Reclaimed By My Ex-husband-Chapter 284: I need to eliminate her

Chapter 284: I need to eliminate her
On the other side of the city, Riya reached Zachary’s penthouse. The housekeeper opened the door and bowed politely.
"Where is Zachary?" Riya asked, her eyes already drifting toward the study.
She knew he was probably still at work, but she asked anyway, needing confirmation. As long as he wasn’t home, she could finish what she came for and slip out quietly.
"Sir hasn’t returned yet," the housekeeper said. "Please wait for him."
"You can carry on with your work," Riya said, dismissing her with a wave. A sly smile tugged at her lips once the housekeeper disappeared down the hallway.
’Perfect timing,’ she thought. ’I’ll get it done before he shows up.’
Riya headed toward the study. Before entering, she glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was watching. The housekeeper was busy in the kitchen, paying her no mind.
Riya stepped inside, unaware of the hidden camera tucked into the corner. She shut the door softly behind her and went straight to the safe. She still remembered the code Zachary punched in that day. With confidence, she entered it.
The safe opened with a soft click.
Her eyes gleamed, a triumphant smile forming. She peeked inside. The poison and antidote were still stored there. But she ignored them this time and reached for the stack of files. She began flipping through them one by one.
With each page, her anxiety grew. These weren’t simple business documents. They detailed secret deals—drug trades, illegal arms deals, organ trafficking, and much more.
Riya’s hands shook, a chill crawling down her spine. She had always assumed Zachary was another powerful businessman, just like Nathaniel and Liam. She had never imagined he was, in reality, deeply rooted in the underworld.
"These secrets...If he finds out I’ve leaked his secrets, he’ll kill me," she mumbled, terrified. "No...I can’t take the risk. I can’t do this."
She shut the files, intending to return them to the safe and get out immediately. But she froze as she remembered the mysterious man’s threat. If she failed to obtain Zachary’s secrets, her secret would be exposed.
Her shoulders sagged. She felt cornered on all sides. Turning on Zachary was like leaping into a fire pit, yet refusing the demands of that mysterious man would bring consequences far worse. If he revealed what she was hiding, prison would be inevitable. Everything she had worked for would crumble in an instant.
But if she slipped out before Zachary arrived, he would never know she had been inside the study.
"I’ll just take pictures of the documents and send them to him," she whispered.
With trembling fingers, she began snapping photos of each page. Her palms were slick with sweat, but she forced herself to continue. After what felt like ages, she finally finished.
She shoved the files back into the safe and shut it. "It’s done."
She spun around, ready to flee, but froze in place when Zachary’s voice echoed through the hallway.
Her blood drained from her face.
’He is back,’ her mind screamed, dread twisting her stomach. ’Why did he come home so early?’
Her fingers quivered uncontrollably, cold sweat trailing down her spine.
’What do I do now? How am I supposed to face him?’
The housekeeper handed him a glass of juice. "Sir, Miss Riya has arrived."
"Riya?" Zachary’s brows lifted. "She is here?"
"She might be in your room."
Setting the glass aside, Zachary strode toward the bedroom.
Inside the study, Riya heard every word. Her blood ran cold. ’What if he finds me here?’ She shook her head. ’No... I can’t let that happen. I need to leave before he even knows I entered the study.’
Footsteps echoed in the hall, making her heart thud violently. ’Is he coming this way?’ Her legs instinctively took a step back.
But the steps moved in the opposite direction.
’He is going somewhere else. I have to slip out now.’
Riya cracked the door open and peeked out, just in time to see him entering the bedroom. Quietly, she stepped out, eased the study door shut, and took a slow breath to steady herself. She headed toward the bedroom, acting as though nothing was amiss. But as she reached the doorway, he stepped out.
"You? Where were you?"
Riya plastered on a smile. "Did you miss me?" She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Don’t—" He pushed her away. "I’m not in the mood. I looked for you in the bedroom, and you weren’t there."
"I was bored, so I went up to the terrace for the view. You are home early, so I thought maybe we could go out for dinner." She slipped her arm through his.
"I’m not going anywhere," he snapped, yanking his hand free. "Stop pretending everything is fine. Because of you, the doctors found the antidote. Gracie survived. And you still think this is the time to have dinner?"
"It—it wasn’t my fault," she stammered. "They forced me. If you want someone to blame, blame Zara. She tied me up and threatened to kill me if I didn’t talk. She even hurt me." She pointed at the faint cut on her cheek.
"Who told you to go there in the first place?" he roared.
Riya flinched. She hadn’t expected such an eruption. She had assumed he was the one who retaliated against Zara and burned down her office for abducting her. Hadn’t all of that been his doing?
Before she could voice her confusion, his phone rang. It was a call from the office.
"Hello?" he snapped.
"Sir, the Lawsons have canceled the collaboration. And that’s not all... they have withdrawn all their investments. Our entire project line is collapsing."
Zachary’s jaw tightened.
"Please, Sir. You have to act quickly. If we don’t salvage this, we are finished. The company is already running at a loss. We won’t survive a loss this big."
"I’ll handle it," he bit out, then cut the call.
His glare shot straight at Riya. "Stay here." He seized her arm, shoved her into the bedroom, and locked the door from the outside.
"Zachary! What are you doing?" Riya yelled, pounding on the door. "Open up. Why are you locking me in?"
Zachary’s face twisted with fury. "I’m in this disaster because of you," he growled. "You provoked Zara, and Liam pulled the entire partnership. Now you’ll deal with what you have caused."
He strode into the study and immediately dialed Liam.
The call connected after several rings.
"Liam," he growled, "why did you pull out of the partnership? You agreed to work with me, to invest in these projects."
"And you agreed to keep your distance from Zara," Liam shot back. "But what did you do? You burned down her company. Everything she built, her dream—it’s all gone. And you still think I’d continue working with you? Absolutely not, Zachary. We are done."
Beep.
"H-hey, wait... I didn’t—"
But the line had already gone dead.
"Damn it..." He slammed his fist against the table. He had been preparing to crush Nathaniel and his business empire, yet his own company was now crumbling beneath him. If he didn’t find a solution fast, everything would fall apart.
"No... I need new investors immediately." He sank into his chair, opened his laptop, and began firing off emails to old clients and partners, begging for more investment.
An hour later, he finally finished sending emails. Exhausted, he leaned back and exhaled sharply.
"I hope at least a few positive responses," he muttered, clinging to a sliver of optimism.
Then a thought struck him. He still owned several valuable properties. "Right. I can sell those and save the business from the crisis."
He rose quickly and moved to the safe. After entering the passcode, he swung the door open. But he paused, his eyes narrowing. Something felt off.
The files weren’t arranged the way he remembered.
He always kept the safe meticulously organized. Someone had definitely touched the files.
Suspicion creased his brow. Had Riya been in here?
His frown deepened. "What could she possibly be searching for in my safe?"
To confirm his suspicion, he pulled up the security footage. As the video played, his jaw clenched. There she was, Riya quietly slipping into the study.
"So she was here," he muttered. "And she lied about being on the terrace. Riya..." His teeth ground together.
His breath grew heavier as he continued to watch. The moment he saw her taking pictures of his confidential files, fury exploded inside him.
"What is she planning? Why would she photograph those documents?"
With each passing second, his anger only escalated. "She is definitely trying to sabotage me. She has caused enough trouble, ruined my plans, and damaged my business. Now, she is betraying me. I’m done with her."
He stood abruptly and stormed out of the study. He had tolerated her because she was supposed to help him destroy Nathaniel. But that had failed miserably. Instead, she had dragged him deeper into chaos.
If he kept her around, she would only bring more destruction.
"I need to eliminate her—once and for all."