I Lost a Husband, But I Gained an Empire

Aurelia's POV

“Mr. Ashford… Hello, this is Callum Ellington from Vertex Tech—” Callum introduced.

But before he could continue, Mr. Ashford cut in, “Callum Ellington? Who are you? At Vertex Tech, I only deal with Aurelia.”

And right after that, the line immediately went dead. Callum redialed again and again, but every call was blocked.

In frustration, he slammed his phone down and glared at me, teeth bared. “Aurelia! Do you know how important that forty-million deal was? That’s almost our entire year’s profit!”

I spread my hands. “I know. But what does that have to do with me?”

Seeing him losing control, Melina hurried forward and rubbed his back, speaking in a soothing voice. “Callum, don’t panic. It’s only a forty-million contract. I’ll talk to my grandfather. Hell, make it four hundred million if you want, we can handle it.”

Uninterested in their drama, I kept a faint smile and walked away. But behind me, Callum shouted with rancor, “Aurelia, divorcing you was the right move! How did I not see how cruel you really are? You’re disgusting!”

As his voice trailed off, I called the person who’d gotten Melina into the company.

“Philip, what’s the background on that girl you hired?”

“Ah, she’s the last scion of the dying Lancaster Group,” he said. “Her grandfather begged you for five years but never got to meet you. So, he sent his granddaughter over to cozy up to you and build a connection. Of course, he’s after your patents, thinking if you can save the Ellingtons, maybe you can save the Lancasters too.”

Suddenly, a blurred memory snapped into focus. At several industry summits, I’d seen an older man bowing obsequiously in front of me, and behind him was a girl who wasn’t unattractive at all.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh. So, Callum and Melina were playing a game of mutual manipulation, each thinking they could use the other. How entertaining.

I was now in Philip Rowe’s office, telling him about Melina when his assistant knocked and slipped in, looking tense. He edged up to Philip and opened his mouth, but Philip shoved him aside. “This isn’t a room for outsiders. Say it.”

The assistant swallowed and said, “Sir, reporters have swarmed the company…”

“Swarmed? For what?” Philip frowned.

“They’re asking…they’re demanding an explanation from Ms. Crawford.”

Philip and I both pulled out our phones at the same time. When I saw the notifications, my heart dropped like it was tied to a boulder.

I’d made three of the top ten trending topics. The headlines were in blazing red.

[Betrayal! The Ellingtons' sponsored student of eight years goes rogue and voids a 40-million contract with a client just to satisfy her own grudge!]

[Mrs. Ellington betrays her husband and is carrying another man’s baby!]

[Aurelia Crawford, a schemer from the start. Her marriage to the Ellingtons was all an elaborate con!]

Messages from clients also poured in.

[Ms. Crawford, can you comment on the news? If not, our company may reconsider working with Mr. Ellington next quarter.]

[Ms. Crawford, we’re going to pause negotiations for now.]

Aside from those, anonymous insults from strangers also flooded me.

[Bitch! If I see you on the street, I’ll curse you every time!]

[Ungrateful, shameless wretch! I hope the baby in your stomach is born with serious health problems!]

I clenched my teeth and smashed my fist on the desk. There was no doubt. Callum and Melina were behind this.