Perhaps even God found his cruelty unforgivable. That was why I'd been sent back this time with my memories intact, to claim the justice I was owed.
My father's face drained of color. His palm cracked against the table.
"That animal. He dared do that to my daughter. I'll destroy him."
He was already rising to go find Dominic, but I caught his arm and spoke slowly, deliberately.
"Dad, beating him or cursing him out would be letting him off easy. What we need to do is separate our assets as soon as possible and minimize the damage."
"If he wants to drag the Calloway Group straight to hell, why should we stand in his way?"
My father went still. Then he nodded.
I laid out my plan in detail. Two families bound by marriage meant entangled finances, joint ventures, shared technical teams. Even a divorce required careful maneuvering. Every asset, every project, every key person had to be accounted for in advance. Nothing could collapse before we were ready.
By the time we'd finalized the strategy, it was already evening when I returned to the Calloway residence.
All three of them were seated at the dining table, picture-perfect. The moment my mother-in-law saw me, the smile on her face curdled into something cold.
"Ava, throwing your little fit these past few days was one thing. But now you're actually talking about divorce?"
"Do you have any idea what that would do to both families' stock prices if word got out?"
I let out a cold laugh.
"No divorce? So you'd rather let your son run around behind my back, dragging the family name through the mud?"
"As for the risks and losses you mentioned, the Henson family can afford them. Save your concern."
In my last life, I'd been nothing but careful and attentive. I treated her like my own mother. And she repaid me by finding a mistress for her son behind my back.
When I was bedridden and dying, she told me I was too domineering, that it was no wonder my husband despised me. She said I should learn from Fiona Prescott in my next life, learn how to keep a man's heart.
And Fiona? She waltzed right into the president's chair at the Henson Group and ground my family beneath her heel.
On the day I died, I clung to Dominic's arm with the last shred of strength I had and demanded an answer.
"Why?"
"Why did you do this to me?"
Dominic just let out a long sigh.