Desperate Funeral

Chapter 8

I looked out the window and saw a crowd, dozens of people had gathered, eavesdropping on our conversation. Brian clearly had no intention of shutting up, and I struggled to keep my composure. My temples throbbed violently, and in my rising anger, the wound on my back flared with pain. I winced.

Brian noticed and immediately rushed to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder, his voice laced with fake concern.

"Does it hurt? I told you, Daisy, your health comes first right now. Let me handle the company stuff, okay?"

The pain blurred my vision, clouding my thoughts. There was a time when his concern would've made my heart flutter. I used to think I'd married a man who truly loved me. I even posted about it on Instagram, proudly showing off how lucky I was.

Now? Looking at his face only made me nauseous.

He handed me a glass of water, I didn't even touch it. Just knowing he'd held that cup made my skin crawl. I grabbed the painkillers from my drawer and dry-swallowed one.

Just as I opened my mouth to tell him to get the hell out,

The office door burst open. Police officers stormed in. At that exact moment, my assistant sent me the results of the investigation. I glanced at my phone and saw the email notification pop up.

Brian panicked. As the police grabbed him, he broke free, shouting furiously,

"Why the hell are you arresting me? I'm just talking to my wife! Since when does the law interfere with private matters?!"

I opened the email, scanned the attached report, and despite expecting it, something inside me still twisted when I saw the cold, hard proof laid out in black and white. I turned my computer screen toward the police and said calmly,

"The law doesn't care about marriage problems. But it does care about financial crimes."

Brian's smug expression crumbled into confusion. The officers wasted no time, they pinned him down and hauled him out.

As he was dragged through the doorway, his fury exploded.

"Daisy! You heartless bitch! You can't do this to me! Let go of me, you bastards! I swear to God, Daisy, you'll regret this!"

His shouts echoed down the hallway until they faded into silence.

So that was my husband. The man I once trusted with my life.

I let out a cold laugh, turned the screen back to myself, and stared at the endless lines of shady transactions. The deeper I looked, the colder my heart became.

I sent everything straight to my lawyer, shut my laptop, and realized I had zero energy left for work. I drove straight to the hospital to get my wound checked.

The next few days were quiet. Brian vanished, and life settled into an eerie calm. But online, the chaos only intensified. The company's stock plummeted, and netizens kept speculating. My assistant suggested we issue a public statement several times, maybe even sue, but I told her to wait.

Then came the trial.

Rival companies with competing interests had seized the chance to throw us under the bus. They bought trending topics, paid off influencers, and even hired swarms of reporters to cover the court proceedings.

Brian and I had never had a wedding ceremony, he was broke when we married. Hardly anyone in the business circle knew about our relationship. They all thought this scandal would destroy me.

They had no idea I'd planned everything to use this mess as my stepping stone.

In court, I finally came face to face with Shirley again. She looked like a shadow of her former self, much thinner, but her eyes still burned with hatred. As soon as she entered, she tried to lunge at me, but the officers held her back.

Seeing her like that, all I felt was pity. She still didn't understand.

To her, this was a love triangle. A personal vendetta.

She truly believed that if she ruined me, she could marry Brian and live happily ever after.

But Brian?

He threw her under the bus the second he took the stand.

"I don't know anything about the mob incident. I'm not involved with that woman. This has nothing to do with me. I'm innocent."

Shirley froze. Her mouth hung open, stunned.

"You, what?!" she shrieked. "What do you mean it has nothing to do with you? Every video I posted was about you! How can you say you didn't know?!"

Brian replied coldly, "Your videos? Which one of them actually shows my face? Got any proof it was me?"

And in that moment, it hit me, all those videos she posted, all those gifts she flaunted, none of them ever showed his face. He planned this. From the very beginning.

A chill ran down my spine.

If that incident at the funeral hadn't happened, if he'd waited just a little longer, I might've been the one left with nothing, spiraling out of control.

Shirley completely lost it.

"That's not what you said before, Brian! You said I was different from her! You said you'd marry me once you succeeded!"

Tears streamed down her face as she pointed at me.

"You told me I was the one you really loved!"

Brian snapped, "Shut up! I never promised you anything. Don't try to drag me down with you!"

The two of them screamed at each other as the courtroom erupted into chaos. Their dirty laundry streamed live on the internet. In seconds, it went viral.

The companies that had orchestrated the media frenzy were now in full-blown panic mode, too late to pull anything back.

Our lawyer didn't even flinch. He calmly presented irrefutable evidence of Brian's marital infidelity, along with the prenuptial agreement Brian had signed himself.

All his pathetic excuses collapsed instantly.

It wasn't until then that Shirley realized she had been nothing but the side chick who thought she was the main character.

When the truth came out, she didn't even try to argue. She just stood there, speechless, staring at Brian with lifeless eyes.

She would end up taking on most of the damages from the funeral incident.

And Brian?

Well, he'd finally shown the world who he really was.