Jilted Ex-wife Billionaire Heiress

Chapter 110 Good Cop, Bad Cop

'Is this about that stupid jade ring again?' Darya said. 'Like I told your father, who's apparently hard of hearing,

no deal.'

'Just hear me out,' Micah said. 'I saw the news online. It's not looking good for

you. I'll make sure the post is

erased and all the tabloid articles about you are taken offline.'

Darya said nothing.

She waited for the inevitable catch.

Micah continued, 'I'm not doing this in exchange for the ring. Of course, I'd appreciate it if you are willing to

trade. But if not, I'll still do what I said.'

Darya chuckled. 'Is this the carrot that comes after the stick?

'What?'

'Don't you think I recognise the good cop, bad cop routine?' Darya sneered. 'Your father paid for that post. He

smeared my name in public. He's the bad cop. Then you come along like a knight in shining armour, offering to

help me in exchange for nothing. Just doing it out of the goodness of your heart, right? And you expect me to fall at your feet with gratitude, offering up the ring with both hands? Dream on!'

In the rearview mirror, she saw Avery give her a thumbs-up.

She grinned.

But when she spoke into her phone, her voice was colder than the Arctic ice. 'Your sister accused of me

stealing. Your father basically called me a whore. Yet, you want me to just forgive and forget? Let bygones be bygones? My father didn't raise me to be an idiot, you know.'noveldrama

Micah paused, surprised. 'I thought you grew up an orphan.'

Oops.

When she created the fake persona of Darya Miller, she made her an orphan to keep things simple.

But now...

Darya covered the phone with one hand and mouthed 'sorry' to her father, who was reclining in the backseat of the Lincoln, alive and well.

Matthias raised his water bottle in response.

Darya thought he didn't know about the fake ID, but he did.

< Chapter 110 Good Cop, Bad Cop

In fact, he was the one who helped her perfect the profile and tie up loose ends.

Creating a believable phoney identity, especially one that would pass the background check Micah was bound to conduct, involved more than just buying a fake ID from the dark web.

Matthias, with the help of a 'social engineer,' a man of exceptional computer skills and dubious reputation, built a synthetic identity for his daughter.

She had a birth certificate, a fake address, social media profiles, bank accounts, tax and medical records, even

a credit score.

When the private investigator hired by Micah called the referral numbers on Darya's LinkedIn profile, he was redirected to an Al-powered chatbot that sounded unbelievably human-like.

Other than her blood type, none of the intel the PI gathered on Darya was real.

But now that she was no longer with Micah, there was no need to perpetrate the ruse anymore.

With the upcoming party, the cat would be out of the bag soon anyway.

Darya cleared her throat and changed the subject abruptly. 'Whatever you say, I'm not giving the ring back. Just because you are offering to undo the damage caused by your father doesn't mean I have to forgive you. Or him."

In the backseat, Avery and Matthias clapped quietly.

'Attagirl,' her father mouthed.

Darya smiled, blinking back tears that were threatening to spill.

Her family would always side with her, just like Micah's would side with him.

Micah sighed, sounding suddenly exhausted. 'Would you consider doing me a favour, just this once? My father hasn't been eating or sleeping well for the past weeks. I offered to buy him another ring just like the one he lost, but he wouldn't hear of it. Frankly, I don't understand his obsession, but he's my father, Darya. I hate to

see him like this.'

'Your devotion to your father is admirable, but that's none of my business.'

Darya often marvelled at how completely different Micah was from the rest of his family.

Morton was curmudgeonly.

Judy was stuck-up.

Felicia was spoiled.

But Micah was the apple that fell far from the tree.

He was cool-headed, rarely emotional, confident but not to the point of arrogant, and he certainly wouldn't look down his nose at someone just because they weren't wearing fancy clothes,

He gave generously to charities not because it would make him look good, but because he believed in doing the right thing.

While they were still married, Darya once stumbled upon a document he left on the living room sofa.

< Chapter 110 Good Cop, Bad Cop

It was an application to set up a fund to support disabled veterans.

The document outlined detailed programmes to alleviate the veterans' financial

burdens, including offering mortgage-free housing.

It even contained a proposal to provide service dogs to help veterans adjust to civilian life.

Darya was moved to tears when she read the document.

'Stop!' she warned herself.

Stop trying to put him on a pedestal.

Stop trying to recall all the reasons you fell for him.

It was dangerous.

Darya shook her head and forced her mind back to the present. 'I'm sorry, Mr Cavanaugh. I can't help you.'

There was silence on the line.

Darya tried to picture Micah's face.

Was he mad? Disappointed? Frustrated?

Or, since he disliked wasting time with emotions, was he already thinking of

alternative solutions?

He was the kind of man who had backups to his backup plans.

If this were a business problem, he'd be done with it by now.

But it wasn't.

It was a thorny personal problem, and the culprit was his own father, whom he

could neither scold nor dismiss like an employee at work.

Morton might be retired now, but he still had plenty of connections from his old days.

Micah had already reached out to the tabloid reporter who uploaded the post, but the man refused to

cooperate.

He didn't respond to either threats or cajolery.

Micah suspected Morton had something on the reporter, some kind of leverage, but he'd yet to find out what it

was.

He hadn't had a moment to rest in the past week.

When he wasn't dealing with problems at work, he was busy trying to talk his father into taking down that

post.

But the old man's obstinacy seemed to grow with age.

He even moved to another house to avoid his son.

But now it seemed that Morton wasn't the only one with a stubborn streak.

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