Sophia Lin's POV
"This will destroy him."
I stared at the presentation slides on my laptop screen, my finger hovering over the 'send' button. Six years of work. Six years of planning. Six years of building myself into someone powerful enough to make Dominic Ashford feel even a fraction of the pain he'd caused me.
One click, and his empire would start crumbling.
So why couldn't I do it?
"Sophia?" Adrian's voice cut through my thoughts. "The board is waiting. It's time."
I looked up at my fake fiancé standing in the doorway of my office. Handsome, powerful, patient. He'd given me everything—funding, protection, a way back into the world that had rejected me.
But something about him made my skin crawl lately.
"I'm coming," I said, closing my laptop and standing. The diamond engagement ring on my finger felt like a chain.
Adrian smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Remember, this isn't just about competing with Ashford Global. This is about crushing them completely. No mercy."
No mercy. The words echoed in my head as I walked toward the boardroom.
Six years ago, Dominic had shown me no mercy. He'd called my baby a bastard. He'd thrown me out like trash. He'd destroyed everything I was.
So why did I feel sick about returning the favor?
The CrossTech boardroom was packed with executives, investors, and department heads. All waiting to see my presentation—the AI technology that would revolutionize the industry and make Ashford Global's systems look like ancient history.
I stood at the head of the table, my hands steady even though my heart was racing.
"Good morning, everyone." My voice was strong, professional. Nothing like the scared girl who'd run away pregnant and broken. "Today, I'm presenting Phase Two of Project Phoenix. As you know, Phase One targeted Ashford Global's cloud computing division. We've already captured fifteen percent of their market share in three months."
Excited murmurs filled the room. Adrian sat at the far end, watching me with pride.
"Phase Two is more aggressive." I clicked the remote, and the screen behind me lit up with data projections. "We're targeting their data security systems—the foundation of their entire business model. Our AI can do everything theirs does, but faster, cheaper, and more efficiently."
I showed graphs, statistics, projections. Numbers that proved Ashford Global would lose billions once we launched. Their stock would crash. Their board would panic. Dominic would scramble to save his empire.
Just like I'd scrambled to save my life six years ago, pregnant and alone.
"The best part?" I continued, my voice cold. "We launch in three weeks, right before Ashford Global's annual shareholder meeting. They'll have no time to respond. By the time Dominic Ashford realizes what's happening, it'll be too late."
The room erupted in applause. Investors smiled. Board members nodded approvingly.
I should have felt victorious. Powerful. In control.
Instead, I felt empty.
Adrian appeared beside me as the meeting ended, kissing my cheek for everyone to see. His hand on my waist was possessive, tight.
"You're brilliant," he whispered. "Absolutely brilliant. Dominic won't know what hit him."
"That's the plan," I said automatically.
"We should celebrate." Adrian's grip tightened slightly. "Dinner tonight? Just us?"
Something in his tone made alarm bells ring in my head. "I can't. Ethan has soccer practice, and—"
"Ethan has a nanny. Let her handle it."
"No." My voice was firm. "Family comes first. Always."
Adrian's smile tightened, but he let go. "Of course. Family first. That's what I admire about you."
He walked away, and I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
Maya appeared at my elbow, my best friend and assistant who'd followed me to Singapore and back. "You okay? You look pale."
"I'm fine."
"Liar." Maya steered me toward my office. "You just declared war on one of the most powerful men in the city, and you look like you want to throw up. What's wrong?"
I collapsed into my desk chair. "I saw him last night. Dominic. At the gala."
Maya's expression darkened. She hated Dominic for what he'd done to me. "And?"
"And Ethan met him." My voice cracked. "Our son looked at his father for the first time, and Dominic didn't even know."
"Good," Maya said fiercely. "He doesn't deserve to know. He called Ethan a bastard before he was even born."
"I know, but—" I stopped, not sure how to explain the look on Dominic's face when he saw Ethan. The shock. The recognition. The way he'd stared at my son like he was seeing a ghost.
"But what?"
"But Ethan asked about him." The words came out strangled. "He asked why that man had eyes like his."
Maya's face softened. "Oh, Soph."
My phone buzzed. Another unknown email. My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a video file. I pressed play, and my blood turned to ice.
The footage showed Ethan leaving school yesterday. Walking to our car. A person in a dark hood watching from across the street.
Below the video: "Phase Two of YOUR revenge starts soon. Hope you're ready. 60 hours left."
"What the—" Maya grabbed my phone. "Sophia, this is the same person from six years ago! The one who sent those messages when Ethan was born!"
The person who'd been blackmailing me. The person who'd forced me to come back to this city and destroy Dominic's company.
The person who had my son on video.
"I have to go." I grabbed my keys, panic clawing at my throat. "I have to get Ethan—"
"He's safe. He's at the private school with security. Nobody can touch him there." Maya gripped my shoulders. "Breathe. Think. Who's doing this?"
