Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Ria stood outside Monica’s Bellroom door, her car pressed against the wood. The silence on the other side was more frightening than any screaming would have been. For three days, Monica had barely left her room except to use the bathroom. She wasn’t eating the food they left outside her door. She wasn’t responding to their knocks or calls.

“Monica?” Ria called softly. “I brought you some soup. It’s your favorite, tomato with grilled cheese.”

Nothing

Lucas appeared at the top of the stairs, his face etched with worry. “Any response?”

Ria shook her head. “She won’t even acknowledge that I’m here. This is getting worse.”

They had watched their youngest sister withdraw completely since the day she came home from her suspension. The girl who had once filled the house with laughter and art projects had become a ghost who haunted her own room.

“I tried to talk to Dad about it.” Lucas’s whisper came harsh. “He just said she’s being dramatic and that she’ll get over it.”

“And Margaret?”

“Margaret thinks Monica is trying to get attention. She said we should ignore her until she starts acting normal again.” Ria felt a surge of anger. “Normal? How is any of this normal? Look around, Lucas. Look at what our family has become.” Lucas glanced toward their father’s study, where Marco had been locked away for days, making mysterious phone calls and drinking heavily. The whole house felt poisoned, toxic, like a place where happiness went to die.

“There’s something else.” Lucas’s voice dropped quiet. “I found these in the bathroom trash yesterday.”

He pulled out a crumpled tissue stained with blood. Ria’s stomach clenched as she recognized what it meant.

“Oh God. You think she’s…”

“I think she’s hurting herself. And I think we’re the only ones who care enough to do something about it.”

Ria stared at the bloody tissue, her heart breaking for her little sister. “We have to tell someone. A teacher, a counselor someone who can help her.”

“Or we could tell Mom.”

୮

The suggestion hung between them like a live wire. Their mother. The woman they had rejected, who had refused to pick Monica up from school, who had made it clear that forgiveness didn’t mean reconciliation.

“She won’t want to see us.” Ria’s voice came small. “She made that pretty clear last time.”

“This isn’t about us anymore. This is about Monica.” Lucas’s voice grew firm. “Mom loved her for thirteen years. She might hate us, but she won’t let Monica destroy herself.”

Ria looked at the closed bedroom door, imagining Monica on the other side, alone and in pain. “What if Mom refuses to help? What if she says it’s not her problem anymore?”

“Then at least we’ll know we tried. But if we don’t try, and something happens to Monica…” Lucas’s voice trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

An hour later, they stood outside the gates of Alexander Kane’s mansion. The reporters had finally gone home after his

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Chapter 132

Sendication, leaving the property peaceful and private. Ria’s hands shook as she pressed the intercom button.

“Hello?” Lena’s voice came through the speaker.

“Lena, it’s Ria and Lucas Hart. We need to see our mother. It’s about Monica.”

A long pause. Then the gates began to open.

They walked up the curved driveway in silence, both nervous about seeing the woman they had hurt so deeply. The house looked different from their childhood memories. Bigger more elegant, like something from a fairy tale.

Lucia met them at the front door. She looked beautiful, healthy, like a woman who had found peace. But when she saw their faces, her expression immediately shifted to concern.

“What’s wrong?” The question came without any greeting. “What’s happened to Monica?”

Ria felt tears welling up in her eyes. “Can we come in? Please?”

Lucia stepped aside, leading them into a bright living room filled with flowers and natural light. Everything felt warm and welcoming, the opposite of the cold tension in their father’s house.

“Sit down.” Lucia’s voice came carefully controlled. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Ria and Lucas sat on the edge of an expensive sofa, both struggling to find the right words.

“Monica isn’t okay.” Ethan began. “She hasn’t been okay since you wouldn’t pick her up from school.”

Lucia’s face tightened, but she didn’t interrupt.

“She’s locked herself in her room for three days.” Ria continued. “She won’t eat. She won’t talk to anyone. And we think… Ria’s voice broke. “We think she’s hurting herself.”

Lucia’s breath caught audibly. “What do you mean, hurting herself?”

Lucas pulled out the bloody tissue. “I found this in the trash. There have been others.”

Lucia stared at the tissue like it was a weapon pointed at her heart. Her face went pale, then flushed with emotion.

“We tried to get Dad to do something.” Ria spoke quickly. “But he’s been locked in his study for days, drinking and making weird phone calls. He said Monica is just being dramatic.”

“And Margaret thinks she’s looking for attention.” Lucas added. “No one else in that house cares

that

She’s

falling apart.”

Lucia stood up abruptly and walked to the window, her back rigid with tension. “How long has this been going on?”

“The really bad stuff started after you wouldn’t pick her up. But she’s been getting worse for months. Her grades are terrible. She quit art club. She doesn’t have friends anymore.”

“She used to be so full of life.” Ria’s whisper came broken. “She used to draw these amazing pictures and laugh all the time Now she’s like a ghost.”

Lucia’s shoulders began to shake. “A ghost,” she repeated softly.

“Mom,” Lucas spoke gently, “we know you’re angry with us. We know we hurt you terribly. But Monica is in real danger. She needs help, and we don’t know how to give it to her.”

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Chapter 132-

ucia turned around, and Ria gasped at the pair written across her mother’s face. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her hands trembled as she pressed them to her mouth.

“She’s cutting herself.” The whisper tore from Lucia’s throat. “My baby is cutting herself.”

“We think so. And we’re scared that…” Ria couldn’t finish the sentence.

“That she might do something worse.” Lucas completed quietly.

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