Alexander Grant sat behind his desk made of aged mahogany, examining a faded photograph. The picture showed his 35-year-old self standing next to a 22-year-old David Yang—the young David's face filled with admiration and enthusiasm.
"Do you see this, Sterling?" Grant pointed at the photo with the tip of his pen. "He was like a son to me once."
Sterling stood at attention. "What changed, Sir?"
Grant let out a long sigh, his eyes gazing into the past. "It all started fifteen years ago. David was the most talented young man I'd ever met. I took him straight from campus, mentored him, taught him everything about the property business."
He stood up and walked to the window. "For ten years, we built an empire together. I treated him like the son I never had. I was even his best man when he married Elara."
"Then what destroyed your relationship, Sir?"
Grant clenched his fist. "Five years ago, there was the largest property project in this city's history—the Northgate Central Business Project. David and I worked for months to win that tender."
Grant's face contorted at the memory. "But at the last minute, David betrayed me. He used our confidential strategy information to create his own proposal and won the tender alone!"
Sterling looked shocked. "He betrayed you after everything you'd done for him?"
"More than that!" Grant turned around with fiery eyes. "He not only stole that project but also took three of my best directors with him. My company almost went bankrupt. My family had to sell our house and cars just to save the business."
Grant opened the iron safe behind his desk and pulled out a stack of documents. "Look at this—my company's financial reports after David's betrayal. Stock value plummeted by 70%. I had to lay off 300 employees. My wife was so stressed she had to be hospitalized!"
"He destroyed everything I'd built over decades in just a few months!" Grant's voice echoed through the spacious room.
Sterling nodded slowly. "But why only act now, Sir? It's been five years."
Grant smirked. "Because it took that long to rebuild my empire. And now, it's time for revenge."
He pointed at David and Elara's photo in the newspaper. "David thinks he can live happily with everything he stole from me? He built his empire on my suffering!"
"But why hurt his family, Sir? Why not just attack his business directly?"
"Because that will hurt him the most!" Grant snapped. "He loves Elara and his child deeply. I want him to feel the same loss I felt when I lost everything."
Grant picked up a photo of his late wife from his desk. "Sarah never recovered after what happened. She kept blaming herself for not being able to help me save the company. David didn't just kill my dreams—he accelerated my wife's death!"
His eyes glistened with tears. "Every time I see David with Elara and their child, I'm reminded of my own destroyed family. I want him to suffer like I suffered!"
"And Clara," Grant suddenly smiled sinisterly, "she's become a perfect bridge for me to destroy David from within. A vengeful woman is the deadliest weapon."
Sterling looked confused. "How is Clara helping our plan, Sir?"
Grant let out a short laugh. "Clara hates Elara for stealing Kael's attention. She's more than happy to be my eyes and ears in their lives. She's the one who told me about Elara and Kael's secret meetings, she made sure David found out about those meetings, and she'll ensure all suspicions point toward Kael, not me."
He walked closer to Sterling. "Clara thinks she's using me to get Elara out of Kael's life. But in truth, I'm using her to destroy David from within—by poisoning their marriage, creating distrust, and eventually... destroying everything."
Grant stared intensely at Sterling. "David Yang needs to learn that every betrayal has consequences. And I will be the worst consequence of his life."
"He thinks that by being a 'good person' now—building charities and rejecting dirty projects—he can atone for his sins? No! That only makes me more disgusted!"
Sterling nodded slowly. "So Clara is a pawn in this game."
"Not just a pawn, Sterling. She's my secret weapon," Grant whispered. "She has access to their personal lives, knows Elara's weaknesses, and most importantly—she has as much motivation as I do to destroy them."
He pressed the intercom button. "Prepare our best team. I want Elara taken to a safe place tomorrow night. And make sure Clara continues to provide the information we need."
After Sterling left, Grant looked again at the photo of young David. "You taught me one valuable lesson, David—there's no such thing as family in business. Now I'll teach you an even more valuable lesson—never betray someone who knows all your secrets."
He threw the photo into the fireplace, watching David's face burn to ashes. "And with Clara on my side, you won't even see this attack coming."