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For three years, Caddie gave up her aerospace engineering career to be Julien's secret girlfriend, quietly writing the core algorithms for his tech company. On their anniversary, she stood outside his apartment with a rare gift, only to hear his friends laughing inside about his "charity project." Julien's voice was ice-cold as he called her a stray puppy. He said she was only useful for debugging his code, and once her final algorithm was finished, she would have no value left. He was already planning to announce his engagement to the wealthy Kiersten Parrish. He bragged that he would just write Caddie a check and kick her out, mocking that without him, she couldn't even afford next month's rent. Caddie leaned against the cold wall, her world shattering. She had turned down top research fellowships and poured her soul into his work, only to be treated as a disposable tool. He actually believed she was just a helpless nobody who relied on his charity. She didn't scream or cry. She simply threw the expensive gift into the trash chute. Logging into his company's secure server, she permanently deleted every single line of code she had ever built for him. Then, she packed her single suitcase, walked out the door, and dialed a number she hadn't called in years. "I'm ready. I want to come home." It was time to reclaim her place as the true billionaire Kensington heiress.
Contents
The Discarded Genius Heiress Strikes Back Chapter 1
The final line of code blinked green on the screen. SYSTEM STABLE. DEPLOYMENT SUCCESSFUL.
Caddie Kensington's fingers, trembling and stained with cold coffee, finally fell away from her keyboard.
A wave of dizzying nausea washed over her-the brutal toll of seventy-two sleepless hours. She slumped back into the leather seat of the airport lounge, her laptop practically burning a hole in her lap.
She had done it. She had fixed the critical algorithmic flaw just minutes before the deadline, securing the massive Department of Defense contract for Levine Dynamics.
Her phone vibrated on the table. The screen lit up with a photo of her fiancé, Julien Levine, his handsome face curved into that perfect, magnetic smile she loved so much.
He had texted her three hours ago: "I'm waiting at The Cypress Club. Our whole future is riding on you, babe. Come straight here when you land. I love you."
Caddie rubbed her aching temples, a soft, exhausted smile touching her lips.
Three years. Three years since she had walked away from a prestigious aerospace engineering degree at Columbia University to pour her blood, sweat, and tears into Julien's struggling start-up. She had given up her dreams to build his.
But it was worth it. They were finally going to make it.
She hailed a cab to the Upper East Side, the glowing city lights blurring through the rain-streaked window.
The doorman at The Cypress Club recognized her immediately, offering a sympathetic glance at her wrinkled clothes and pale face. "Mr. Levine is in the Cedar Room on the second floor, Miss."
"Thank you," Caddie whispered, her heels sinking into the plush wool carpet as she climbed the stairs.
She wanted to surprise him. She wanted to see the relief in his eyes when she told him they had won the contract. But as she approached the mahogany door of the Cedar Room, she realized it was slightly ajar.
Her hand reached for the brass handle, but froze mid-air when a voice drifted through the crack.
"Don't worry, Kiersten. It's almost done."
It was Julien. His tone was a low, intimate purr-a tone he usually reserved only for Caddie late at night.
A woman's sweet, impatient laugh followed. "How much longer, Julien? I am the true daughter of the Parrish family. Why do I have to keep watching that pathetic impostor walk around holding the title of your fiancée?"
Caddie's breath hitched. Impostor.
It was Kiersten Parrish. Caddie had been told her entire life that she was just an orphan, a mistake taken in by the wealthy Parrish family.
Three years ago, when Caddie sacrificed everything to help Julien, the Parrishes had kicked her out without a penny, completely erasing her from their lives. Kiersten had never hidden her disdain for her.
Julien chuckled. It was a cold, cruel sound that sent a shiver down Caddie's spine.
"Her? She's just a stray dog the Parrish family threw out," Julien sneered.
"It's her privilege to be used by me. Her coding talent is genuinely useful. As soon as this DOD contract is signed and the financing clears tomorrow, I'll break it to her. She can't even afford rent without my paycheck. I'll throw her some cash, and she should be grateful to get lost."
Kiersten giggled, the clinking of champagne glasses ringing out. "That's more like it. I've already started looking at venues for our wedding. How about next month?"
"Of course. My bride can only be you."
Caddie stood paralyzed in the dimly lit hallway. The blood roaring in her ears drowned out the soft jazz playing in the background.
Three years of unconditional love, of sleepless nights, of giving up her own identity. It was all a carefully constructed, disgusting lie. She wasn't his partner. She was a battery, plugged into his ambition, meant to be discarded the second she was drained.
She didn't cry. The exhaustion was suddenly gone, replaced by a chilling, razor-sharp clarity.
She pushed the door open.
The heavy wood swung wide, hitting the wall with a dull thud. The laughter inside stopped instantly.
Julien was sitting on a velvet sofa, Kiersten curled intimately in his lap. Across from them sat Caleb Nash, Julien's best friend, swirling a glass of whiskey.
Julien looked up, his face flashing with panic before settling into a practiced, smooth mask. Kiersten's eyes narrowed, a smug smirk immediately playing on her lips.
"Well, well," Caleb drawled, leaning back. "The little programmer crawled out of her cave. Did you come to beg Julien for a ring?"
Kiersten laughed, deliberately kissing Julien's cheek. "She probably wants to show off. Like typing on a keyboard makes her worthy of a Levine."
Julien gently pushed Kiersten off his lap and stood up, holding his hands up in a fake, conciliatory gesture. "Caddie. You shouldn't be here. Don't take what we said personally. It's just business talk."
"So, you're marrying her next month?" Caddie's voice was frighteningly calm.
Julien frowned, irritation bleeding through his fake smile. "Caddie, be reasonable. I needed her family's connections. You know what you've been to me these past three years. Don't make this ugly."
"What have I been?" she asked softly. "Did you ever love me?"
Silence hung heavy in the room. Julien rolled his eyes, clearly out of patience. Kiersten snickered.
Caddie stared into his eyes for three long seconds. Then, the corners of her lips curled up into a cold smile.
"You're finished, Julien."
Without waiting for his response, she turned on her heel and walked out. The heavy mahogany door clicked shut behind her, finalizing the end of her past life.
The freezing night air of New York hit her face as she stepped out onto the sidewalk, but it only fueled the fire in her chest.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the hidden backdoor to Levine Dynamics'central server-a system she had built from scratch, line by line.
Her thumb hovered over the red command icon. The "Scorched Earth" protocol.
It would permanently encrypt and wipe every core algorithm, every data model, and every piece of proprietary code she had ever written for him.
She tapped it. COMMAND EXECUTED. NO RECOVERY POSSIBLE.
Then, she deleted Julien's number.
I will get back everything you owe me, she thought.
Just as she pocketed her phone, a sleek, custom black Bentley glided out of the darkness and stopped silently inches from her feet.
The tinted rear window slowly rolled down, revealing the striking face of a distinguished older man. His sharp, calculating eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that commanded the air around them.
"Get in, Caddie," the man said, his voice carrying the heavy weight of old money and immense power. "It's time to come home."
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