Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171

The pool of blood on the marble floor was spreading faster now, bright red against the pristine white stone. Marco stood frozen for what felt like hours but was probably only seconds, watching Margaret’s face grow paler as she pressed both hands to her stomach-

“The baby.” She whispered again, her voice barely audible. “Marco, the baby.”

The words broke through his shock like a gunshot. Marco dropped to his knees beside her, his hands shaking as he tried to help her sit up.

“Don’t move.” His voice cracked. “Don’t move, Margaret, I’m calling an ambulance.”

His fingers fumbled with his phone, the screen slippery with sweat as he dialed 911. The blood was soaking through Margaret’s gray pants, turning the fabric a deep crimson that made Marco’s stomach lurch

“911, what’s your emergency?”

The operator’s voice came through the phone speaker calm and professional, but Marco could barely hear it over the roaring in his ears. He knelt on the marble floor beside Margaret, his hand shaking so badly the phone nearly slipped from his grip.

“My wife. She’s pregnant. She’s bleeding.” The words came out choppy. Broken. “Please, you have to send someone.

Margaret lay curled on her side, hands pressed tight against her stomach. The blood was spreading across the white marble beneath her, dark and wet. Too much blood. Way too much blood.

“Sir, I need you to stay calm. How far along is your wife’s pregnancy?”

“Four months. Maybe five.” Marco looked down at Margaret’s face. Her skin had gone gray, lips bloodless. “I don’t know exactly. Just please hurry.”

“An ambulance is on the way. Can you tell me what happened?”

Marco’s throat closed. What happened. She fell. That’s what he’d say. She fell. Not that he’d pushed her. Not that his rage had sent her stumbling backward onto unforgiving marble.

“She fell.” The lie tasted like ash. “There’s so much blood.”

The operator’s voice was calm and professional as she guided Marco through basic first aid, but her words seemed to come from very far away. All Marco could focus on was the growing pool of blood and Margaret’s increasingly pale face. “Don’t let me lose my baby.” Margaret whispered, her eyes finding his. “Please, Marco. Don’t let me lose our baby.”

physical blow. Our baby. The child he had questioned, doubted, used as a weapon in their fights.

The words hit him i

a

The baby that might have been the only good thing to come out of the wreckage of his life.

“You’re not going to lose the baby.” He spoke, though he could hear the lie in his own voice. “You’re going to be fine. Both of you.”

But Margaret’s eyes were closing, and her breathing was becoming shallow and rapid. The blood showed no signs of

Γ slowing.

The ambulance arrived in what felt like hours but was probably minutes. Marco heard the sirens first, then the pounding on the front door. He left Margaret long enough to let the paramedics in, his hands and clothes stained red as he led them to the office.

“Female, mid–twenties, approximately eighteen weeks pregnant, presenting with heavy vaginal bleeding following a fall.” The lead paramedic spake into his radio as his partner began checking Margaret’s vital signs.

Marco stood pressed against the wall, watching as strangers took over the scene. They worked with practiced efficiency, starting an IV, checking her blood pressure, preparing to move her to the stretcher.

“Sir, are you the husband?” One of the paramedics asked.

“Yes. Yes, I’m her husband.”

“We need to get her to the hospital immediately. Do you want to ride with us?”

Marco nodded, unable to speak. He followed the stretcher out to the ambulance, climbing in beside Margaret as the paramedics continued their urgent work.

The ride to the hospital passed in a blur of siren Successfully unlocked! Marco didn’t understand. Margaret drifted in and out of consciousness, her hand gripping his will surpris surely whenever she was awake.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered during one of her conscious moments. “I’m sorry for everything ”

alt

Chapter 171

“Don’t talk.” Marco squeezed her hand. “Save your strength.”

116se this baby Margaret’s voice broke completely. “If I lose this baby, I have nothing left.”

The words cut through Marco like a knife. She was right. If she lost the baby, what did either of them have left? His children hated him. His reputation was destroyed His business was falling apart. Margaret was the only person left in his life, and he had just pushed herdown and possibly killed their unborn child,

At the hospital, Margaret was rushed into the emergency room while Marco was left to pace the waiting area. The fluorescent lights were too bright, making everything–look harsh and unforgiving. The smell of disinfectant burned his nostrils as he walked back and forth across the sterile floor.

“Mr. Hart?” A doctor in scrubs appeared in the doorway, her face serious but kind.

“Yes, that’s me. How is she? How’s the baby?”

