Chapter 4: The Plan

As the weeks passed, Emma settled into a routine at her new job. She threw herself into work, focusing on the tasks at hand, and though the pain of betrayal never fully faded, she found herself becoming distracted by the demands of her new life. Yet, every time her mind wandered, she was reminded of the pain. Jack and Claire still haunted her thoughts. She couldn’t shake the image of them together, the lies they told, and the friendship that had crumbled like dust.

But something had begun to shift in Emma. The anger was there, still raw, but it was also beginning to burn with a different energy. Emma no longer wanted to curl up and cry about it. No, she was tired of feeling powerless. She needed to regain control. she need to find peace. She needed to make them pay—not in the way she had once thought, but in a way that would allow her to walk away, holding her head high.

It was during another quiet lunch in the break room that the idea first began to form. Alex had just left for a meeting, and Emma sat alone, poking at the remains of her sandwich, deep in thought. She had always been good at planning, at thinking ahead, and in that moment, a wicked, though cathartic, plan began to unfold in her mind.

What if there was a way to make Jack regret what he’d done? What if she could get some form of retribution without completely destroying herself in the process?

She would show them that she was stronger than they ever thought. They thought they could take everything from her—her trust, her love, her sense of security—but they had underestimated Emma.

That evening, she shared a drink with Riley, her sister’s supportive presence as much a balm to Emma’s bruised soul as anything else could be.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Emma began, swirling the wine in her glass, her mind sharp and clear. “I want them to know what it feels like. What it’s like to lose everything.”

Riley raised an eyebrow, her expression guarded. “You mean Jack and Claire?”

Emma nodded slowly, the anger she’d suppressed beginning to surface. “I want them to feel it. The betrayal. The hurt. The way they made me feel like I was nothing.”

Riley hesitated, clearly sensing Emma’s desire for vengeance, but she didn’t stop her. “You’re angry, Em. I get it. But are you sure that’s the path you want to go down?”

Emma met her sister’s gaze, her eyes cold but determined. “I’m not doing this for revenge, Riley. I’m doing it for me. To get my power back.”

Riley sighed, taking a sip of her own drink. “Just be careful. You don’t want to end up hurting yourself more in the process.”

But Emma didn’t listen. The idea was already set in motion.

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