Delete My Billionaire Husband

Chapter 25

Lillian Grayson scrolled through the flood of vicious comments on her phone, a cold smirk playing on her lips. Her slender fingers flew across the screen, each hateful message fueling her satisfaction.

"Mr. Kingsley, how the mighty have fallen."

Three months ago, she'd merely had too many drinks at a gala and gossiped about Annabelle Whitmore. The next day, Prosperity Group launched a full-scale assault on the Grayson family. Her father's hair turned white overnight, their business teetering on bankruptcy.

"If you ruin me, we'll burn together."

Her new Twitter account had already amassed a million followers. During daily livestreams, she tearfully recounted how Sebastian Kingsley had manipulated and abandoned her. The internet devoured these scandals—especially when they involved elites like the Kingsleys.

Ding— A notification flashed. Lillian tapped it, her pupils contracting sharply.

"Prosperity Group Under Investigation for Financial Fraud by SEC"

She threw her head back and laughed, the sound echoing through her empty penthouse. This was only the beginning.

Sebastian stood before floor-to-ceiling windows, bloodshot eyes staring at the glittering CBD skyline now rendered gray in his vision.

"Sir, the SEC investigators are waiting in the conference room," his assistant murmured.

Rubbing his temples, Sebastian rasped, "Understood."

Three sleepless months. First came the fraud allegations, then his core team's mass resignation. Now competitors had stolen his flagship project.

His phone vibrated. A message from Annabelle: Heard you're in trouble?

His finger hovered over the screen. After a long pause, he closed the chat.

In the conference room, investigators fired increasingly pointed questions.

"Mr. Kingsley, care to explain these fund transfers?"

"Did Prosperity Group inflate last year's profits?"

Though pale, Sebastian maintained perfect composure—until he spotted a familiar signature on the subpoena documents.

Lillian's handwriting.

"The Old Master has returned!" The butler burst into the study.

Sebastian shot to his feet, barely registering the pain as his knee struck the desk. His grandfather hadn't left the mountain estate in three years.

In the grand hall, Old Master Kingsley leaned on his cane, eyes blazing. Seeing his grandson's gaunt face, his anger momentarily faltered—then flared hotter.

"Kneel!"

The cane struck marble with a crack that shook the room.

Sebastian dropped to his knees, spine rigidly straight.

"What is our family's first principle?" the old man demanded, voice trembling.

"A Kingsley prospers when he cherishes his wife," Sebastian whispered.

"And what have you done?!" A teacup shattered at Sebastian's feet. "You've gambled our legacy for a woman!"

Closing his eyes, Sebastian said, "I was wrong, Grandfather."

"Wrong? You realize this now?" The patriarch's cane trembled with rage. "Bring the discipline rod!"

The butler approached with an ebony cane studded with thorns—a century-old instrument that could flay skin in a single strike.

"Twenty lashes. Not one less."

Sebastian clenched his jaw at the first strike. Blood bloomed across his white shirt like grotesque flowers.

By the fifth lash, his vision blurred. Memories surfaced—the day he'd proposed to Annabelle.

Sunlight through stained glass had painted her face in kaleidoscopic colors as he knelt, trembling hands offering a diamond ring.

"Annabelle, marry me?"

Her radiant smile, eyes full of starlight—then the scene twisted. She turned away, her retreating figure dissolving into darkness.

"Annabelle!" Sebastian jolted back to consciousness to find the butler panicking.

"The Young Master has collapsed! Fetch the doctor!"

As darkness swallowed him, Sebastian's final thought was: This is my reckoning.