Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 155: Moving the Plan Forward

I hoped this didn’t turn into a legal case, and I certainly didn’t plan on corporate espionage, but I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t ruin King.

I could scrub the world clean of people like Nan. It was harder with people like King, who were high-profile in social and business circles. It could be done, I supposed, and I was up to the challenge, but I hoped it didn’t go that far.

"Tell me what to do."

I walked him through the process.

I debated addressing Min’s not telling me I was being followed with him, but I didn’t. Ben was in love with Min. I didn’t want to cause conflict. I also questioned what it would accomplish. Jake didn’t seem overly concerned when I confronted him about it. I suspected Min would blow me off as well. After all, it was just spying for personal reasons. I wondered if they would feel the same if it were their lives. Then again, the pictures made both of these men complicit in my supposed infidelity.

If this invasion of my privacy was so innocuous that the people I trusted the most to protect me let it slide, why did I feel so violated?

Ben promised me results by the end of the day and left to find more sleep. Running nightclubs was predominately a night job, meaning he slept through most daylight hours. My breakfast invitation was an assault on his prime sleeping time. It spoke volumes about our relationship that he had agreed to meet at this hour.

I re-entered the hotel as I’d left—incognito and through a side door that someone had propped open. If it were me, I’d rig the side doors with alarms and auto-closure features that triggered if they were left open for more than a few minutes without any traffic.

I ducked into a public bathroom and changed back into my work clothes before strolling through the main lobby to meet up with Wyla out front.

The woman was a saint. She had a coffee waiting for me in the cupholder.

"Jake works for you, right?" Wyla asked.

"He does."

"He’s been asking around about me. Anything I should know?"

"I asked him to run a background check on you."

"On a part-time driver? That’s unusual, right?"

"You’ve become more than a part-timer, haven’t you?"

"I guess, but still. It seems a little extreme."

"You’ve seen a sample of my life. Do you consider it that strange? I like to know who I can trust."

"Okay, I guess I can understand that. Full disclosure, then. I spent most of my youth in and out of hospitals and foster care after my parents were killed in a head-on collision with each other."

"Oh, wow. How did that happen?"

"Dad wanted to leave. Mom said over my dead body. The rest is history."

"I take it your hospital visits were related to the accident?"

Wyla snorted. "No accident, but yes."

"You are better now?"

"Strong as an ox and twice as stubborn."

"So, the mom you take to bingo is your foster mom?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Adopted mom. She adopted me as a teenager. Best thing that had ever happened to me. As part of the adoption, I also changed my name. Let me know if you need my previous name to complete your background investigation."

"Thank you. I’ll let you know. Glad to hear you found a forever home."

King was waiting for me again. So was Jake and a team of men who made sure I made it inside unaccosted. Stiff was waiting for me inside.

"Are you planning to tell me what is happening, or should I guess?"

I shrugged. "Not really your concern."

Stiff followed me upstairs to my office. "Like hell, it doesn’t. It disrupts the workplace. Someone is paying for the extra security. I assume it is the company. You spent the whole day yesterday locked in your office. I assume it wasn’t to work on company business. And last but not least, you are my best friend. Anything that concerns you concerns me."

"I’ll reimburse Crazy Code for the security measures. The disruption isn’t my fault. Try issuing a restraining order against King to keep him away from the office. If it works, I’ll treat myself to one for my personal life.

"As far as the workload, what have you got? Give it to me. I’ll work late to make up the time missed."

"Tee, don’t be like that. Just tell me."

"Not much to say. King is the asshole you’ve always told me he was."

Stiff threw up his hands. "Finally, you see it. What was the deciding factor?"

"He’s a stalker, rich boy style."

"Does Alec know?"

"He pointed it out to me."

I was in this deep. Before I knew it, I’d told him everything.

"Come back to the church, Teela. Father DiMarco keeps your room ready for you."

"Not this time, Stiff."

"Then what can I do?"

"Give me some work to do. I’ve got some time to kill."

"How does that help with King?"

"I need to stay busy right now. Besides, I have a security detail to pay for."

"Fuck the detail. I can pay it out of the allowance my dad doles out every month."

"Your family gives adults an allowance, too?"

"Yeah, most rich families do. Some call it an allowance. Others call it a dividend or stipend. It is the same thing. The elders pay us to maintain the family image."

"Makes sense, but doesn’t it kill the ambition to succeed at something when money is thrown at you just for existing?"

"Maybe. For some. It depends on family expectations and personalities."

"What about your family?"

"Dad gave up on me years ago. He has a successful son and daughter. I’m the spare. Unless one of my siblings screws up or dies, nothing I do matters. That’s been made clear to me my entire life. Sure, he dangles taking over his empire in my face, but he doesn’t really mean it. My brother will take over for him when the time comes. Everyone knows it."

"And yet you are one of the best hackers in the world."

But Dad doesn’t know that. He thinks I’m a mundane. A nobody just biding time or making extra coin because I burned through my allowance too quickly, which is ironic because I haven’t touched the old man’s money since you and I teamed up."

"It’s incredible how clueless so many powerful men can be. And women, I guess. I don’t think of myself on the same level as your dad and King, but I’m a world-class contender in my field. Thanks to you, my bank account is full, and I have investments. I can retire one day without worries. I’m as clueless as they are.

"I didn’t know King had men stalking me. I didn’t know he was poisoning Alec against me. And the people I thought had my back let it happen and didn’t tell me. I’ve been violated, betrayed, and outed as a fool no differently than your dad or King."

"Wow, that’s some pity party you’re holding for yourself," Stiff said.

"Yeah, you’re right. So what about that work. What do you need me to do?"

Stiff gave me three projects to choose from. I took the one most directly related to keeping Crazy Code’s doors opening and looking legit. Besides, I liked government projects. It meant I had my fingerprint on vital projects throughout the world. I was instrumental in cutting-edge advancements in technology, and sometimes—don’t tell Stiff—when I can’t resist the urge, I add an innocuous backdoor to the program that could get me jailed for the rest of my life if discovered. It was a good thing I was really good at what I did.

The rest of the day was filled with more mind-blowing music as I immersed myself in reading and writing code. It was late afternoon, bordering on the evening, I’d say, based on the array of colors painting the horizon, when Ben texted me.

Ben: Done. Try it.

Teela: Thanks, Ben. I owe you one.

Ben: From what you’ve told me, I’m just paying you back the one Min owes you. He should have told you about the detectives. I’m sorry, Teela. If I have anything to say about it, it won’t happen again.

Teela: Not your fault. Min’s number one loyalty has always been King. I should have known better. Min gave me the best he could considering.

Ben: Not good enough. And from now on, I’d better be his number one or there will be hell to pay.

I pulled up the feeds from the devices Ben set in place for me. I had a good view and sound from King’s office at work and home, his bedroom, bathroom, and his car. I was surprised to find Ben had set up one last feed at King’s locker at the gym. I had already hacked into the feeds from the public areas of the gym. "Kudos to Ben for creative sleuthing," I muttered.

I spotted King sitting in his car staring out into the night. He wasn’t saying anything. The car wasn’t moving. If I had to guess, I’d say it was outside my office building right now, waiting for me to come out. Waiting for an opportunity to convince me he was the only person who could fix all the wrongs in my life.

Too bad he was mistaken.