Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 303

That night, Camila Davis went to bed in the best mood she’d had all holiday—warm, content, and with the world finally starting to make sense again.

The next morning, just as the winter sun was peeking through her bedroom window, her phone buzzed. She squinted at the notification: a bank transfer.

She blinked, then blinked again—the number on her screen was long enough to make her jaw drop.

The Smith Group was supposed to pay out a billion dollars in compensation, but somehow, seven hundred million had landed straight into her account.

She shot off a text to Walter Wilson, her old friend and partner-in-chaos:

“?? Why is this money in my account? Shouldn’t it go back to The Smith Group?”

After all, Sandra Taylor had stolen The Smith Group’s proprietary formula—both she and Walter had been burned by that betrayal. Camila had never planned to take a dime for herself.

Walter replied before she could even set her phone down.

“The Smith Group’s losses have already been deducted, investment budgets handled, and my own compensation included. What’s left is yours, fair and square.”

Camila frowned, typing back, “Mr. Wilson, where’d you learn math? That’s not how this works.”

Walter, with his usual devil-may-care attitude, sent her a voice note, his drawl coming through loud and clear:

“Relax, Camila. This covers everything. Think of it as your divorce settlement from that jerk Jordan Smith. He never gave you a penny when you split, and now that we’ve finally squeezed some cash out of him, you’d be crazy not to take it. Call it Lillian’s college fund or whatever.”

Camila pursed her lips, not buying that for a second. She hit “call.”

“You change topics so fast I can barely keep up,” she said as soon as he picked up. “Walter, The Smith Group’s business is its own. My divorce is between me and Jordan. This is not how compensation is supposed to work.”

Walter let out a sigh, half exasperated, half amused.

“Why are you making this so complicated?”

“You’ve helped me enough already. I can’t justify taking advantage of you. I just… can’t,” Camila said, her tone firm and uncompromising.

Walter’s voice softened—unusual for him. “Camila, this isn’t about taking advantage. Listen, the most valuable thing about The Smith Group was never the patents or the equipment—it was your research, your data. Sandra stole years of your work. I don’t know how you see it, but to me, your skills and your mind are priceless. No amount of money could ever pay for what you’ve built.”

For a moment, Camila was stunned. She’d never heard Walter talk like this—earnest, almost… tender? She couldn’t find the right word, but it stirred something unexpected in her chest.

Walter, sentimental? This really wasn’t like him.

Maybe he realized it too, because after a long pause, he defaulted back to his usual banter.

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