Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Laris was helping Monica pak her belongings into a small suitcase when they heard the front door slam downstairs. Heavy foosens echoed through the house, followed by the sound of keys being thrown onto the hallway table.

Monica’s whisper came laced with fear-

Res ran to the window and looked down at the driveway. “It’s Margaret. She came back early.”

Lucia’s paw tightened, but she continued folding Monica’s clothes with steady hands. “It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving now.” The footsteps grew louder as they climbed the stairs. Margaret’s voice carried up from the hallway, sharp and irritated.

“Ku Local Why is there a strange car in the driveway?”

Monica grabbed her mother’s arm, her eyes wide with panic. “Maybe we should wait. Maybe we should sneak out the back.” “No” Lucia’s voice came firm. I’m not sneaking around like a criminal. You’re my daughter, and I’m taking you home.” Margaret appeared in the doorway, still wearing her coat and purse. Her face was flushed from wine, and her eyes were unfocused until she saw Lucia kneeling beside the suitcase.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” The mixture of shock and rage exploded from Margaret’s throat. Lucia stood up slowly, placing herself between Margaret and Monica. “I’m collecting my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” Margaret laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You lost the right to call her that when you her here with us.”

abandoned

“I never abandoned anyone. I was thrown out of this house by people who decided they didn’t want me anymore.” Margaret stepped further into the room, her presence filling the space with tension. “Well, you can’t just waltz back in here and take her whenever you feel like it. Monica lives here now. She belongs here.”

“She belongs with me.” Lucia’s voice was steel wrapped in silk. “I am her mother. I gave birth to her. I raised her for thirteen years. No piece of paper and no fake stepmother can change that.”

“Fake stepmother?” Margaret’s face turned red with anger. “I’ve been taking care of these children while you’ve been playing house with your criminal husband!”

“Taking care of them?” Lucia gestured toward Monica, who was cowering on the bed. “Look at her, Margaret. Really look at

her. Does this look like someone who’s been taken care of?”

Margaret glanced at Monica dismissively. “She’s going through a phase. All teenagers act dramatic when they don’t get their

way

“She’s been cutting herself!” Lucia’s voice cracked with pain. “She’s been starving herself! She’s been locked in this room for days because she believes nobody loves her!”

“That’s not my fault. That’s what happens when mothers abandon their children and confuse them with mixed messages.”

Lucia felt something snap inside her chest. “Mixed messages? The only message I’ve ever given my children is that I love them unconditionally. You’re the one who’s been poisoning them against me.”

I’ve been honest with them about what kind of person you really are.

1/5

Chapter 1

And what kind of person is that?”

Margaret’s smile was cruel and satisfed. “The kind who chooses a new family over her own children. The kind man under federal investigation. The kind who only shows up when it’s convenient for her?

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’re selfish. I know you’re bitter. I know you can’t stand that Marco found someone better than you

Lucia took a step closer to Margaret, her hands clenched into fists. “Better? You think you’re better than me?”

“I know I am. I’m younger, prettier, and I don’t carry around seventeen years of baggage and resentment.”

“You’re a home–wrecker who seduced a married man and destroyed a family.”

“I saved Marco from a cold, frigid wife who never appreciated what she had.”

The words hung in the air like a challenge. Lucia could feel her control slipping, could feel the rage she had suppressed for months rising to the surface.

“Get out.” The quiet came deadly.

“Excuse me?”

“Get out of this room. Get away from my daughter. And never speak about my marriage again.”

Pix

Margaret laughed again, the sound sharp and grating. “This is my house now. You get out. And you leave Monica here where she belongs.”

“Monica doesn’t belong anywhere near you. You’ve let her deteriorate into a shadow of herself while you’ve been too drunk to notice.”

“How dare you.”

“How dare I what? Tell the truth? Point out that you’re a pathetic excuse for a caregiver who’s more interested in wine than the welfare of the children in your care?”

Margaret’s face twisted with fury. “You sanctimonious bitch. You think you’re so much better than everyone else, but you’re nothing. You’re a discarded wife who nobody wanted to keep.”

“Maybe. But I’m also a mother who’s taking her child away from this toxic environment.”

“Over my dead body.”

Lucia picked up Monica’s suitcase and held out her hand to her daughter. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re leaving.

Monica stood up on shaky legs and moved toward her mother, but Margaret stepped in front of the door, blocking their

exit.

“She’s not going anywhere. Marco would never forgive me if I let you take her.”

Marco doesn’t get a vote anymore. He lost that right when he allowed his daughter to harm herself under his roof.”

ist take her!”

Chapter The

i tried to move past Margaret, but the younger woman grabbed her arm roughly.

I said she’s not leaving!“,

“Take your hands off me” The warning came deadly calm.

“Or what? You’ll call your terrorist husband to come intimidate me?”

That was the final straw. Lucia dropped the suitcase and spun around to face Margaret fully.

“What did you just call him?”

“I called him what he is. A terrorist. A criminal. And you’re just as pathetic as he is.”

Margaret’s hand moved fast, swinging toward Lucia’s face in a vicious slap. But Lucia was faster. She caught Margaret’s wrist in mid–air and twisted it sharply.

“Don’t you ever raise your hand to me.” The words ground out through gritted teeth.

Margaret tried to pull free, but Lucia’s grip was like iron. “Let go of me!”

“Not until you move away from that door.”

“I’m not letting you take her!”

Margaret swung her other hand

warm trickle of blood.

Something primal awa against her, had allo own daughter.

Lucia release away from

Lucia across the cheek with her nails. Lucia felt the sting of scratches and the

chest. This woman had helped destroy her marriage, had poisoned her children piral into self–destruction, and now she was trying to prevent Lucia from saving her

and grabbed a handful of her hair instead. With one sharp movement, she yanked Margaret w her against the wall.

s voice came low and dangerous. “I’ll give you a fight.”

off the wall and came back swinging, her face twisted with rage and alcohol–fueled courage. Her fists flew was ready for her.

ressed anger gave Lucia strength she didn’t know she possessed. She ducked Margaret’s cluinsy punches and own with precision. Her fist connected with Margaret’s jaw, snapping her head back.

for destroying my marriage!” The shout tore from Lucia’s throat as she hit her again.

garet stumbled backward, blood streaming from her nose. “You crazy bitch!”

She launched herself at Lucia, trying to claw at her face, but Lucia grabbed her shoulders and drove her knee into Margaret’s stomach. Margaret doubled over with a gasp of pain.

“This is for poisoning my children against me!” Lucia brought her elbow down on Margaret’s back, sending her crashing to the floor.

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