Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110

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The champagne bubbled golden in the crystal glasses as Lucia and Alexander sat on the terrace overlooking the lake. The evening air was warm, carrying the scent of roses from the garden below. On the glass table between them, newspapers were spread out like victory flags, each headline a testament to Marco’s crumbling world.

“HART INDUSTRIES BOARD CONSIDERS CHO REMOVAL” read the Financial Tribune.

“MARCO HART’S MARRIAGE IN CRISIS” declared the society pages.

“FRAUD INVESTIGATION DEEPENS” screamed the business section.

Lucia picked up her glass and took a slow sip, watching the bubbles dance on her tongue. Each headline felt like a small victory, a piece of justice finally served. She could almost taste Marco’s despair mixed with the expensive champagne.

“Look at this one,” Alexander said, pointing to a photo of Marco leaving the Hart Industries building. His face was haggard, his shoulders slumped with defeat. “He looks like a man who’s lost everything.”

“Good.” Lucia said, her voice sharp with satisfaction. “Now he knows how it feels.”

Alexander leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile playing at his lips. “Nancy Bake really outdid herself. The fraud angle was genius. It makes him look like a minal, not just an unfaithful husband.”

“Is he a criminal?” Lucia asked, though she didn’t really care about the answer.

Alexander raised his glass in a mock

is finished, his reputation will be so damaged that the truth won’t save him.” “To Marco Hart’s downfall.”

Lucia clinked her glass against his. “To getting exactly what he deserves.”

They drank together, the champagne sliding down like liquid/revenge. Lucia felt a dark satisfaction spreading through her chest, warm and intoxicating. For eight months, she’d felt powerless, broken, discarded. Now she was the one holding all the cards.

“The board meeting is tomorrow,” Alexander said, scrolling through his phone. “My sources say they’re going to ask for his resignation”

“Will he agree?”

“He won’t have a choice. The shareholders are nervous. Stock prices are falling. Nobody wants to be associated with a man under investigation for fraud.” Alexander set down his phone and looked at her. “How does it feel, watching him lose everything?”

Lucia stared out at the water, thinking about the question. How did it feel? Part of her felt triumphant, vindicated, Marco was finally paying for what he’d done to her. But another part of her felt empty. Hollow. Like revenge was supposed to taste sweeter than this.

“It feels like justice, she said finally.

Alexander reached over and took her hand. “You deserve this happiness, Lucia. After everything he put you through, you deserve to see him suffer.

Before Lucia could respond, footsteps echoed across the terrace. Lena appeared in the doorway, her face glowing with excitement. She was holding something behind her back, bouncing slightly on her toes.

“What are you hiding?” Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow at his daughter.

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Chapter 110

tena grinned and pulled out a thick envelope. “The wedding invitations arrived!”

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She placed the envelope on the table with a flourish. The paper was cream–colored and expensive, with elegant gold lettering that caught the evenag light.

“They’re beautiful,” Lucia breathed, running her fingers over the smooth surface.

Lena pulled one out and held it up. “Mr. and M, Alexander Kane request the honor of your presence.” She read the formal words with theatrical drama, then looked up at then with shining eyes. “This is really happening. You’re getting married in

two weeks!”

Lucia felt her heart skip. Two weeks. In two weeks, she would be Mrs. Alexander Kane. She would have a new name, a new life, a family that actually wanted her.

“Have you thought about the guest list?” Lena asked, settling into the chair beside them.

“It’s mostly business associates and close friends,” Alexander said. “About fifty people.”

Lena nodded, then looked at Lucia with careful eyes. “What about your children?”

The words hung in the air like a bomb that hadn’t exploded yet. Lucia’s champagne suddenly tasted bitter in her mouth.

“What about them?” she asked quietly.

“Well. Lena chose her words carefull

was

Lucia’s hand tightened around her glass. “Absolutel

“But Mom.”

maybe you should invite Ria, Lucas, and Monica. To the wedding.”

“They’re not my children anymore, Lena. They made that clear eight months ago when they chose their father over me.” Lucia’s voice was cold, final. “I’m not going to give them another chance to reject me.”

Lena leaned forward, her eyes earnest. “But this is different. This is your wedding day. Your chance to show them how happy you are.”

“I don’t need to show them anything.”

“Don’t you?” Lena’s voice was gentle but persistent. “Don’t you want them to see what they lost? Don’t you want thein to watch you marry a man who actually loves and values you?”

Alexander squeezed Lucia’s hand. “Lena might have a point. Seeing you happy and successful could be the final blow to Marco’s plans.”

“What plans?” Lucia asked.

“You know he’s not going to give up,” Alexander said seriously. “Men like Marco don’t accept defeat. He’s probably planning some way to win you back, to convince you that leaving him was a mistake.”

Lena nodded eagerly. “But if your children see you at the wedding, see how radiant and happy you are with Dad, they’ll know you’ve moved on completely. They’ll stop hoping for a reconciliation.”

Lucia shook her head. “They don’t hope for anything. They hate me, remember? They think I’m a bitter, selfish woman who abandoned her family.

“Do they?” Lena challenged. “Or is that just what they’ve been told to think?”

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Chapter 110

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the question hit Lucia like a physical blow. She thought about Ria’s tears during their last conversation, about Lucas getting suspended for defending their family name, about Monica hiding in her room.

“It doesn’t matter what they uk,” Lucia said, but her voice wasn’t as steady as before.

“It matters to you.” Lena said softly. “I can see it in your eyes every time someone mentions them. You still love them.”

“Love isn’t enough. The words came out harder than Lucia intended. “Love didn’t stop them from believing lies about me. Love didn’t make them fight for me when their father threw me away”

Lena was quiet for a moment, then she reached across the table and took Lucia’s other hand.

“When my mom died,” Lena said slowly, “I was so angry at the world. Angry at God, angry at the doctors, angry at Dad for not being able to save her. But mostly I was angry at her for leaving me.”

Lucia’s throat tightened. She could see the pain in Lena’s young face, the echo of a seven–year–old girl who’d lost everything.

“I said terrible things,” Lena continued. “I told Dad I hated him. I told him it was his fault. I blamed him for not making her better, for not loving her enough to keep her alive.” Tears started forming in Lena’s eyes. “But I didn’t really hate him. I was just scared and hurt and I needed someone to blame.”

“That’s different.”

“Is it?” Lena interrupted. “Your children were scared too. Their whole world fell apart when you and their father split up. They didn’t know who to trust or what to believe. So they chose the person who was still there, who was still fighting to keep the family together.”

“Their father was the one who destroyed the family!”

“I know that. You know that. But they didn’t know that then.” Lena squeezed Lucia’s hand tighter. “They were just kids trying to survive their parents‘ divorce. And maybe, maybe they chose wrong. But that doesn’t mean they can’t choose differently

now.”

Lucia felt tears burning behind her eyes. “They hurt me so badly, Lena. When I needed them most, they turned their backs

on me.”

“And now you’re turning your back on them.”

The words were like a slap. Lucia pulled her hands away from Lena and Alexander, wrapping her arms around herself.

“That’s not the same thing.”

“Isn’t it?” Lena’s voice was gentle but relentless. “You’re about to start a new life, a new family. Don’t you want to give them one last chance to be part of it?”

“They had their chance. They chose Margaret and their father.”

“They chose wrong, Lena agreed. “But Mom, holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. You’re hurting yourself more than you’re hurting them.”

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