asked worriedly.

"Not necessary." I calmly closed the webpage filled with vicious comments. "Let them continue. The harsher the criticism, the more dramatic the reversal will be when the time comes. Nora's little tricks can only fool someone as foolish as Wilbur."

The real culminating strike was yet to come.

I had evidence from years ago when Nora conspired with the Hayes family's competitors to frame Jeremy.

I also had the proof of her laundering money through the Chapman Group over the past few years.

In these three years, the most important lesson I'd learned was patience under Theo's guidance.

I would wait until the enemy let their guard down, and then I would deliver a fatal blow.

One month later, Wilbur thought he had successfully snatched the Nirvana project.

He couldn't wait to hold a grand press conference.

He was eager to announce to the world that the Chapman Group was back.

At the press conference, Wilbur stood confidently on stage.

Nora, dressed in a high-end gown, clung to his arm and smiled happily.

"Thank you, everyone, for being here today. I have great news for you. The Chapman Group has secured exclusive development rights for the Nirvana project. This will be a new milestone for the Chapman Group."

The audience erupted in applause.

Wilbur basked in the long-awaited glory.

His gaze scanned the crowd and was finally fixed on me in the corner.

He smugly raised his chin.

His eyes were clearly saying, "Alina, you lost."

After the press conference, a lavish banquet followed.

Wilbur held a wine glass and went straight towards me through the crowd.

He cornered me in the banquet hall.

The heavy velvet curtains behind me muffled the outside noise.

He reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were hazy and fervent.

"Alina," he said, placing one hand against the wall to trap me between his body and the wall.

That familiar sense of oppression crept over me again.

If it were three years ago, I would have been trembling with fear.

But now, I just looked at him calmly, as if he were a clown.

"Congratulations, Mr. Chapman," I said, swirling the wine in my glass. "But are you sure you've won?"

Wilbur chuckled and leaned closer to my face. "Haven't you had enough fun? You stirred up such a ruckus just to make me regret it and get my attention? Admit it, Alina. You still have feelings for me. Otherwise, why would you deliberately leak such a lucrative project to me?"

He assumed that I had lingering affection for him and that it was proof of his charm.

"Alright. You've won." Wilbur reached out and attempted to touch my face.

His eyes were filled with patronizing affection. "For all your scheming, I forgive you. Now, come home with me. I'll deal with Nora. As long as you behave yourself well..."

Before his hand could touch my face, a strong hand firmly grasped his wrist.

A sharp crack echoed, and the sound of bones misaligning was clear.

"Ah!" Wilbur screamed as his wine glass fell and shattered on the floor.

Theo had appeared beside me before I knew it.

He gripped Wilbur's wrist tightly, and his gaze was cold when he looked at Wilbur as if the latter were a corpse. "Mr. Chapman," Theo said, "did you think you could touch my woman like that?"

I naturally linked my arm with Theo's and nestled into his embrace.

I smiled brightly at Wilbur, whose face was contorted in pain. I said, "Wilbur, did you misunderstand something? I gave you the project not out of love, but because..." I leaned closer and said in a voice only the three of us could hear, "that was your grave I prepared for you. The first lesson Theo taught me was that anything worthless should be thrown away. And you, along with your doomed project, are that trash."

Wilbur's piercing scream shattered the false tranquility of the banquet hall.

Theo released his grip.

Wilbur clutched his dislocated wrist. Cold sweat streamed down his face as he leaned against the wall in agony.

Theo didn't spare Wilbur a glance.

Theo took out a white silk handkerchief from his suit pocket and meticulously wiped his hand that had touched Wilbur, as if he had contracted some vile contagion.

Once finished, he casually tossed the handkerchief into a nearby trash can.

His behavior was graceful yet imbued with utter contempt.

"Alina, let's go." Theo draped his arm around my waist, and his voice became gentle. "The atmosphere here is quite stifling."

"Alright." I nodded, not bothering to look at Wilbur again.

The crowd instinctively parted and created a path for us.

Amidst countless complex gazes, Theo and I departed calmly.

When we disappeared at the entrance, the stifled atmosphere shattered.

"Oh my God. Is Wilbur's wrist... broken?"

"Mr. Norris is ruthless. He didn't say a word before he acted."

"Didn't you hear? Wilbur tried to make a move, and she's Mr. Norris's woman."

"This is going to be interesting. The Chapman family might be doomed."

Nora finally snapped out of her shock.

She lifted her skirt and hurried to Wilbur's side. She said with sobs, "Wilbur, are you alright? I'll call an ambulance right away."

But Wilbur shoved her away.

He used such force that Nora fell to the floor in her high heels.

"Get lost!" Wilbur's eyes were bloodshot as he fixed his gaze on the entrance.

The acute pain in my wrist was far from the shame that tore at my heart.

"Alina.

Theo." Wilbur growled under his breath like an angry beast. "I won't let you off, never!"