PART 3: THE DEMAND FOR PAYMENT
The first thing Aaron noticed when he woke up the next morning was the silence.
For four years, there had always been a message from Alyssa waiting on his phone.
Sometimes it was a simple reminder about an investor meeting.
Sometimes it was a photograph of breakfast she had ordered for him.
Sometimes it was a message reminding him to take his medication because she knew he had a habit of forgetting when he became obsessed with work.
And sometimes, after an argument, it was a long paragraph.
Alyssa had always been the one who reached out first.
Always.
So when Aaron opened his eyes in the luxurious hotel suite in Honolulu and saw that his phone contained absolutely nothing from her, he felt a strange irritation.
Not fear.
Not regret.
Irritation.
He picked up the phone and checked again.
Nothing.
He frowned.
“She’ll call eventually,” he muttered.
After all, he had known Alyssa for years.
She hated conflict.
She hated public arguments.
She hated seeing people uncomfortable.
Most importantly, she loved him.
At least, that was what Aaron believed.
He showered, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, and walked downstairs to the private breakfast area where several members of his executive team were already waiting.
Jasmine was there too.
She wore a pale blue dress and carried a tablet against her chest.
The moment she saw Aaron, she stood.
“Good morning, Mr. Prescott.”
Aaron barely looked at her.
“Where’s the financial report?”
Jasmine blinked.
“I have it right here.”
“Then why aren’t you showing it to me?”
She hurried toward him.
For the first time since she had joined Vanguard Dynamics, Jasmine noticed something different in Aaron’s expression.
He looked distracted.
Angry.
And somehow… unsettled.
She placed the tablet in front of him.
“Our quarterly projection remains strong,” she said carefully. “The Honolulu retreat should also help improve executive morale.”
Aaron scrolled through the numbers.
“Fine.”
Jasmine hesitated.
“Mr. Prescott…”
“What?”
“About Mrs. Prescott…”
Aaron’s fingers stopped moving.
His eyes slowly lifted.
“What about her?”
Jasmine swallowed.
“Do you think she’ll come back?”
Aaron stared at her for several seconds.
Then he laughed.
It was a short, humorless laugh.
“She always comes back.”
Jasmine forced a smile.
“Yes. Of course.”
But neither of them noticed the executive sitting at the opposite end of the table quietly watching them.
His name was Daniel Cross.
He had been Vanguard Dynamics’ chief financial officer for almost three years.
And Daniel knew something Aaron didn’t.
Three weeks earlier, he had received an unusual request from the company’s legal department.
They had asked him to locate every financial agreement between Vanguard Dynamics and the Vance family.
At the time, he had assumed it was routine.
But when he opened the records, he had discovered something that made his stomach turn.
The company everyone believed Aaron had built from nothing had received a massive financial lifeline from an entity connected to Alyssa’s family.
One point five billion dollars.
Interest-free.
With unusually favorable repayment conditions.
And the money had been transferred during the exact period when Vanguard Dynamics had been days away from insolvency.
Daniel had never told Aaron.
He had been waiting for the right moment.
Now, sitting across from him, he suddenly wondered if that moment had arrived.
His phone vibrated.
He glanced down.
The email contained only three words.
PAYMENT DEMAND SERVED.
Daniel’s face went pale.
He immediately looked toward Aaron.
Aaron noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing, sir.”
Daniel locked his phone.
Aaron narrowed his eyes.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“What’s wrong?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then another phone on the table rang.
And another.
And another.
Within seconds, almost every executive at the breakfast table was looking at their screens.
The atmosphere changed.
Nobody spoke.
Aaron slowly put down his fork.
“What is happening?”
Daniel stood.
“Mr. Prescott…”
Aaron’s voice hardened.
“I asked you what is happening.”
Daniel took a breath.
“Our legal department just received an emergency notice.”
“What kind of notice?”
Daniel looked directly into Aaron’s eyes.
“From Vance Enterprises.”
The name seemed to drain the color from Aaron’s face.
“What does Vance Enterprises want?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he placed his phone on the table and turned the screen toward Aaron.
Aaron read the first page.
Then the second.
Then the third.
His expression changed.
The confidence disappeared.
His jaw tightened.
His fingers began trembling.
“What is this?”
Daniel quietly replied,
“A demand for repayment.”
Aaron looked up.
“Of what?”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“The one point five billion dollars.”
Silence.
Jasmine stared at them.
“What one point five billion dollars?”
Aaron didn’t answer.
He was still staring at the document.
At the bottom of the page was a signature.
Alyssa Vance.
