Love, Derailed

For the annual holiday bonuses, all employees received a luxury gift basket—except my wife's new driver, Joey, who got a million-dollar Patek Philippe.
That’s when I knew.
I didn’t lose my temper. I just placed the signed divorce papers in front of her.
“You lose everything, or he disappears. Choose.”
That night, she returned crying and tore the papers apart. “It’s handled,” she whispered.
Three days later, at the Autumn Charity Gala, she showed up with Joey.
When our eyes met, she shuddered and clutched his arm, loudly declaring, “I can’t take your twisted appetites anymore! Joey taught me what love is.”
Then, angling her arm toward the cameras, she revealed a constellation of purple bruises.
Gasps filled the room. “Long Industries CEO Accused of Abuse” trended worldwide instantly.
Amusing.
Some are offered an easy way out but choose ruin instead.
Fine. If she wants a war, I’ll give her annihilation.

1
I watched the screen of my phone, the headlines flashing across it: "Adrian Long: The Beast Behind the Billionaire," "Seraphina Vance’s Brave Stand Against Abuser Husband."
It was patently absurd.
A move so clumsy, so utterly foolish. Did she really think she could destroy me, destroy Long Industries, with such a cheap trick? That she could legitimize her sordid little affair?
A daydreamer, lost in her own fantasy.
I lifted my gaze. Across the room, Joey held her protectively, his arm wrapped around her as she gave a tearful interview to a swarm of reporters.
"For the sake of our families' alliance, I was prepared to endure it forever," she sobbed. "But then Joey came into my life, and he showed me that I deserved happiness..."
"All I want is a swift end to this sham of a marriage, but..." She trailed off, glancing at me. Her eyes held a flicker of fear, but it was overshadowed by a smug, confident certainty.
"Ms. Vance, are you afraid of retaliation from Mr. Long?" a reporter pressed, shoving a microphone in her face.
Seraphina flinched as if struck. Her eyes welled with fresh tears as she buried her face in Joey's chest.
Joey stepped forward, shielding her. He stared directly at me, his voice ringing with self-righteous fury.
"I won't let Seraphina get hurt ever again," he announced. "Power and wealth don't give him the right to do whatever he wants!"
They never once used the word "abuse," yet every word was a hammer blow, nailing that very accusation to my name.
Their little performance worked like a charm. The whispers around me grew louder, the judgmental stares more intense.
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. I remember when every debutante in the city was desperate to marry into the Long family. Turns out it wasn't a palace, it was a predator's den."
"Exactly. Adrian Long is famously ruthless in business. God only knows what methods he uses at home. Looking at Ms. Vance's bruises, I can only imagine what she's endured these past three years."
"If you ask me, he should grant her a divorce immediately, give her a generous settlement, and let her be with her true love. Otherwise, this abuse scandal is going to drag the entire Long name through the mud..."
The pack of reporters turned, advancing on me.
"Mr. Long, what is your response to Ms. Vance's allegations?"
"Will you do the decent thing and release her from this marriage?"
The microphones stopped a few feet away, held back by my security detail. I raised a hand, waving them off, and rose slowly to my feet.
The noisy ballroom fell into a sudden, expectant hush.
A cold smile touched my lips. My gaze swept calmly across the room, passing over every face until it landed on Seraphina.
"If Ms. Vance wants to play," I said, my voice low but carrying to every corner of the vast hall, "then I’m more than happy to oblige."
I turned to my assistant.
"Contact the legal department. We're filing for divorce and suing for defamation. Simultaneously."
My voice dropped, turning to ice.
"Immediately pull all funding from Vance Enterprises. Sever all joint ventures. Now."
Without another glance at anyone, I turned and walked out.

2
The moment I settled into the back of the car, my assistant handed me a tablet.
"Sir, the stock has taken a significant hit. Several partners are invoking contract clauses to pull out, citing damage to the brand's reputation."
He hesitated. "Should we… kill the story?"
I glanced at the plummeting stock chart, a chilling smirk playing on my lips.
"No need." This was nothing. A minor turbulence.
"Mobilize the offshore hedge fund. Use five billion. Buy back every share of Long stock you can get your hands on."
"As for those partners..." I paused, my voice devoid of any emotion. "Blacklist them. All of them. We will never do business with them again."
The words had barely left my mouth when my phone rang. It was Seraphina’s father, his voice a torrent of rage.
"Adrian Long, you son of a bitch! I gave you my daughter, and this is how you treat her?"
"This marriage is over! But don't think you can just walk away!" he bellowed. "My daughter gets half of Long Industries! And another five hundred million for pain and suffering!"
"And you will continue to unconditionally fund all of Vance Enterprises' projects for the next ten years!"
"If you refuse, we will fight you with everything we have! We'll make sure Seraphina gets justice!"
Listening to his hysterical threats, my eyes turned to chips of ice.
Three years ago, Vance Enterprises was on the brink of collapse. If he and Seraphina hadn't knelt outside my office for an entire day in the pouring rain, begging for a bailout, would their family even exist today?
I remembered Seraphina then, her face streaked with rain and tears, clinging to my leg, refusing to let go.
"Mr. Long, if you save my family, I'll give you myself!"
The fire in her eyes had moved me. I'd agreed. And so, our strategic marriage was born.
In the years that followed, I not only injected capital into their company but also fed them countless resources and contracts, single-handedly building the Vance name back to prominence.
It seemed three years of my generosity had made them forget who they depended on for their very survival.
Listening to the old man's blustering, and thinking of his cheating, treacherous daughter... like father, like daughter. A pair of ungrateful vipers.
My grip on the phone tightened, my patience worn thin.
"Do your worst, Mr. Vance."
I hung up and snapped at my assistant.
"Three days."
"I want Seraphina with nothing, and the Vance name erased from this city."
If she had just been honest with me three days ago, I might have granted her a shred of dignity.
But now, after she chose to use the most despicable means to claw for more… she would learn what it means to be truly ruthless.

3
When I returned to the villa, I found that Seraphina had already sent people to clear out her belongings.
Our wedding photos were torn to pieces, scattered across the floor like confetti at a funeral.
On the table lay a new divorce agreement she’d drafted and signed, demanding an even fifty-fifty split of all assets.
One clause, in particular, made me laugh out loud.
The husband is required to unconditionally transfer 51% of his shares in the Long Industries subsidiary 'Vanguard Logistics' to a third party, Mr. Joey.
I had to wonder what kind of magic this Joey possessed. In just a year, he had bewitched Seraphina so completely that she was planning his fortune even as she planned her escape.
And our three years of marriage? A lukewarm affair, sustained almost entirely by my efforts.
Utterly pathetic.
I crumpled the document into a tight ball and, with a flick of my wrist, sank it into the trash can.
Ten minutes later, news broke that the Vance Enterprises' funding pipeline had been severed, and all their major projects had ground to a halt.
Seraphina's calls started coming, one after another. I ignored them all.
Then, the texts began, flooding my inbox like spam.
Adrian Long, is threatening people the only thing you know how to do? If you have a problem, take it out on me! Why are you attacking my family?
Don't think this will make me come back to you. I will NEVER be with you. The only one I love is Joey.
We should end this amicably. Otherwise, we can burn everything to the ground together. If I go down, you're coming with me!
Reading just those three, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
Even now, did she really believe I was doing all this to force her back into my arms?
How pitifully, tragically stupid.
I didn't bother reading the rest. I simply blocked her number.
I thought that would be the end of it, but I had severely underestimated her capacity for madness.
The next morning, I had just walked into my office when my assistant burst in, his face pale.
"Sir, you need to see this. Your wife... she's live-streaming."
He handed me his phone. On the screen was Seraphina's face, a mask of tragic beauty, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was wearing a simple white dress, her face stripped of makeup, making her look frail and vulnerable.
"Hello, everyone... My name is Seraphina Vance. I am... Adrian Long's wife, in name only."
She sniffled, her voice catching.
"I'm so sorry. This isn't how I wanted you to meet me, but I have nowhere else to turn."
"For three years," she choked out, "he's taken out his frustrations on me over the smallest things. I can't take it anymore. Now that I've asked for a divorce, he refuses and is threatening to ruin my family... Please, someone, help me..."
Then, she raised a utility knife to her own wrist and dragged it across her skin. Blood welled up instantly, dark and shocking against her pale flesh.
"Maybe if I'm dead," she whispered to the camera, "he'll finally let me go..."
The live chat exploded.
"Ms. Vance, don't! He's not worth it! Think about Joey! We all support you! Find your happiness!"
"That bastard Adrian Long is an animal! He's driven this poor woman to this! If I ever got my hands on him..."
"Don't give up, Ms. Vance! Sue him! Take that abuser for everything he's got! Make sure he ends up with nothing!"
Just then, our housekeeper, Martha, rushed into the frame, grabbing Seraphina's bleeding wrist, her own eyes red with tears.
"Ma'am, please don't do this! It's not your fault! It's all his fault!"
"I've worked in this house for two years," Martha declared, turning to the camera with righteous indignation. "I've seen how badly the Master treats you. Divorce him! I'll be your witness!"
She began to list my supposed crimes, her voice ringing with conviction.
"One time, just because she forgot to bring him his slippers, he dragged her into a corner with no cameras and slammed her head against the wall! Then he forbade her from eating dinner."
"Another time, he pulled her into the bedroom, and all I could hear was the crack of a whip and the sound of her crying and begging for him to stop."
"And then there was the time..."
She wove a tale so detailed, so believable, that if I weren't the man she was describing, I might have believed it myself. She even produced a medical report detailing Seraphina's injuries.
"Again and again, Ma'am forgave him out of respect for their marriage. She made me destroy so many of these reports. If I hadn't secretly kept this one, there'd be no way to get her justice!"
Her testimony was the spark that ignited a wildfire of public outrage.
My personal information and the addresses of Long Industries' main offices were doxxed online. Threats and curses flooded our servers.
Joey appeared on screen then, dabbing at Seraphina's wound with a look of profound love and pain.
"Shhh, Seraphina, don't be afraid. You have me now. I'll always be with you," he murmured, before turning to the camera with a heroic glare.
"Adrian Long! If you’re any kind of man, you'll let her go! Stop hiding and torturing a woman!"
His passionate defense earned him a chorus of online cheers.
"Joey is such a real man! No wonder she fell for him. I think I'm falling for him too..."
"Death to the abuser! Anyone who stands in the way of true love deserves to be struck by lightning!"
"Ms. Vance, if you need a private investigator, contact me! I'll help you find all the evidence you need, free of charge. We'll ruin him!"

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