The doctor’s expression told him everything before she spoke. “Mr. Hart, I’m very sorry. We did everything we could, but your wife has lost the baby.”

The words hit Marco like a physical blow. He sank into one of the plastic chairs, his legs suddenly unable to support his weight.

“The bleeding was too severe.” The doctor continued gently. “The trauma from the fall caused a complete placental abruption. There was nothing we could do to save the pregnancy.”

“And Margaret?”

“She’s stable now. We were able to stop the bleeding. Physically, she should recover completely. But emotionally.” The doctor paused. “Losing a baby is devastating. She’s going to need a lot of support.”

L

Marco nodded numbly. “Can I see her?”

“She’s sedated right now, but you can sit with her if you’d like.”

Margaret looked impossibly small in the hospital bed, surrounded by machines and tubes. Her face was white as the sheets, and her hair was matted with sweat. Marco pulled a chair close to her bedside and took her hand, which felt cold and fragile in his.

Hours passed before Margaret opened her eyes. When she saw Marco sitting beside her, her face crumpled with grief. “The baby?” She whispered, though she already knew the answer from the look in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Marco’s voice broke. “I’m so sorry, Margaret.”

Margaret turned her face away from him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Our baby is dead.”

“Margaret…”

“Our baby is dead because of you!” The words exploded from her mouth with such venom that Marco flinched backward. You killed our baby!”

“It was an accident…”

“You pushed me!” Margaret’s voice was rising, despite her physical weakness. “You pushed me and I fell and now our baby is dead!”

Marco tried to take her hand again, but she yanked it away. “Margaret, please…”

“Get away from me!” She screamed. “Don’t touch me! You’re a murderer!”

г

The outburst brought nurses running, but Margaret wasn’t finished. Her grief had transformed into pure rage, and she turned all of it on Marco.

You destroyed everything!” She sobbed. “Your children, your marriage, your business, and now our baby! Everything you

ed to calm down…”

by is dead! The only good thing that could have come from this nightmare is dead because you can’t

ing in his own eyes. “I never meant for this to happen.”

happened because you’re a monster! Because you put your hands on people when you’re angry! First

were trying to calm Margaret down, but she fought against them, her eyes blazing with hatred as she stared at

it’s not just your fault.” She continued, her voice becoming more shrill. “It’s hers too! That witch Lucia! If she hadn’t

alt

Chapter 171

turned your children against you, if she hadn’t destroyed our family, none of this would have happened!”

Margaret…

“She killed our baby too! Her and that husband of hers! They destroyed our happiness and now they’ve destroyed our child” Marco stared at his wife in horror. Even in her grief, even after losing their baby, she was still trying to blame someone else for what he had done.

“Lucia didn’t push you.” He spoke quietly. “I did.”

“Because of her! Because of what she did to be! Because she turned your children against you and made you crazy with grief!”

Margaret was becoming more hysterical now, her accusations becoming wilder and more desperate. The nurses were preparing a sedative, recognizing that she was spiraling into something dangerous.

“She has to pay.” Margaret whispered as the medication began to take effect. “Lucia has to pay for what she’s done to us. For what she’s taken from us.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, but Marco could still hear her muttering under her breath. “She has to pay. They all have to pay.” Marco sat in the darkening hospital room, watching his wife sleep and listening to her unconscious mumblings about revenge. Their baby was dead. Their marriage was destroyed. His children wanted nothing to do with him.

He had lost everything.

But as he watched Margaret’s face twist with anger even in sleep, Marco realized that the most terrifying part wasn’t what

he had lost.

It was what Margaret was planning to do about it.

Her hand twitched in her sleep, fingers curling as if grasping for something. Her lips moved, forming words too quiet to hear but Marco could read them anyway.

Lucia. Revenge. Make them suffer.

The medication was supposed to bring peace. Instead, it seemed to have unlocked something darker in Margaret’s mind. Something that had been building since the day his children made that video. Since the day the world decided she was cruel and jealous and unworthy.

Marco stood and walked to the window. The city spread out below him, lights twinkling like stars. Somewhere out there was his children’s new home. Their fortress. Their sanctuary/from him.

He pressed his forehead against the cold glass.

His son had called him a traitor. His daughter had hung up on Margaret’s threats. His youngest had exposed her scars to the world and blamed him for every cut.

And now his unborn child was gone. Dead because of his anger. Dead because he couldn’t control himself for one more second.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify