Chapter 4

The livestream incident turned Liam and Chloe into a nationwide laughingstock.

"The Millionaire Mr. AA" and "The Watch Girl" trended on social media for a whole day.

Chloe was barraged by online hate. Her social media was flooded with ridicule and curses.

She called Liam, crying, saying she'd been fired by her company and her career was ruined.

Liam was devastated. He believed it was my fault.

It was my "damn system" that had ruined his image and dragged down his "most important" platonic friend.

He swore he would teach me a lesson. A lesson I'd never forget.

He used all his knowledge and connections as a finance influencer.

I ran a small online store selling handmade jewelry.

It was my passion project from college, my only emotional outlet and source of self-worth.

The shop was on a niche e-commerce platform.

Liam teamed up with several investment firms to maliciously short-sell the platform.

Three days later, the platform's servers, under a surprise attack, crashed completely.

All data, completely wiped.

My online store, overnight, vanished into thin air.

All my design drafts, customer information, order history, years of hard work… gone.

I stared at the 404 page on my computer, feeling utterly hollow.

It wasn't just a store.

It was my only escape from this suffocating marriage.

My only way to prove my worth.

Now, it had been personally destroyed by the man I was closest to, my husband.

Liam came home, his face alight with vindictive satisfaction.

He threw a news article about the platform's bankruptcy liquidation in front of me.

"Jade, do you see this?"

"This is what happens when you cross me."

"I told you long ago, don't test my limits."

"That pathetic little shop of yours means nothing to me."

He expected me to cry, to become hysterical.

But I didn't. I looked at him calmly, eerily so.

My heart, at that moment, utterly died.

My phone rang at that inopportune moment.

[Ding! Detected partner Liam Carter maliciously destroying Host's personal business, causing direct economic loss and emotional distress to Host. Loss assessment in progress… Assessment complete. Comprehensive evaluation of store revenue, brand value, future earnings, and emotional damages totals $200,000. Forced account balance executed: $200,000 transferred from Liam Carter's account to yours.]

A bank deposit message followed immediately.

[Your savings account ending in 6688 received $200,000.00 on September 20th at 21:05. Current balance: $231,265.00.]

Liam also received a debit notification. He glanced at his phone, his triumphant expression instantly vanishing, replaced by furious rage.

"It's that damn thing again! Jade! You freaking..."

His curses abruptly stopped. He saw my expression.

I looked at the $200,000 deposit information, my heart felt utterly calm, eerily still.

What could money possibly compensate?

It couldn't compensate for the countless nights I'd toiled.

It couldn't compensate for my shattered dreams.

It couldn't compensate for the dead silence in my heart right now.

Liam seemed to sense something was off with me. My calmness disturbed him more than any violent reaction would have.

"You... what's with that expression?"

I didn't answer him.

My only emotional outlet had been crushed by his own hands.

The last thread connecting us had completely snapped.

Just then, that cold mechanical voice in my mind rang out again.

Unlike any time before, this electronic voice seemed to carry a hint of… excitement?

[Detected Host's emotional link to partner is completely severed.]

[Hate value has accumulated to peak.]

[Resilience has reset to zero, initial expectation value has turned negative.]

[Ultimate Mission: Trigger Conditions Met.]

[Generating Ultimate Mission...]

The mechanical voice in my mind carried an unprecedented solemnity.

[Ultimate Mission: Divorce.]