Hell Hath no fury like a billionaire's Ex-Chapter 104: Gone Too Far

Diane’s POV

"Do you know why I’m telling you this story?" he asked, his voice gaining strength as he moved toward his point.

I shook my head, unable to trust my voice.

"Because your soon-to-be ex-husband mentioned a house address in his threats against me. And that address... it’s my daughter’s house address."

My eyes widened in shock and confusion. "What? How would Liam even know about your daughter?"

Guerrero’s expression darkened, anger beginning to mix with the grief in his features

"At first, I thought what Liam was threatening me with was something terrible. Maybe he was planning to kidnap my daughter because I was moving against him to have him removed as CEO. The thought terrified me...that my actions might put her in danger when she’d already suffered enough because of my choices."

He paused, pulling out his phone and showing me some text messages. "But then the idiot sent me pictures. Pictures of my daughter hugging outside her house, along with a text accusing me of infidelity. He thought she was my... my mistress."

Despite everything, I felt a bubble of hysterical laughter rise in my throat. "He what?"

"He’s been spying on me, apparently. Following me to our coffee meetings, taking photographs, building what he thought was evidence of an affair. His message said that I’d been accusing him of infidelity, but that I was doing the same thing...cheating on my wife."

The absurdity of it—Liam’s complete misreading of the situation—would have been funny if it weren’t so twisted and invasive. "He has no idea she’s your daughter?"

"None whatsoever. And honestly, Diane, knowing how vindictive Liam can be, I’m terrified of what he might do if I don’t comply with his demands. He’s already proven he’s willing to spy on people, to use personal information as weapons. What if he decides to approach my daughter directly? What if he tells her things—lies about me, about my business, that could hurt her even more than I already have?"

I felt a surge of protective anger on behalf of this man who had been nothing but honest with me about his pain, and for his daughter who was caught in the crossfire of Liam’s manipulations.

"Sometimes," I said softly, my voice thick with emotion, "all a girl needs is a friend."

Guerrero looked at me questioningly.

"I understand the pain your daughter is going through," I continued, thinking of my own complicated relationship with Andrew, of the years of abandonment I’d just learnt. "I’ve been in a similar situation. My father abandoned my sister and me, along with our mother, when I was only three years old and my sister was just a baby."

Guerrero’s eyes widened slightly, and I could see him making connections, understanding why I might empathize so deeply with his story.

"I know you’re a very private man," I said carefully, "but with your permission, could I try talking to your daughter? I’m not going to tell her to forgive you or apologize to you or anything like that. But I could let her know that she has a friend who understands her pain without judgment. Sometimes that’s all we need—someone who gets it, who doesn’t try to fix us or tell us how we should feel."

Guerrero stared at me for a long moment, his expression cycling through surprise, gratitude, and something that looked like hope. "Diane, I... I can’t ask you to do that. You already have too much on your plate with your condition and everything that’s going on with Liam. The stress of dealing with my family drama..."

"I’m pregnant, not handicapped," I interrupted gently but firmly. "And I’d be happy to help, if you think it might make a difference. When I recently reconciled with my own father, my friend Joan was there to give me a shoulder to lean on. She didn’t judge my anger or try to rush me through my feelings. She just... listened. Sometimes that’s the most powerful gift we can give someone."

The hope in Guerrero’s eyes was almost too bright to look at directly. "You would... you would really do that? For someone you barely know, dealing with problems that have nothing to do with you?"

"Your daughter’s pain has everything to do with me," I said simply. "Because I know what it feels like to grow up believing your father chose everything else over you. I know what it’s like to carry that anger and hurt for years, wondering if you were ever enough to make him stay."

Guerrero’s composure finally cracked completely then, and he put his head in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "Diane, I... I don’t know how to thank you. Your kindness, your understanding... I don’t deserve it."

"You don’t have to deserve kindness," I told him firmly. "That’s not how it works. You made mistakes—terrible, costly mistakes that you’ll live with for the rest of your life. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve compassion now, or that your daughter doesn’t deserve to have someone who understands what she’s going through."

