The Stock Queen Returns

On the night of the charity gala, crystal chandeliers cast shimmering light across the grand hall. Around the champagne tower, celebrities mingled, laughter filling the air. I stood above it all, my gown as dark as ink, my lips painted the color of blood. When silence fell over the room, David was mid-conversation, a wine glass in hand. I slowly removed my glove and spoke, each word deliberate: "I'm divorcing David." Glass shattered—dropped from his trembling fingers. "Why?" His voice cracked. "Is it because my mother refused to let you into the family ancestral hall?" I smiled, connecting my phone to the main screen. A recording began to play—his father’s hushed voice from a private chamber: "As long as the third son doesn’t sign, we can stall the acquisition. Once Louise has nothing… let’s see what she’ll negotiate with." The crowd erupted. David turned deathly pale. "You recorded my father?!" "Not偷," I said softly, brushing my fingers across the projection screen as bank statements flashed up. "Just collecting the interest he’s been slow to pay." Three point five million—deposited three years ago into his shell company’s account. The source, clearly traceable. "Without me, you wouldn’t have secured your first round of funding." I locked eyes with him. "David, you called me your Cinderella—the girl who clung to your fortune? You forgot one thing: Cinderella’s glass slipper was never given by the prince." From the back, someone sneered, "Playing the pure white moonlight? She’s just another woman who climbed up on men’s backs—" Before the words finished, the screen switched. Footage appeared: me in a mask at a refugee camp in Africa, the logo of the “Alice Foundation” behind me. “She’s Alice?” someone gasped. —The anonymous investor who had secretly funded thirty tech startups worldwide, never once revealing her face. David staggered back. "Did you plan this all along?" "Not planning," I said, removing my earring and tossing it into his champagne flute. "Reckoning." Just then, the elevator dinged open. A man in a black trench coat stepped forward, holding a document. In the stunned silence, he slapped the file onto the table. "David pledged the company shares to an offshore hedge fund last week. Margin call is imminent." He looked up at me. "Madam, here is the takeover letter you requested." David finally broke. "Who the hell are you?!" The man replied calmly, "Her Chief Risk Officer. Oh—and by the way, the debt your father owes to her mother? It’s time to settle that too." The lights cut out. Only I remained in the spotlight, standing at the eye of the storm. I was never anyone’s shadow. I was simply… stepping into the light. Louise, the 'never-wrong' stock market queen of Alice Group, secretly married David and helped his company go public. But when the scheming Carol interfered, Louise vowed revenge—divorcing David and revealing her true identity. Then came Simon, her unexpected light. In the end, her choice was...?"