And beneath it was a legal seal from Vance Enterprises.
Aaron’s heart began pounding.
“No.”
Daniel looked away.
Aaron stood so quickly that his chair scraped violently across the floor.
“No. This can’t be real.”
He grabbed Daniel’s phone.
“Call our lawyers.”
“They’re already on the line.”
“Then put them through!”
Daniel dialed.
A voice answered almost immediately.
“Mr. Prescott, we need you to return to the mainland.”
“Why?”
“There are several issues.”
“Tell me now.”
A pause.
Then the lawyer said,
“Vance Enterprises has formally demanded immediate repayment of the entire $1.5 billion loan.”
Aaron clenched his teeth.
“That loan isn’t due yet.”
“It is now.”
“Why?”
“Because of the morality clause.”
Aaron’s eyes widened.
“What morality clause?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
He knew.
Aaron had never bothered to read that section.
Because Alyssa had handled the financing.
She had handled the negotiations.
She had handled the lawyers.
She had handled everything.
Aaron had simply signed.
The lawyer continued.
“Under the agreement, certain conduct by the borrower can trigger accelerated repayment.”
Aaron’s voice became low.
“What conduct?”
The lawyer hesitated.
“Conduct that constitutes a material breach of the partnership relationship.”
Aaron stared into space.
Then suddenly he understood.
“This is because of Alyssa.”
Nobody answered.
His breathing became heavier.
“She’s doing this because of the airplane.”
Daniel finally spoke.
“Sir…”
Aaron turned toward him.
“She wouldn’t.”
Daniel said nothing.
Aaron pointed toward Jasmine.
“This is because she saw Jasmine sitting beside me.”
Jasmine immediately began crying.
“I never wanted this to happen.”
Aaron ignored her.
He grabbed his phone and called Alyssa.
The call went unanswered.
He called again.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Then he received a message.
Not from Alyssa.
From Vanguard’s general counsel.
Mr. Prescott, do not contact Mrs. Vance directly regarding company matters. All communication must now go through legal counsel.
Aaron stared at the message.
His face turned red.
“She’s serious.”
Daniel quietly nodded.
Aaron threw the phone onto the table.
“She wouldn’t destroy everything over a stupid seat.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Maybe the seat isn’t what destroyed everything.”
Aaron froze.
Daniel immediately lowered his eyes.
But the sentence remained hanging in the air.
Maybe the seat wasn’t the real problem.
Maybe it had simply been the final straw.
Three hours later, Aaron’s private jet touched down.
He had canceled the remainder of the company retreat.
The executives who had spent the previous night laughing and drinking beside the ocean now sat in silence.
Nobody wanted to speak.
Nobody wanted to look at Aaron.
Because everyone had begun asking the same question.
Who exactly was Alyssa Vance?
And why did her family have enough power to shake Vanguard Dynamics overnight?
When Aaron stepped into the airport terminal, his chief legal officer was already waiting.
“What happened?”
The lawyer handed him another folder.
Aaron opened it.
His eyes widened.
“What’s this?”
“The patent agreements.”
“What about them?”
“The Vance Research Institute owns all thirteen.”
Aaron stared at the pages.
“That can’t be right.”
“It is.”
“I personally negotiated those patents.”
“No, sir.”
The lawyer shook his head.
“You signed the licensing agreements.”
Aaron looked up.
“Licensing?”
“Yes.”
“And who owns them?”
The lawyer took a breath.
“The Vance Research Institute.”
Aaron’s knees nearly weakened.
Those thirteen patents were the backbone of Vanguard’s newest product line.
Without them, the company’s entire manufacturing strategy would collapse.
Aaron looked at the lawyer.
“Can they revoke them?”
“They already did.”
“What happens to production?”
The lawyer looked him directly in the eye.
“It stops.”
Aaron said nothing.
For the first time in four years, he felt genuinely helpless.
His entire empire had been built around assets he had never truly owned.
And the person who controlled them had just decided she was finished protecting him.
That evening, Aaron returned to his penthouse.
His parents were waiting.
His mother immediately stood.
“What did that spoiled girl do?”
Aaron didn’t answer.
His father stepped forward.
“Son?”
Aaron walked past them.
“Where are you going?”
“To my office.”
His mother followed him.
“You need to call Alyssa.”
Aaron stopped.
“I already did.”
“Then call again.”
“She blocked me.”
His mother stared.
“She blocked you?”
“Yes.”
“But she’s your wife.”
Aaron turned around.
“Not anymore.”