He looked up at me then, and I could see something shifting in his expression. The guilt and pain were still there, but underneath it was a determination I recognized—the look of a man who had found a reason to fight.

"I’m going to deal with Liam," he said, his voice gaining strength and authority. "Whatever leverage he thinks he has over me, whatever threats he’s making... I won’t let him hurt my daughter or use her as a weapon against me."

I nodded, feeling a surge of satisfaction. This was the Guerrero I knew—decisive, powerful, unwilling to be intimidated. "What will you do about the CEO position? About Synergy Sphere?"

"The Elite Group contract you secured changes everything," he said, and for the first time since I’d arrived, his tone carried genuine enthusiasm. "That contract proves beyond any doubt that you have the vision and capability to lead the company. Liam’s financial games, his attempts at blackmail... none of that matters when faced with concrete results like that."

A warm feeling spread through my chest. "You really mean that?"

"I mean it completely. You didn’t just secure a contract, Diane. You secured the future of Synergy Sphere. You showed innovation, determination, and the kind of strategic thinking we need in a CEO. The board will see that too, once I present the full picture."

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, both of us processing the emotional weight of our conversation. Around us, the café continued its quiet morning rhythm—the hiss of the espresso machine, the murmur of other conversations, the gentle clink of cups against saucers.

"Well," I said, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand one more time, "now you don’t have to face this alone. We’ll figure out how to help your daughter, and we’ll make sure Liam can’t use her as a weapon against you anymore."

Guerrero nodded, and for the first time since I’d arrived, he managed a genuine smile. "Thank you, Diane. For everything. For listening, for understanding, for offering to help when you have every reason to focus on your own problems instead."

"We all need allies," I said simply. "And sometimes the best way to solve our own problems is by helping others solve theirs."

As we prepared to leave the café, I felt a sense of clarity I hadn’t experienced in weeks. The path forward was becoming clearer—not just for my own future with Synergy Sphere, but for the broader fight against Liam’s manipulation and cruelty.

Liam had made a serious mistake in threatening Guerrero’s daughter. He had assumed he understood the situation, had built his strategy on false assumptions and incomplete information. It was the kind of arrogance that had characterized all of his recent behavior, and it would be his downfall.

Outside the café, the security detail fell into formation around me, professional and unobtrusive. Guerrero walked with me to my car, his posture straighter than it had been when I’d arrived.

"I’ll arrange for you to meet my daughter," he said as we reached the vehicle. "Her name is Natasha. I think... I think you two might actually become friends, regardless of everything else."

"I’d like that," I said sincerely. "And Guerrero? What you told me today, about your wife and your daughter... that takes incredible courage. Not many people would be willing to be that honest about their failures."

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Maybe it’s time I stopped running from the truth. Maybe it’s time I started facing the consequences of my choices instead of letting them control me."

As the security detail drove me back to Joan’s house, I reflected on the morning’s revelations. In trying to blackmail Guerrero, Liam had unknowingly given me the key to understanding what really motivated the man who controlled my professional future. More than that, he had given me an opportunity to help heal a family that had been broken by the same kind of misplaced priorities that had broken my own.

The irony was perfect in its cruelty: Liam, in his arrogance and ignorance, had handed me exactly what I needed to defeat him. His threats against Guerrero’s daughter hadn’t weakened my ally—they had strengthened his resolve and deepened our partnership.

By the time we pulled into Joan’s driveway, I was already planning my next moves. First, I would help Guerrero reconnect with his daughter. Then, together, we would ensure that Liam could never use innocent people as pawns in his games again.

The twins shifted inside me as I climbed out of the car, a reminder of what I was truly fighting for. Not just my own future, or even justice for Liam’s betrayals, but the safety and security of my children. They would grow up in a world where their mother had refused to let bullies and manipulators win, where she had stood up not just for herself but for others who needed protection.

As I walked toward the house, I could see Andrew and Joan through the kitchen window, deep in conversation just as I had left them.

But right now, the only thing in my mind is I had a friend to make and a family to help heal.