Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131

The television screen filled with images that made Marco’s blood boil. Alexander Kane walking out of the FBI building, his arm around Lucia’s waist. Dosh of them smiling at the cameras like they had won the lottery. The news anchor’s voice droned on about vindication and false accusations, each word hitting Marco like a haramer blow.

“Computer forensics experts have proven beyond doubt that all evidence against Mr. Kane was fabricated. The FBI has formally cleared him of all charges and launched an investigation into who created the false documents.”

Marco’s whiskey glass shattered against the wall, amber liquid running down the expensive wallpaper like tears. The remote control followed, plastic pieces scattering across his study floor.

“No!” The roar tore from his throat at the empty room. “This can’t be happening!”

The house was quiet around him. Everyone else had retreated to their rooms hours ago, leaving Marco alone with his rage and his whiskey. He grabbed another glass from his desk and filled it with trembling hands, his eyes never leaving the television screen.

“That snake! That lying, manipulative snake got away with it!” His voice bounced off the walls, harsh and desperate.

He took a large gulp of whiskey, feeling it burn down his throat. “Everything! He stole my wife! He destroyed my business! He turned my own children against me! And now he’s being treated like some kind of hero!”

Marco stared at the screen where Lucia was waving at the cameras. “She’s standing there like a queen,” he snarled to the empty room. “Acting like she’s won some great victory. Like she’s better than me.”

The news ticker scrolled across the bottom of the screen: “FBI says someone created fake evidence, investigating who was behind the fabrication.”

Marco’s face went pale for a moment before rage took over again. “They can investigate all they want. They’ll never prove anything.”

He threw his glass at the wall, watching it explode into glittering fragments. “I did what I had to do! I tried to show the world what kind of man Alexander Kane really is!”

Marco began pacing around his study like a caged animal. “They weren’t lies! He is a criminal! He stole my wife! He destroyed everything I worked for! The evidence should have been enough! It should have destroyed him!”

He laughed bitterly at his reflection in the dark window. “You actually thought you could frame someone for terrorism? You thought that would bring Lucia back to you?”

“I said shut up!” The scream ripped from his chest at himself, then immediately he lowered his voice, remembering the sleeping house around him.

“You fabricated evidence against a federal investigation! Do you have any idea what kind of prison time that carries?” The whisper came harsh to his own reflection.

Marco slammed his fist against the wall, feeling the pain shoot up his arm. The physical pain felt good, real, honest. Something he could understand and control.

“I can do whatever I want in my own house.” The mutter came low as he looked around at the wreckage he’d created. “Everyone has betrayed me. Everyone has chosen other people over me.”

He thought about his children upstairs, probably talking about what a monster their father had become. They had defended their mother, questioned his decisions, acted like he was the villain in this story.

1/3

Chapter 131-

Well, le tue tell you something.” His voice grew louder to the empty room. “I am not the villain! I am the victim! I am the one who lost everything!”

His voice cracked on the last word, and for a moment he felt the crushing weight of his isolation. Everyone he had ever loved was gone. His wife, his children, even Margaret who had supposedly loved him. All of them had turned away.

“I lost everything because I threw it away. The whisper repeated words he’d heard before. Words that cut deep because they held a grain of truth he couldn’t accept.

“No!” The shout came sudden and explosive. “I didn’t throw anything away! She drove me to it! She made me feel like I wasn’t enough! She forced me to look elsewhere for what she couldn’t give me!”

Marco spun around, his eyes wild and unfocused. “I didn’t abandon this family! I tried to save it! I tried to show them what real love looked like!”

He grabbed a framed photo from his desk, a picture of Lucia from happier times, and stared at it with a mixture of love and hatred.

“It was all your fault!” The scream tore at the photograph. “Everything that’s wrong with our lives is because of you!”

But even as the words left his mouth, Marco knew they weren’t true. And that knowledge made his rage burn even hotter.

“Fine.” The quiet came to the photograph. “You choose him over me. Everyone chooses someone else over me. But I’m not finished yet.”

Marco looked around his destroyed study, seeing the debris of his latest emotional explosion. They were all lost to him now. Lucia, his children, any hope of rebuilding what he’d torn down. But that didn’t mean he had to accept defeat.

“Alexander Kane might have won this battle, but the war isn’t over, Marco’s smile was cold and calculated. “He thinks he’s safe now. He thinks his vindication protects him from everything. But there are other ways to destroy a man.”

He walked to his desk and pulled out a newspaper photo of Lucia and Alexander leaving the FBI building together. “Alexander Kane has one weakness. One thing he values more than his reputation or his money or his precious vindication.” Marco traced Lucia’s face in the photograph with his finger. “He loves her. More than anything in the world, he loves my wife. And love makes people vulnerable.”

His smile widened as Plan B began forming in his mind. “Something that doesn’t require evidence or lawyers or federal investigations. Something much more direct.”

“I’m done playing by rules that other people made. I’m done being civilized while my enemies destroy everything I care

about.”

Marco pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his contacts. “There are people in this city who owe me favors. People who don’t ask questions when the price is right. People who can solve problems that lawyers and forensic experts can’t touch.”

He found the contact he was looking for and pressed call. The phone rang once before a gravelly voice answered. “Louis? It’s Marco Hart. I need to discuss our contingency plan. The one we talked about if the legal approach failed.” The voice on the other end was cautious. “Marco, are you sure about this? Once we go down this road…”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify