After My Husband Gave My CEO Position to His Mistress

The MedTech Innovations contract felt like a lifeline in my hands as I walked into Gavin Reynolds' office for the second time. Two weeks had passed since our first meeting, and I'd managed to secure what seemed impossible.

"Impressive," Gavin said, looking up from his desk. This time, he stood when I entered. "Marcus Webb doesn't partner with just anyone."

I placed the signed contract on his desk. "He partners with people who can solve his problems."

Gavin studied the document, his expression shifting from skepticism to something that looked almost like respect. "You outmaneuvered Caspian Spencer."

"We outmaneuvered him," I corrected, gesturing to the team behind me. Ben, Anahi, and Jett stood near the door, their faces showing exhaustion but determination.

Gavin's eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary. "You're not what I expected, Bella Spencer."

"What did you expect?"

"Someone broken." He reached for his checkbook. "Instead, I see someone rebuilding."

The check he wrote wasn't the largest investment I'd ever secured, but it was enough—enough to rent a proper office, enough to hire additional staff, enough to keep Luminary Tech alive while we developed our first products.

"Thank you," I said, taking the check.

"Don't thank me yet," Gavin replied. "I'll be watching closely."

As I stood to leave, a sharp pain shot through my lower back. I winced, steadying myself against the desk.

"Bella?" Anahi's voice was instantly concerned.

"I'm fine," I insisted, but Gavin was already moving toward me.

"You're not fine," he said firmly. "I'm driving you home."

I opened my mouth to protest, but another wave of pain silenced me. Gavin's hand was steady on my elbow as he guided me toward the elevator.

"My car is downstairs," he said. "And before you argue, consider it a business dinner. I have questions about your implementation timeline."

---

The news of Luminary Tech's funding spread quickly. Too quickly.

We were celebrating our official launch in our new office space when the door burst open. Three men in suits strode in, ignoring the startled faces of our small team.

"Bella Spencer?" The lead man's voice cut through the music.

I stepped forward, setting down my untouched champagne. "I'm Bella Spencer."

"You've been served." He thrust a thick envelope into my hands.

The room fell silent as I opened it. Ben appeared at my side, reading over my shoulder.

"Caspian is suing us for corporate espionage," he whispered, his voice tight with anger.

The lawsuit claimed that Luminary Tech's core technology was derived from Spencer Group's proprietary "Stardust" chip—a blatant lie, since I'd created both independently.

"This is ridiculous," Anahi hissed. "We built everything from scratch!"

"Not everything," Jett murmured, his eyes meeting mine.

I knew what he meant. The underlying architecture was similar, but I'd modified it enough to be legally distinct. Caspian was grasping at straws.

"He's freezing our remaining assets," Ben added, scanning the document. "The divorce settlement money."

My stomach clenched. Without that money, I was truly on my own.

---

"He's desperate," Jett said three days later, his fingers flying across his keyboard. "Look at this."

On his screen, a series of alerts flashed red. Someone was trying to access our servers.

"Spencer Group IP address," Jett confirmed. "They're getting sloppy."

I leaned closer, watching the attempted breach. "Can you trace it?"

"Already did." Jett pulled up another window. "It's a contractor Jazmine hired last week."

I straightened, an idea forming. "Don't block them."

"What?" Anahi looked alarmed.

"Let them in," I said, a plan taking shape. "But route them here." I pointed to a folder on our server.

"Our honeypot," Jett grinned, understanding immediately.

I nodded. The "honeypot" was a fake server filled with corrupted code and false data—a trap for exactly this kind of corporate espionage.

"Make sure they get what they came for," I instructed. "The more they take, the better."

Jett's fingers moved quickly, setting up the redirection. "Done. They'll think they're stealing our latest algorithms."

"And when they try to integrate this into their systems?" Ben asked.

I smiled coldly. "Their systems will crash. Beautifully."

As Jett confirmed the intruders had taken the bait, my phone buzzed with a text from Gavin: "Heard about the lawsuit. Need anything?"

I stared at the message, feeling something shift between us—something that wasn't quite business anymore.