Chapter 172

Bella sat in her sleek new office at the top of the Kendrick tower—now rebranded as Vector Empire.

She gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking over the city as it shimmered under the midday sun.

A sense of triumph washed over her. She had nearly everything she ever wanted: the power, the company, and control over the entire Kendrick fortune.

Yet, as she swirled the glass of wine in her hand, the victory felt hollow.

“If only Ryan had loved me,” she muttered to herself. “None of this would’ve been necessary.”Her mind wandered back to that fateful night, the night that had set everything into motion.

It was the night she had finally decided to take control of her destiny and cement her position in Ryan's life—by any means necessary.

She had asked him out for lunch that day, trying to act casual, like the friend who had always been by his side.

Ryan had been distracted, his thoughts clearly elsewhere, but Bella had insisted. "You’ve been so stressed with everything going on,