"I don't know!" Tears burned my eyes. "Six years ago, someone started sending me messages right after Ethan was born. They knew about Dominic. They knew everything. They said if I ever contacted Dominic or told him about Ethan, they'd make sure I lost custody in a legal battle I couldn't win."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because they threatened you too!" I was shaking now. "They said if I told anyone, they'd hurt the people I loved. So I stayed quiet. I built my company. I kept Ethan safe. And then three months ago, the messages started again."
Maya's face went white. "What did they say?"
"They said it was time. Time to come home. Time to destroy Dominic Ashford completely. They gave me instructions—accept Adrian's marriage proposal, join CrossTech, develop technology to crush Ashford Global's business." I showed her the countdown timer. "If I don't finish destroying Dominic's company in sixty hours, they'll expose Ethan's paternity to the world. Dominic will sue for custody, and I'll lose my son forever."
"That's insane! Why would someone—"
"I don't know!" I screamed. Then quieter, "I don't know who hates Dominic enough to use my son as a weapon. But they've been planning this for six years, and I walked right into their trap."
My phone rang. Unknown number.
My hands shook as I answered. "Hello?"
Heavy breathing. Then a distorted voice: "Did you enjoy your board meeting, Sophia? Ready to finish what we started?"
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"I want Dominic Ashford destroyed. His company in ruins. His reputation shattered. Everything he built—gone. And you're going to do it for me."
"Why?" My voice broke. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because six years ago, he took something from me. Something precious. And now—" The voice turned colder. "—now I'm taking everything from him. Starting with the son he doesn't know exists."
"Don't you dare touch my child—"
"Then do your job. Sixty hours, Sophia. Launch Phase Two of Project Phoenix. Steal Ashford Global's security algorithms. Destroy him completely. Or I'll make sure Dominic knows all about little Ethan. And we both know what happens then."
"A custody battle I can't win," I whispered.
"Exactly. A billionaire father versus a single mother who kept his child secret for six years? The courts will give Dominic full custody. You'll lose Ethan forever. Unless—" The voice paused. "—unless you finish what you started. Destroy Dominic Ashford's empire. Make him suffer the way you suffered. Give me that, and I'll disappear. You'll never hear from me again."
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone, tears streaming down my face.
Maya hugged me tight. "We'll figure this out. We'll find whoever's doing this and—"
My office door slammed open.
Adrian stood there, his face twisted with rage. "Is it true? Did you lie to me about Ethan's father?"
My heart stopped. "What?"
"I just got an anonymous email. Pictures of you and Dominic Ashford six years ago. Pictures of Ethan. Birth certificates. Medical records. Everything." He threw his phone on my desk. "Your son is Dominic's. You've been lying to me this whole time!"
I looked at the photos—intimate pictures from that night six years ago. Pictures I never knew existed. Pictures that proved everything.
"Adrian, I can explain—"
"Explain what? That you used me? That this whole engagement was a lie so you could get close to your baby daddy?" His voice dripped with venom. "I gave you everything! I saved you!"
"You saved me because you wanted to destroy Dominic!" I shot back. "Don't pretend this was about kindness. You're using me too!"
Adrian's face went cold. "You're right. I am using you. But now that I know the truth—" He smiled cruelly. "—now I have leverage."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm going to tell Dominic about his son. Today. And then I'm going to sue for custody myself. I've been Ethan's father figure for three years. The courts will favor stability over some deadbeat biological father who didn't even know the kid existed."
My world shattered. "You wouldn't—"
"Watch me." Adrian headed for the door. "You should have been honest with me, Sophia. Now you lose everything."
He left, and I collapsed against my desk, sobs tearing from my throat.
Maya was already on her phone. "I'm calling security. We need to—"
My laptop pinged. Another email. Same unknown sender.
"Tick tock, Sophia. Adrian's going to ruin everything. You have one choice left: Go to Dominic. Tell him everything. Warn him about the threat. Work together to save your son. You have 59 hours. Choose wisely."
I stared at the message, my mind spinning.
Go to Dominic? The man who destroyed me? The man who called our son a bastard?
But he was also Ethan's father. And someone was using our son as a weapon in a war neither of us understood.
Maya grabbed my shoulders. "Sophia, what do we do?"
I looked at my best friend, then at the countdown timer, then at the picture of Ethan on my desk. My beautiful, innocent boy who had no idea his entire world was about to explode.
"We go to war," I said, my voice hard as steel. "But not the war they want. We find out who's behind this. We save Ethan. And then—" I picked up my phone and dialed a number I'd sworn never to call.
A deep voice answered. "Ashford."
I closed my eyes, hating every word I was about to say. "Dominic, it's Sophia. We need to talk. Now. Our son's life depends on it."