"How did he find out?"
Jasmine stared at Lawrence, who was sleeping soundly on their bed. He had come home drunk, yet still managed to chug more alcohol from the bar before collapsing. When Jasmine nodded along to his earlier drunken rambling, he finally passed out and fell asleep like a child.
Standing beside the bed, bitterness flickered in her eyes.
"Is that what he’s been doing instead of fixing the problem?"
Her hands clenched into fists, jaw tight, eyes burning red with anger and frustration.
She hadn’t kept that money for him or for anyone else. She’d saved it for emergencies. It wasn’t as if Jasmine had ever planned to leave Lawrence, but since she’d started from the bottom, she’d learned the value of a safety net. That was how she’d survived.
Who would have thought that very money would end up being used for the purpose it was created for?
Jasmine never imagined LL Construction would fall. The company had been around for decades with loyal clients and steady contracts. But Lawrence hadn’t just declared bankruptcy. He’d also discovered her secret savings and expected her to use them to bail him out.
"Never," she breathed, her voice trembling. "I will never spend it all just for you to burn it again."
Panic slowly crept into her chest as she began pacing the room. Everywhere she looked, bright stickers marked the furniture and appliances the bank would soon collect. She bit her thumb, her mind spinning for a solution.
"He won’t sign the divorce papers," she whispered. "He’s not going to let me go."
Jasmine had been married to Lawrence long enough to know what kind of man he became when desperate. The moment she brought up divorce, he’d do everything he could to seize her money.
"Goodness," she muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead. "This isn’t how it was supposed to be."
How had things spiraled this fast?
She’d been taking her time, certain Lawrence wouldn’t go as far as to declare bankruptcy this soon. But she’d miscalculated. Perhaps, once he found her hidden funds, he stopped trying.
What Jasmine didn’t know was that Lawrence had fought hard.
He’d spent days and nights without sleep trying to save the company. Between the two of them, he’d been the one desperate to keep it afloat. But it was futile. NL Group had already blocked every chance of recovery, and when Summit Partners publicly announced they would no longer affiliate with anyone connected to LL Construction, it was the final nail in the coffin.
Realizing there was nothing left to salvage, Lawrence had tried to sell the company. But even his so-called "friends" turned their backs, humiliating him and treating him like a plague.
So, when there was nothing left, Lawrence sat alone in his office, asking himself one question:
How could I fall this far?
His mind went back to the day he’d used his capital to buy the lands from Lola. The same lands he later gave to her.
Then another question surfaced, darker this time:
How could I not afford them without touching my capital?
True, Lola had sold the lands at an inflated price, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t have been able to afford them. Deep down, he knew something else was wrong. He started tracing every cent that went in and out of the company.
And that’s when he found it.
Jasmine’s quiet, meticulous theft.
She hadn’t transferred large sums—only small amounts, bit by bit. But she’d been doing it for years. And those tiny withdrawals had accumulated into something massive. Enough to cripple the company slowly and painfully.
"He knows."
Her quiet words cut him off. Mike froze.
She lifted her gaze to him, eyes sharp and cold. "Lawrence knows about the funds."
Mike’s brows shot up. "How?"
"I don’t know—and it doesn’t matter anymore." She exhaled shakily, anger flashing in her eyes. "He declared bankruptcy to pay off his debts, and now he expects my money to rebuild himself."
"What?" Mike scoffed, but Jasmine rose from her chair, stepping close to him.
"He won’t let me go, Mike. He won’t sign those papers. And even if he does, he’ll take everything I own."
"That account’s under a different name."
"He may be a fool," Jasmine said bitterly, "but he didn’t survive this long by being stupid. He knows what to do. I know him. If he’s going down, he’ll make sure I go down with him."
A heavy silence filled the air as the two locked eyes.
"There’s no other way," she whispered finally. Her resolve was firm now, cold and unshakable. "Mike, you have to help me... get rid of him. It’s the only way for you, me, and Melissa to start over."
As the two quietly agreed that this was their only option, neither realized that someone was standing just outside the door, listening to everything.
Lawrence.

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