A DEAL WITH VICTOR

Victor had managed to convince his wife to stay back, assuring her that he would handle the issues surrounding them. Just then, his phone beeped; when he opened it, he saw the mail he had been expecting; it was from the man he sent earlier to investigate Tasha’s connection to Nexus company. As he opened the email, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Rory asked him.

He didn’t respond, he stayed glued to the screen.

The email read: “CONFIDENTIAL: Tasha Langston’s arrival coincided with multiple bank transfers traced to Nexus offshore accounts. The photos attached show her in contact with key Nexus board members. She's not just involved. She may be running the show.”

Victor slowly turned his head and showed her the mail. Just as she had suspected, it was Tasha, and she had a strong feeling that Tasha was also involved in the scandal of the twin babies.

Rory’s fingers moved fast as she scooped up her laptop from the coffee table. Her jaw tightened with purpose. Her heartbeat was erratic, yet her hands were steady, she had been in this zone before during a high-stakes acquisition war two years ago. But this felt different, it was personal. 

She slammed the lid open and started typing furiously.

Victor watched her from across the room, seated at the edge of the couch, his brows furrowed in worry. “Babe,” he called gently. “Can you just breathe for a second?”

“I am breathing,” Rory snapped, eyes never leaving the screen. “I’m also hacking into Nexus’ company firewall. So unless you’ve suddenly gained the skills of a digital assassin, don’t distract me.”

Victor sighed and leaned back, running a hand over his beard. “I’m serious, Mi Amor, You have been on this for about an hour already. You really need to rest, this stress is unhealthy.”

She ignored him. Code scrolled rapidly across the screen as she bypassed layers of encryption. “Unhealthy is someone planting a pregnancy on my husband and parading it online,” she hissed. “Unhealthy is watching your name get dragged through the dirt while some washed-up debutante builds her clout on it. No, Victor, I need to get to the bottom of this.”

Then suddenly, her eyes lit up. “I’m in.”

Victor stood and walked over to her. “What did you find?”

Rory’s voice dropped to a whisper, filled with disbelief. “Tasha is a shareholder.”

Victor blinked. “What?”

“She’s one of the shadow investors, not just any shareholder either. She owns seventeen percent. That’s not small money, babe. She’s been involved for at least two years.”

Rory paused, scrolling through digital files, transaction logs, and encrypted communication. Her fingers slowed as the realization settled into her bones. Her voice softened, now tinged with betrayal. “Victor… Nexus was on the verge of collapse two years ago. I remember the projections. Everyone in the industry thought they were going to sell or shut down, and then, out of nowhere, they got funding to scale up. They pivot their strategy, align with influencers, go heavy on AI and tech enhancement, and suddenly, they’re gunning for contracts we’re bidding on?”

“You think she’s been gunning for you all this time?” he asked quietly.

Rory looked up at him, her eyes gleaming with cold fire. “Not just me, us. Our marriage, our empire. She’s out for revenge.”

Victor stepped closer and knelt beside her. “Let me handle this, sweetheart, please. I know you want answers, but you need to rest. Just for today. I will investigate this further, I promise I’ll fix it.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but the exhaustion finally showed on her face. She leaned back in the chair, exhaling deeply.

“You promise?” she whispered.

He held her hand. “With everything in me.”

She nodded faintly, and he kissed her forehead. Then, with determination in his eyes, he stood up and walked into the bedroom. He shut the door behind him, pulled out his private phone, and dialled a number without hesitation.

The line clicked. A gruff voice answered. “Yes, sir?”

“Send a message to Tasha for me,” Victor said, his voice cold as ice.

Laughter echoed off the walls of the lavish private suite in one of the city's most exclusive rooftop lounges. Red wine glasses clinked, heels clicked on marble, and the scent of money and ambition was thick in the air.

Tasha sat at the centre of it all like a queen among loyal jesters, her long red dress hugging her curves, a glass of champagne perched delicately between her fingers. Around her were her carefully curated “friends”—socialites, fashion bloggers, and heiresses, all equally shallow and dangerous.

“Oh my God, Tasha,” one of them, Brina, said with a dramatic gasp. “You seriously never told us what really happened with Jason!”

Another girl chimed in, “You were like, totally obsessed with him.”

Tasha rolled her eyes with exaggerated flair, sipping her drink. “Obsessed? Please, Jason was a phase.”

She flipped her hair, pretending to be casual. “My father and Julian had a marriage alliance; we were doing just fine until Rory entered the picture. All prim and proper with her tech empire and flawless makeup like some goddess.”

Her nose wrinkled.

“And he chose her,” she added bitterly. “Just like that, not even an apology. He just left me hanging.”

“Ugh, that was rude,” Brina commented. “Men are trash.”

“Oh, sweetie, you think that’s the worst part?” Tasha leaned in. “You know I finally got the chance to meet my idol, Victor Dela-Cruz. That media mogul from Paris?”

Her eyes glistened with fake innocence. “I was so excited! I was practically glowing that day. I wore my best emerald gown, and made sure my makeup was on point. You know what he did when I tried to talk with him”

The girls leaned in.

“Nothing, he didn't even spare me a glance. He looked right past me like I didn’t exist. Then what? Two weeks later I find out he is dating someone. Guess who? Rory.”

Gasps erupted around the table.

Tasha smirked. “That woman stole everything from me, Jason and my long-time crush, a man I’ve idolized for years, got married to Rory, and now she’s trying to look like the poster girl of tech royalty.”

“She deserves what you did to her” Brina asked, eyebrows raised.

Tasha grinned like a cat about to eat her prey. “I'm not even done, I want to crumple her completely. One piece at a time, first, her image and then her company. I have already sent a fire straight to her marriage.”

The girls squealed.

“Whoever sent trolls to leak that pregnancy news deserves a hug,” one of them giggled.

“I know right?” Brina said. “The way it exploded online? I was like, drama!”

They all laughed, toasting to chaos.

“Speaking of which,” one of the girls asked as she twirled her straw in her cocktail, “how’s Rory’s company doing?”

Tasha smiled wickedly. “Up for bid already. The sharks are circling, I’ve got three offers waiting on my desk. And her board members are already talking exit strategy.”

They clapped like it was a performance. Tasha basked in their praise, her ego was swelling. For a moment, she believed she had already won.

Then her phone beeped.

She picked it up, opened the message she received and froze. Her expression turned pale like she had seen a ghost.