Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Margaret sat on the floor of the nursery, surrounded by tiny clothes and blankets in folded a onesie with careful precision, smoothing out every wrinkle before placing it in the drawer. The room smelled of

shades of cream and pale yellow. She fresh paint and new furniture. Everything was perfect. The crib she’d spent hours assembling. The mobile hanging above it with soft woodland creatures. The rocking chair positioned near the window.

This was supposed to be her fresh start. Her chance to build a real family with Marco. A family where she wasn’t the outsider trying to fit into someone else’s history A family that was hers from the beginning.

Her phone buzzed on the changing table. She reached for it without looking, expecting another pregnancy app notification or a reminder about her next doctor’s appointment.

The screen showed Vanessa’s name. Her friend from the country club. The one who’d stood by her through the whole custody disaster.

“Hey.” Margaret tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder, continuing to fold baby clothes. “What’s up?” Vanessa’s voice came through sharp and breathless. “Margaret, have you been online today?”

“No, why would I? I’ve been setting up the nursery all morning.”

“You need to check right now. You and Marco are trending.”

Margaret’s hands stilled on a tiny yellow sleeper. “Trending? What are you talking about?”

“The kids made a video. It’s everywhere. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. Everyone’s sharing it.”

The sleeper dropped from Margaret’s fingers. “What kind of video?”

“Just check. I’ll wait.”

Margaret pulled the phone away from her ear and opened social media with trembling hands. The first thing she saw was a thumbnail image. Three faces she knew too well. Lucas. Ria. Monica. Sitting on a couch in what looked like a sunroom, faces serious and eyes red.

The headline above the video made her stomach turn.

CHILDREN EXPOSE TRUTH ABOUT ABUSIVE FATHER AND STEPMOTHER

Over two hundred thousand views. And climbing.

Margaret’s finger hovered over the play button. Part of her didn’t want to watch. Didn’t want to know what those ungrateful brats had said about her. But she pressed play anyway.

Lucas’s voice filled the quiet nursery. “Our biological father, Marco Hart, has been telling people that we were stolen from him. That’s not what happened.”

Margaret’s jaw clenched.

Then Monica spoke, tears already streaming down her face. “Margaret threw away my artwork. She called the garbage in front of my entire art class.”

“That’s not true.” Margaret whispered to the empty room. But the video kept playing.

“She told me I was plain like my mother. She said I would never be pretty enough for anyone to love me.”

“You are plain.” Margaret’s voice grew louder. “You look exactly like that pathetic woman who couldn’t keep her husband.”

The video continued. Monica’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I started hurting myself. I cut my arms because the pain on the outside felt better than the pain on the inside.”

“Oh, please.” Margaret stood up, pacing the nursery with the phone clutched in her hand. “Always so dramatic. Always the victim.”

“Margaret slapped me when I tried to defend our mother.”

er own face, remembering the satisfying crack of her palm against Ria’s cheek. The girl had

fending that woman who’d been thrown out like garbage.

aret made me feel unwelcome in my own home. Every day was like walking through a

ret spat at the screen. “It was mine. Mine and Marco’s. You were just in the way”

all three of them started talking about Alexander Kane. About how wonderful he was. How

he was more of a father than Marco ever was

9

Chapter 168

Margaret’s vision blurred red.

She brought the phone back to her ear. Vanessa was still there, waiting.

Did you watch it?” Vanessa’s voice came careful. Cautious.

“Those lying little brats.” Margaret’s voice shook with fury. “Every word out of their mouths is a lie.”

“Margaret, I don’t think…”

“They’re trying to destroy us. Destroy Marco. Make us look like monsters when all we did was try to give them a home.” Vanessa was quiet for a moment. “Margaret, some of the things they said…”

“Are lies. All of it. They’ve been brainwashed by that woman and her billionaire husband. Can’t you see that?”

But even as she spoke, Margaret knew how it looked. She knew what people watching that video were thinking. That she was cruel. That she was jealous. That she’d made three children’s lives hell.

The truth was more complicated than that. The truth was that those kids had never given her a chance. Had compared her to their precious mother from day one. Had made it clear she would never measure up.

So yes, she’d been hard on them. Yes, she’d said things she probably shouldn’t have. But they’d driven her to it. They’d made her into the villain they wanted her to be.

“I have to go.” Margaret ended the call without waiting for Vanessa’s response.

She stared at the video screen, at the view count still climbing. Two hundred and fifty thousand now. How many people had watched those brats tear her apart? How many people now thought she was some kind of monster?

Her hand tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white. The nursery that had felt so peaceful minutes ago now felt suffocating. All the carefully folded clothes. The pristine furniture. The dreams of a fresh start.

All of it threatened by three ungrateful children who couldn’t let go of the past.

Margaret scrolled through the comments under the video. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Most of them were supportive of the kids. Calling them brave. Calling Marco and her abusive. Some were calling for investigations. For criminal charges.

Her breathing came faster. Shallower. The phone screen blurred as tears of rage filled her eyes.

Then she saw it. A comment with Ria’s username tagged. Someone had found her social media and posted the link.

Margaret clicked it. Ria’s profile loaded. Private, but with a profile picture showing her smiling with her siblings. Looking happy. Looking free.

Looking like she’d won.

Margaret’s thumb hovered over the message button. Then she pressed it. Typed out Ria’s phone number from memory. She’d seen it often enough when Marco was still trying to reach his kids.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.

Then Ria’s voice came through, cautious and quiet. “Hello?”

“You stupid, ungrateful little brat.” Margaret’s voice came out low and venomous. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Silence on the other end. Then Ria’s voice, stronger now. “Margaret.”

“Don’t you dare say my name like that. Like you have any right to judge me.”

“We told the truth.”

Γ

“You told lies!” Margaret screamed into the phone. “Lies to make yourselves look good and us look bad. Lies to justify abandoning your father for some rich man’s money.”

“That’s not what happened and you know it.”

“I know that you’re a manipulative little snake just like your mother. I know that you turned your siblings against their own father. And I know that you’re going to regret making that video.”

Ria’s breathing came faster on the other end. Good. Let her be scared.

“Is that a threat?” Ria’s voice tried to sound brave but Margaret could hear the tremor underneath

“It’s a promise.” Margaret paced faster, her free hand clenching and unclenching. “You think you’re safe in your billionaire’s mansion? You think those walls will protect you?”

“You need to stop calling.”

“I’ll stop calling when you take down that video. When you post an apology. When you tell the truth about how you were spoiled, entitled children who threw tantrums when you didn’t get your way”

Chapter 168

“We’re not taking down anything. People deserve to know what you did to us.”

Margaret laughed, but it came out harsh and broken. “What I did to you? I tried to be a mother to you. I tried to make a Hamity. But you hated me from the first day because I wasn’t her. Because I dared to love your father.”

“You didn’t love us. You hated us.”

“I hated what you represented. The past that wouldn’t let me go. The ghost I could never compete with.” The words came out before Margaret could stop them. Truth she’d never admitted even to herself.

Ria was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. Almost pitying. “You should get help, Margaret.”

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