Chapter 3: Ruined, Hunted, and Alone

Her sudden compromise threw me off. But a few days later, the Maplewood project lead showed up at the hospital.

He showed up in a crisp suit, looking uncomfortable. He wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Mr. Lane, you’d better check the news online. We can’t work with a company that fakes its products.”

He slid a manila envelope across the bed, full of printouts and screenshots.

I was stunned. My phone was gone—lost on the island. I bought a new one.

The store clerk gave me a pitying look when I handed over my ID. I could barely hold the phone.

As soon as I logged in, my assistant bombarded me with messages.

Dozens of missed calls, frantic texts, voicemails I couldn’t bear to listen to. I knew it was bad before I even opened the first message.

My company was accused of using shoddy materials, faking products, even causing a deadly contamination case—one I supposedly paid to cover up.

Each headline was worse than the last.

My name was trending—for all the wrong reasons.

I watched the numbers drop in real time—emails pouring in, contracts voided.

I scrolled through comment after comment, each one more vicious than the last.

“Making money without a conscience!”

“People like this deserve to be locked up!”

“Heartless scum like this should just disappear!” Some of the comments were so personal, I wondered if they knew me.

I got texts from numbers I didn’t recognize—people promising to find me.

My head spun. Ignoring my injuries, I stumbled into a cab and rushed to the office.

The cabbie kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, like he recognized my face from the news.

I pressed my ear to the door, my heart pounding.

Lucas’s voice was smug, dripping with satisfaction. I felt bile rise in my throat.

Her laughter was soft, almost musical. I’d loved that laugh once. Now it sounded like poison.

“If someone else spread rumors, maybe they wouldn’t believe it. But you’re his wife. Who would they believe if not you?”

He was right. She was the perfect weapon—trusted, loyal, believable. I never saw it coming.

“Doing it in his office while he’s away—doesn’t it feel exciting?”

Their voices dropped, giggling like teenagers sneaking out after curfew.

He sounded almost sincere. Maybe he really did love her. Maybe that made it worse.

At the end, I heard Autumn’s confession.

“I love you too, Lucas. I love you the most. I’d do anything for you!” The words echoed in my head, bouncing around like bullets.

My hands were shaking so hard I nearly dropped my keys.

The realization hit me like a truck.

I remembered how seriously Autumn promised to try her best to love me when she took my ring.

She’d cried that day, swearing she’d give me a chance. I believed her. God, I was so desperate to believe her.

I believed her for five years. Now I just felt like a fool.

I sat on the floor outside my own office, head in my hands, wishing I could go back and warn myself.

I wandered back to the hospital in a daze, only to be blocked at the entrance by a furious crowd.

They were waiting for me—dozens of angry faces, some holding signs, others just shouting.

“That’s him! The heartless boss!”

Someone pointed right at me, and the crowd surged forward.

I held up my hands, trying to reason with them.

“Please, everyone, calm down. I’ll clear things up online. If I really did these things, let the police handle it.”

I tried to sound strong, but my words were drowned out by shouting.

But no one listened. Someone slammed a plastic water bottle into my head.

The plastic cracked against my skull, water soaking my shirt.

I was instantly dizzy, tasting blood in my mouth.

With someone leading the way, the crowd started throwing things—eggs, trash—at me.

I ducked as best I could, but there was nowhere to hide.

Their words were a blur, mixing together into a wall of hate.

My body still hadn’t recovered. I was knocked to the ground, beaten by fists and feet.

I tried to cover my head, but the blows kept coming.

I was about to pass out, barely able to protest.

My voice was a whisper, lost in the chaos.

But the blows kept coming. I curled up on the ground, as helpless as a stray dog.

I tasted dirt and blood. The world narrowed to a tunnel of pain.

It was only when security arrived and called the police that the crowd finally dispersed.

I heard sirens in the distance, saw blue lights flashing.

The whole thing made the local news, and online, people cheered them on.

I saw my battered face on the news that night, the headline screaming my guilt.

I curled up in bed, crying despite myself.

I thought, what a pathetic man—fell for a woman and ended up like this.

I laughed through my tears, the sound hollow and broken.

I picked up my phone and messaged my most trusted assistant.

His name was Dave. He’d stuck by me through everything.

“Speed up the plan. Drive the stock price down, buy back shares at rock bottom.”

I sent the message, fingers trembling.

All I wanted was to leave, never to see Autumn again.

I started planning my exit, thinking about where I’d go, who I’d be.

We were all from the same small town—grew up riding bikes and catching fireflies on summer nights.

But Lucas married a woman who was a better match for his career.

Her name was Emily—smart, driven, from a family with deep pockets.

Autumn was devastated and came to me herself.

“Ryan Lane, you like me, right? Want to give us a try?”

She said it so casually, like it was no big deal.

Back then, I was overjoyed, but it turned out she was always after Lucas.

I ignored the warning signs, convinced myself she’d come around.