Chapter 25 Lucas's Obsession
Lucas's pov
The security man dumped me in the lobby. He literally dumped me.
Like I was trash.
People stared at me and whispered. Some even took out their phones and started taking pictures of me.
I could already see videos of me being dragged out. Posted online and going viral.
"Lucas Ward Gets Kicked Out of Ex-Wife's Company"
Honestly, shame catches me already.
I walked to my car on shaking legs.I slid into the driver's seat and just sat there.
Lara married Damien Otto.
Damien fucking Otto.
A billionaire.
My father's old intern.
And she looked at him like... like...Like she used to look at me.
This is worse than I thought.
She looked at him like he was everything.
While she looked at me like I was nothing.
My hands clenched the steering wheel so hard my knuckles went white.
She rebuilt everything without me.Became more successful than I ever was and even married someone better than me.
And she did it all to prove a point.That she didn't need me.That I was nothing.
And then my phone rang. It was a call from my mother.
Of course, I knew she was going to call. I didn't want to pick the call at first, but I knew if I didn't pick she would just keep calling me.
"Well?" she demanded the second I picked up. "Did you get her back?"
"No."
"What do you mean no? What happened?"
"She's married."
She was silent for a moment before she finally voiced out.
Then: "To who?"
"Damien Otto."
She breathed so deeply.
"The billionaire?" She said,
"Yes."
And then she was more silent.
Then her voice changed. Got calculating.
"Then she's worth even more than we thought."
"What?"
"Otto Industries is worth what, ten billion? More? And she has her own company worth three hundred million. Combined, they're–"
"Mother—"
"You need to break them up."
I laughed. "Break them up? Did you not hear me? She's married. To a billionaire. Who she's clearly in love with."
"I don't care. That woman has our money. Our company. Everything that should have been ours. She needs to pay."
"She hates me honestly, she sees me like a piece of shit."
"So make her fall in love with you back! Seduce her! Remind her of the good times! Do whatever it takes, Do everything in your ability to take her back.!"
I'm not sure I treated her well for once, I treated her like garbage. There were no good times with her at all.
""Then play the victim! Make her feel sorry for you! I don't care what you do, Lucas, but you need to get that money back!"
"It's not her money, it's—"
"It should have been ours! We had her! We had everything! And you let her slip away!"
I hung up the call.
I couldn't listen to her anymore.I sat there in my car in the parking garage.
Thinking of everything, what I could do to have her back.
Lara married Damien.She built a company.
She had everything I lost.Everything I wanted.
And she was happy.
The worst part was that she was actually happy.
While I was here. Broke. Alone. Pathetic.
It wasn't fair at all, I shouldn't have let her go
I started the car and drove home. I spent the whole time I used to drive to think of what I could possibly do.
By the time I got to my apartment, Imade a decision already.
If I couldn't have Lara, I would destroy her.Take back what was mine. What was mine in the first place, but I was still going to make her pay for leaving me.
I called my lawyer first thing the next morning.
"I need to file a lawsuit." I said.
"Against who?" He sounded tired. Like he was already regretting taking my call.
"Lara Montgomery. My ex-wife."
"On what grounds?"
"Theft of company assets."
"Mr. Ward—"
"She was my wife when she built that company. Half of everything should be mine."
"You divorced her three years ago."
"She used proprietary information from her father's company. Information I had access to as her husband. That makes it partly mine."
"That's... that's a stretch."
"Can you argue it or not?"
He was silent before he finally voiced out.
"It's going to be expensive. And difficult.
And honestly, Mr. Ward, I don't think you'll win."
"I don't care. File it. Sixy million in damages."
"Sixty million? Based on what?"
"Based on the fact that she owes me. For years I supported her. For the connections I gave her. For everything."
"Mr. Ward, I really don't think—"
"Just do it!" I screamed into the phone.
"File the damn lawsuit!
He sighed. "Fine. I'll draw up the paperwork. But I'm telling you now, this is a bad idea."
"I don't care."
I hung up the call.Sat back in my chair and smiled for the first time in weeks.
I spent the next week building my case.
Well,lemme say building lies.
I claimed Lara stole proprietary information from her father's company.
That she used patents and technology that were rightfully mine through marriage.
That Montgomery Tech was built on stolen intellectual property.
Everything was lies.But good lies.
Lies that are probably believable.
The kind that would make people question her and make investors nervous.
Maybe even tank her stock price.
I didn't need to win the lawsuit.I just needed to hurt her.
My lawyer filed it on a Friday afternoon.
By Friday evening, it was all over the news.
"Ex-Husband Sues Tech CEO for Sixty Million"
"Lucas Ward Claims Lara Montgomery Built Empire on Stolen IP"
"Billionaire's Messy Past: Did She Cheat Her Way to Success?"
I watched the coverage from my couch.
Drinking whiskey and smiling.
My phone started blowing up.
Reporters asking for comments.
Tabloids wanting interviews.
I answered every single one.
"She left me with nothing," I told them.
I practiced sadness in my voice. "Took everything we built together and called it her own."
"Do you still love her?" one of the reporters asked.
"I'll always love her. That's what makes this so hard. Watching her succeed while I struggle. Knowing she used our marriage as a stepping stone."
"What do you want?"
"Just what's fair. Half of what we built together. That's all."
I lied vividly to them, but they were convinced.
Social media exploded.
Some people supported me. "Men get screwed in divorce all the time! Take her down!"
Some people saw through it. "He's clearly just bitter. She built that company after he threw her out."
But the damage was already done and I'm glad.
By Saturday morning, Lara's company was trending on all social media platforms.
By Saturday afternoon, investors were asking questions.
By Saturday evening, her stock price had dropped three percent.
Not much tho! But enough for me, enough to bring her down. And enough to show her I could hurt her.
I did more interviews over the weekend.
And played the victim perfectly well.
"I just want what's fair. Is that so wrong?"
"She moved on so fast. With a billionaire.
Makes you wonder if that relationship started before our divorce."
"I supported her through her father's death. Helped her through the grief. And this is how she repays me?"
Every word is being calculated. Every tear is fake,but it was effective.
By Monday morning, "JusticeForLucas" was already trending.
I sat in my apartment watching the news coverage, I was so happy with her downfall.
Lara's reputation was taking a hit.
Her perfect comeback story was getting messy.
And it was all because of me.
My phone rang, it was a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Is this Lucas Ward?" In a woman's voice.
"Yes."
"This is Jennifer from The Daily Show. We'd love to have you on to discuss your lawsuit against Lara Montgomery."
I grinned.
"I'd love to."
More interviews. More media. More chances to destroy her.
This wasn't just about the money anymore.This was about making her suffer.The way I was suffering.
I hung up and looked at my laptop.I pulled up Lara's company website.
Stared at her name.
CEO: Lara Montgomery.
Not Lara Ward.
She'd erased me completely.Like I never existed.
But I'd make her remember.
I'd make her regret ever leaving me.
One way or another, Lara was going to pay.
And if I couldn't have her?
I'd make damn sure no one else could either.
I'd burn down everything she built.
Watch her empire crumble.
Watch her lose everything like I lost everything.
Because if I was going to be miserable?
She was going to be miserable too.
I pulled up my lawyer's number.
"File another motion. Discovery. I want access to all her company's financial records."
"Mr. Ward, that's going to be nearly impossible—"
"I don't care, I want it to be done.
This was just the beginning.
Lara thought she could dismiss me?
Throw me out like garbage?
She had no idea who she was dealing with.
I wasn't the broken man she left anymore.
I was angry. Desperate. Dangerous.
And I was going to make her life hell.