His mother’s expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
Aaron slowly pulled the divorce papers from his briefcase.
His father stared at the documents.
“Where did you get those?”
“She prepared them.”
His mother snatched the papers.
“No.”
Aaron walked toward the window.
“She filed for divorce.”
His mother began shaking her head.
“She wouldn’t.”
“She did.”
“She can’t leave you now.”
Aaron laughed bitterly.
“Why not?”
His mother couldn’t answer.
Because everyone in that room had finally realized something.
Alyssa wasn’t coming back.
Not this time.
Across the city, Alyssa sat quietly inside the Vance family headquarters.
The skyline glittered beyond the glass windows.
Her brother Michael sat across from her.
“You know what happens next,” he said.
Alyssa looked at the legal documents on the desk.
“Yes.”
“Once we call the debt, every investor connected to Vanguard will panic.”
“I know.”
“Some of them will try to rescue Aaron.”
“I know.”
Michael leaned back.
“But they won’t.”
Alyssa looked at him.
“Why are you so certain?”
“Because everyone who ever invested in Aaron believed the same thing.”
“What?”
“That his success was unstoppable.”
Michael smiled faintly.
“Now they’re going to discover what was actually holding him up.”
Alyssa remained silent.
She didn’t feel victorious.
Not yet.
She had spent four years loving Aaron.
Four years believing that the man she married was buried somewhere beneath the arrogance.
Four years forgiving things she should never have forgiven.
But there was one thing she refused to forgive.
Being made to feel worthless after everything she had sacrificed.
Michael slid another document toward her.
“There is one more problem.”
Alyssa looked down.
“What?”
“The five hundred million dollar investment from Beacon Capital.”
She frowned.
“What about it?”
“They are reviewing their commitment.”
Alyssa’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because their agreement requires Vanguard to maintain the thirteen patents.”
Alyssa slowly leaned back.
“So once the patents are revoked…”
“The investment disappears.”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“Then let them decide.”
That night, Aaron’s phone rang.
It was Stanford from Beacon Capital.
Aaron answered immediately.
“Stanford, thank God. I need you to release the funds.”
There was silence.
Then Stanford spoke.
“Aaron, the board voted unanimously.”
Aaron’s heart sank.
“What did they vote on?”
“We’re suspending the five hundred million dollar investment.”
“You can’t do that.”
“We can.”
“You signed a contract.”
“And your company violated the conditions.”
Aaron stood.
“I can fix this.”
Stanford sighed.
“Can you?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Aaron couldn’t answer.
Stanford continued.
“I’m going to give you some advice as someone who once believed in you.”
Aaron clenched his fist.
“What?”
“Find out why Alyssa Vance finally decided to stop protecting you.”
Aaron’s expression hardened.
“You’re taking her side?”
“No.”
Stanford paused.
“I’m taking the side of reality.”
The call ended.
Aaron stood alone in the dark.
Then he looked at Jasmine.
She was standing near the doorway.
Her face was pale.
“Aaron…”
He turned.
“Leave.”
She froze.
“What?”
“Leave.”
“But—”
“I said leave!”
Jasmine stepped backward.
“You’re blaming me?”
Aaron’s eyes were filled with rage.
“You wanted her seat.”
Jasmine’s lips trembled.
“And now?”
Aaron looked toward the window.
“Now I’m wondering what else I lost because I was too arrogant to see what was standing beside me.”
At midnight, Alyssa received a notification.
She opened it.
It was a message from Aaron.
For the first time, there was no anger.
No accusation.
No command.
Just seven words.
Please tell me how to fix this.
Alyssa stared at the screen.
Her thumb hovered above the reply button.
She could have answered.
She could have told him exactly what to do.
She could have saved him.
That was what she had always done.
But then she remembered his voice on the airplane.
Remember your place.
Alyssa locked the phone.
“No,” she whispered.
“This time, you can find your own place.”
She placed the phone face down.
Outside her window, the city continued shining as if nothing had happened.
But somewhere across town, an empire was beginning to collapse.
And Aaron Prescott had no idea that the $1.5 billion repayment was only the beginning.
Because the next morning, Alyssa’s legal team would uncover something buried inside Vanguard Dynamics’ original corporate records.
Something Aaron had never told her.
Something that could turn their divorce from a simple financial battle into the biggest corporate scandal the city had ever seen.
And when Alyssa finally discovered what he had been hiding…
Even she would struggle to believe it.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4…..
Click Here to continuous Read Full Ending Story👉PART(4): – My CEO Husband Let His Secretary Take My Seat on the Private Jet …
