50 Billion Reasons to Leave You Chapter 07

50 Billion Reasons to Leave You Chapter 07 The Rise Of A New King 

Right beside it was an even bigger headline.

“East Side Redevelopment Clears Major Milestone and Is Expected to Become the Nation’s Fastest-Growing New Business District.”

According to the report, the area was being developed into the largest technology campus in the country.

Property values were expected to increase more than tenfold within three years.

My 18 homes sat right in the middle of the most valuable part of the district.

The moment business leaders understood what was happening, they rushed to buy them.

They bid against one another and pushed the prices higher and higher.

I walked away with tens of billions in profit.

The new owners were some of the richest people in the country.

They had no intention of letting a scandal drag down the value of their investments.

Their public relations teams immediately launched a joint campaign promoting the entire community.

My real estate deal was suddenly being praised as a brilliant example of long-term investing.

Without anyone saying it directly, the campaign repaired my reputation too.

The hate posts disappeared under a flood of new coverage.

Some of the people who had attacked me online had also picked fights with powerful executives who bought the homes.

Their family businesses started losing contracts.

That was when they turned on Cherine.

“That woman lied and got all of us involved.”

“She told us Mr. Parker was a thief. My company lost millions because I believed her.”

They joined forces against her.

The few small companies Cherine still owned received cancellation notices one after another.

She couldn’t stay in the city any longer. She booked the earliest flight back to Maplewick.

By then, I had grown my fortune several times over.

I bought a massive office tower downtown and started my own company.

We focused on research and development in emerging technologies.

Only a handful of people came to our first recruiting event.

I chose several of the strongest candidates, offered them excellent pay and benefits, and built my core team.

We moved fast.

The company began developing products and expanding operations almost immediately.

Our first product hit the market and performed better than anyone expected.

Once the news spread, applications poured in.

My team grew from five people to thirty.

Our second product was almost ready for release when I received a message from Lorenzo.

“Ryan, can you come back to Maplewick? Something urgent happened.”

I wanted nothing more to do with the Whitmore family. But he had always treated me well.

During my marriage to Cherine, he had been the only person who truly wanted us to be happy.

So I went back the next day.

When I arrived at the Whitmore estate, Lorenzo was nowhere in sight.

Cherine, Kian, Stella, and my parents were all sitting in the living room.

Every head turned toward me.

My stomach dropped.

I turned to leave, but the front door was locked.

Kian let out a soft, fake sigh.

“Ryan, you finally came home.”

He used the gentle voice people used with a child who didn’t know any better.

“You’re here now. Just go apologize to Mom and Dad.

“You ran away and made them worry so much. Mom almost got sick.

“After that, you can apologize to Cherine and give back the money and shares. Then we can put this whole ugly situation behind us and be a family again.”

My mother scoffed.

“Aw, how nice of you to finally show up. What’s next? You say sorry and expect us to clap and forget everything?

“Save your apology for Cherine and Kian. Kian’s been taking heat nonstop, and guess who he has to thank for that? You.”

Stella watched me with a strange, complicated expression, but she stayed quiet.

Cherine didn’t take her eyes off me. She was waiting for me to surrender.

They all started talking at once.

I laughed.

“You tricked me into coming here so I could apologize to you?

“Let me save everyone some time. Absolutely not. Keep dreaming.”

My parents’ faces changed.

Kian stood and reached for my arm.

“Ryan, please. Don’t…”

I knocked his hand away.

He immediately let himself fall to the floor.

He grabbed his arm, blinked up through tears, and whispered, “Cherine, it hurts.”

Cherine rushed to his side.

Then she glared at me.

“Ryan, what is wrong with you? Every time you don’t get your way, you attack someone.”

Stella quietly tugged at Cherine’s sleeve and shook her head.

Cherine remembered why they needed me.

She took a deep breath and forced her voice to soften.

“Ryan, I know some of the things that happened before were a little unfair to you.”

A little.

She rubbed her stomach.

“To make it up to you, when the baby is born, I’ll tell everyone you’re the biological father. The baby can take your last name.

“And if Kian makes you uncomfortable, I promise I won’t let him visit the baby.”

Kian looked horrified.

“Cherine, you can’t—”

She snapped her head toward him.

“Shut up.”

Then she faced me again.

Her expression turned serious and sincere.

“Ryan, you have to believe me. You’re the one I’ve always loved.”

I felt sick.

I turned toward the door.

Behind me, Cherine’s voice rose to a scream.

“If you walk out that door, I’ll call the press and tell them you killed my grandfather and ran.”