Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 280

But beneath the tears, a vicious, triumphant smirk stretched across her face.

She wiped the moisture away with the back of her hand, straightening her spine as she stared coldly at the waking Oceanport skyline.

Every single person in this city who had slighted her was going to bleed.

Madeline, the wealthy heirs, the Prescotts, the Whitmans, and whoever the hell hacked the cameras—she was going to burn them all to the ground. She had literally crawled back from the abyss.

Anyone who wanted to step to her now would have to face the wrath of a god.

She signaled the driver, and the sleek vehicle merged onto the highway, charting a direct course for Lucius's private estate.

She had no idea how thoroughly disgusted Lucius was after witnessing the broadcast, and frankly, she didn't care.

The only thing that mattered was that she was no longer a defenseless pawn waiting to be crushed.

With a literal kingmaker shielding her, she could destroy her enemies without ever getting her hands dirty.

She was going to ensure Madeline was utterly obliterated.

A pale gray light pierced the horizon as the city slowly woke.

And an entirely new, devastatingly lethal storm was just beginning to gather force.

Back at his massive estate, Lucius paced the floor, Silas's damning words echoing relentlessly in his skull.

A sharp pang of masculine intuition struck him—Silas was absolutely making a play for Madeline!

From Silas's perspective, there was zero strategic benefit to disproving the childhood rescue.

In fact, leaving Lucius shackled to Liliana by debt and gratitude played perfectly into his rival's hands.

Yet Silas had thrown the truth in his face anyway, proving that the entire narrative was deeply flawed.

He resolved to launch a scorched-earth investigation to uncover who truly pulled him from that freezing water eighteen years ago.

If it wasn't the woman he had showered with billions, who could it possibly be?

But for now, the answer didn't even matter.

The scheming fraud had finally met her karma, hauled away in silver bracelets.

And the graphic horrors displayed on that ballroom screen were burned into his retinas.

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to block out the sickening visuals.

Unlike Silas, who assumed it was pure vengeance, Lucius arrogantly convinced himself she did it out of jealousy, determined to stop him from marrying another woman.

He believed she wanted him back, and sneaking into his bed was her ultimate surrender.

Feeling the soft, cool slide of skin against his, he didn't doubt for a second that she had returned to him.

He moved to pull her closer, instinctively reaching to grip her slender waist.

But his hand met a thick, bulging stomach, and sheer panic surged through his veins, violently shoving the figure away.

He slapped the bedside lamp on, recoiling in absolute horror to find Liliana lounging in his sheets.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he roared, a wave of intense nausea washing over him.

Thank god he had realized in time; the thought of engaging physically with her made his skin crawl.

The vile imagery from the ballroom flashed behind his eyes, triggering an involuntary gag reflex.

Her expression darkened instantly, cold and hostile.

"Who else would it be? I am your fiancée. I have every right to be here; this is my house too."