Chapter 4 — Ex-Wife Takes Power

Dozens of contract addendums reduced my voting rights to nothing more than an empty shell. I believed. Believe that he keeps his word, believe that the heartbeat when he holds my hand is real, believe that he still has me in his eyes. Looking back now, I see that all that tenderness was just a rehearsal for a bigger betrayal.

“He probably thought those shares were already his.” Ha Thanh Duong sneered, "He secretly changed the name of the account receiving dividends three times, all three times I blocked him."

“Yes.” I lowered my head to look at the ring finger of my left hand, where there used to be a plain platinum ring, now only a faint white mark remained.

“If you eat meat, you have to spit out the bones. Eat one piece, give me two pieces.”

Ha Thanh Duong leaned forward: "But they are still abroad, plane tickets haven't even been booked yet."

“He will order it.”

I pulled the drawer, took out a file, and pushed it aside.

“If not tonight, then early tomorrow morning.”

She bent down to look at the cover. *Strategic Cooperation Agreement for Thien Thinh Group.*

“Thien Thinh?” She frowned, "The Thien Thinh group has been confronting Hang Nghiep for five years?"

“Yes.”

“And not just Thien Thinh.” I stopped for a second. “But Phuong Dich Than is behind Thien Thinh.”

Ha Thanh Duong sat up straight.

"Phuong Dich Than? Luc Canh Tham's sworn enemy?"

“Yes.”

It's been five years. Hang Nghiep and Thien Thinh fought over projects, stole customers, and enticed their opponents' personnel. Luc Canh Tham flew to Shenzhen six times to negotiate cooperation, but Phuong Dich Than did not even let him enter the front door. This time is different. Hang Nghiep is bidding for "Van Cam Project" - an urban complex project supported by the key state. Whoever gets this tender package means holding the core lifeblood for the next five years. Thien Thinh is the only opponent who can strangle Hang Nghiep's throat. That's why Luc Canh Tham frantically sought me out and asked for that document. Inside that brown leather bag were no ordinary documents. It's the entire bidding draft, land valuation data, working minutes with the authorities of the Van Cam project, along with three emergency backup plans. All are core secrets approved and sealed by him personally.

“These things,” I put down the cup, my voice very quiet, “I have personally delivered them to Phuong Dich Than.”

Ha Thanh Duong was stunned for two seconds, then burst out laughing.

"That's great. This isn't about pulling out firewood from the bottom of the pot, this is about carrying his entire stove, and adding a barrel of oil underneath."

“He sees my father as a cash machine, sees me as a decorative vase, sees this marriage as a stepping stone.” I looked out the window, where the tail lights of a plane were gradually disappearing into the night.

“Then I will let him taste what it feels like to be stabbed in the back by the person he trusts the most.”

That feeling, I have tasted it. More than half a year ago. I followed him to a luxury apartment complex in the south of the city. The entrance system requires facial recognition and dual fingerprint, I can't even enter the main lobby. I just had to sit at the "Slow Time" cafe opposite, order a cup of Americano, and wait until two o'clock in the afternoon. until half past one in the morning. At twelve fifty-three at night, the elevator door opened. He and Tham Nhuoc Huyen walked out one after another. Tham Nhuoc Huyen wore his white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, the collar open, his wet hair sticking to his neck. He held her waist with one hand, stroked her sideburns with the other hand, and bent down to kiss her forehead lightly. At that moment, the corner of his lips curled into a smile, gentler than when we got married.