My Arrogant Husband Mocked Me During Our Divorce — He Didn’t Know I’m A Billionaire Heiress
Part 2
The interior of the Rolls-Royce was a sanctuary of profound silence.
It was a stark contrast to the sterile, hostile atmosphere of the mediation room I had just escaped.
As the heavy car glided onto the highway, I finally exhaled.
My shoulders slumped in total exhaustion.
“Are you okay?”
Tyler asked the question gently, handing me a cold bottle of sparkling water.
“I’m fine.”
I took a slow sip.
“It’s finally over.”
Tyler let out a low, humorless laugh.
“He really thinks he won.”
He looked at me with deep familial concern.
“Let him think that for a few more days.”
He leaned back against the leather headrest.
“I still don’t understand how you did it, Brenda.”
He gestured vaguely at my cheap gray cardigan.
“Twelve years pretending to be Brenda Nelson, the simple housewife.”
His jaw clenched with visible anger.
“All while you sat on a fortune that could buy his entire bloodline.”
I looked out the tinted window.
“I loved him, Tyler.”
I traced my thumb over the condensation on the bottle.
“I didn’t want him to love me for the Hayes money.”
I turned to look my brother in the eye.
“I wanted to be loved for me.”
Tyler nodded slowly, completely understanding the pain behind my words.
“God, when I saw the transcripts of what he said in court calling you a leech.”
He exhaled sharply.
“I almost bought his building just to evict him then and there.”
I offered a sad, knowing smile.
“I know, but I had to follow the plan.”
I explained the brutal necessity of my humiliation.
“I needed him to think I was completely destitute.”
I thought of the smug look on his face.
“That was the absolutely only way to get him to sign the waiver.”
The waiver legally relinquished his rights to any hidden assets I might possess.
Tyler smiled, a wicked, dangerous glint in his eye.
“It’s ironclad.”
He swiped the screen of his tablet, pulling up a secure file.
“So, are you ready to come back to the world of the living?”
I straightened my spine and adjusted my clothes.
“I’m done being Brenda Nelson.”
I spoke the words with absolute certainty.
“I’m ready to be Brenda Hayes again.”
Tyler nodded approvingly.
“Good.”
He turned the tablet toward me so I could read the brief.
“Because we have a board meeting on Monday, and there’s an acquisition target on the agenda.”
Displayed on the glowing screen was a highly detailed financial dossier.
The logo was incredibly familiar.
It was Nelson Dynamics.
“Craig’s company,” I whispered.
Tyler leaned closer, his voice adopting the cold monotone of a ruthless business titan.
“He’s massively overleveraged.”
He pointed to a column of bright red ink.
“He’s been cooking the books to hide the losses from you during the divorce.”
Tyler smiled grimly.
“His lenders are looking for a buyer to take on the bad debt.”
I looked at the numbers, realizing the full extent of Craig’s utter incompetence.
“And now, it’s going to be yours.”
Tyler looked me dead in the eye.
“We’re going to execute a hostile takeover.”
He tapped the screen.
“And since you own forty percent of Apex Global’s voting shares, you’re going to be the exact one to sign the purchase order.”
I looked down at my empty ring finger.
“He told me I was absolutely nothing without him,” I said, my voice dropping an octave.
I looked up at my brother.
“Take me to the estate.”
I pulled the hair tie from my fraying bun, letting my blonde hair fall loose.
“I can’t destroy my ex-husband wearing clothes from a discount rack.”
I finally had the power to destroy the man who broke me, but would taking everything he built actually give me the peace I was looking for?
