Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Chapter 177

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The iron gates of the mansion stood tall and imposing in the twilight. Marco pulled his car to a stop just outside them, his headlights cutting through the growing darkness. Beyond the gates, he could see warm lights glowing from the windows of the house. Through one of those windows, he could make out shapes moving around a dining table.

His family. Having dinner without him.

Marco climbed out of his car and walked toward the gate. The intercom box was mounted on a stone pillar. Before he could press the button, a voice came through the speaker.

“This is private property. State your business.” The security guard’s tone came flat. Professional

I’m Marco Hart. I’m here to see my children.”

A pause. Then another voice, quieter, conferring with the first guard. Marco fould imagine them checking their list of approved visitors. His name wouldn’t be on it.

“I’m sorry sir, but you’re not authorized to enter this property. Please leave.”

“Not authorized?” Marco’s voice rose. “Those are my children in there! My wife!”

“Sir, Mrs. Kane is not your wife. And you need to leave now or we’ll call the police.”

Something snapped inside Marco. All the grief, all the anger, all the frustration of the past weeks came pouring out at once. He grabbed the iron bars of the gate and shook them.

“Let me in! Lucia! Lucia, I know you can hear me! Let me see my kids!”

His shouts echoed across the grounds. Inside the house, heads turned toward the windows. Marco could see the family freezing at the dining table, their peaceful dinner interrupted by his voice.

“Sir, step back from the gate.” The guard’s voice came sharper now. “You need to leave immediately.”

“I’m not leaving until I see my family!” Marco rattled the gates harder, the metal clanging loudly in the quiet evening. “Ria! Lucas! Monica! Come out here! Your father wants to talk to you!”

More guards appeared, converging on the gate from different positions around the property. Three of them now, all looking at Marco with wary eyes.

Inside the house, Lucia stood abruptly from the table. Her face had gone pale, her hands shaking as he set down her napkin. Alexander was already moving toward the door.

“Ria.” Lucia’s voice came urgent. “Take your siblings upstairs. Now.”

“But Mom…” Ria started.

“Now!” Lucia rarely raised her voice but this time it cracked with fear and anger. “Take Lucas, Monica, and Lena upstairs and lock yourselves in your room. Don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.”

The children scrambled from the table, their faces frightened. Ria herded her siblings toward the staircase, looking back once at her mother before disappearing up the stairs.

Lucia and Alexander walked to the front door together. The shouting from the gates was getting louder. More desperate. More unhinged.

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Chapter 177

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Maybe we should just call the police.” Alexander’s hand was on Lucia’s arm, protective and worried.

“No.” Lucia’s jaw set firm. “I need to face him. I need to end this once and for all.”

They walked out into the cool evening air. The guards had formed a line on the inside of the gate, blocking Marco from even trying to climb over. But Marco didn’t seem to notice them. His eyes were locked on Lucia and Alexander as they approached.

“There you are!” Marco’s voice came raw from shouting. “There’s my wife and the man who stole her from me!”

“Marco, you need to leave.” Lucia stopped several feet back from the gate, with Alexander beside her. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Not supposed to be here? This is where my children are! Where my family is!”

“Your children have a restraining order against you approaching them.” Alexander spoke calmly despite the tension radiating from his body. “You’re violating that order right now.”

“I don’t care about your orders!” Marco gripped the bars tighter. “I don’t care about your lawyers or your money or your guards! I want my family back!”

“Open the gate.” Lucia spoke quietly to the head guard.

“Ma’am, I don’t think that’s…” The guard looked uncertain.

“Open it.” Lucia’s voice came firm. “I want to talk to him face to face.”

The guard hesitated, then pressed a button. The gates began to swing open slowly. Marco stepped through the moment the gap was wide enough, his eyes wild with something between hope and rage.

The first thing he did was swing his fist at Alexander.

The punch connected with Alexander’s jaw, snapping his head to the side. Alexander stumbled backward, his hand flying to his face. The guards surged forward but Alexander held up/a hand, stopping them.

“Stay back.” Alexander straightened up, his jaw already reddening where Marco’s fist had landed. “This is between us.”

Marco swung again but this time Alexander was ready. He blocked the punch and shoved Marco backward. Marco caught his balance and lunged forward, tackling Alexander to the ground. They rolled across the gravel driveway, fists flying, grunting with effort and pain.

“Stop it!” Lucia screamed. “Both of you, stop!”

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But they didn’t stop. Marco got on top and landed a punch to Alexander’s ribs. Alexander bucked him off and returned with a hit that split Marco’s lip. Blood dripped onto the white gravel.

The guards finally moved in, pulling the two men apart. It took two guards to hold Marco back as he thrashed and cursed.

“This is your fault!” Marco spat blood onto the ground, his eyes burning with hatred as he stared at Alexander. “You destroyed my family! You stole my wife! And now my baby is dead because of what you started!”

“Your baby?” Alexander wiped blood from his own lip. “How is that my fault?”

“If you hadn’t taken Lucia! If you hadn’t turned my children against me! None of this would have happened! Margaret and I would be happy! Our baby would be alive!” Marco’s voice broke on the last word. “You killed my child!”

“You killed your own child when you pushed Margaret!” Lucia’s voice cut through the night like a blade. “Don’t you dare

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blame Alexander for your violence!”

Marco’s eyes swung to Lucia. The rage in them flickered, replaced by something else. Desperation. Need.

“Lucia.” His voice came softer now. Pleading. “Lucia, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. But we can fix this. We can go back to how things were.”

“Go back?” Lucia’s laugh came harsh and bitter. You want to go back?”

“Yes.” Marco took a step toward her but the guards held him firm. “Remember how we met? Remember that day under the oak tree when you saved me from those guys? You were so brave. So beautiful. I fell in love with you right then.”

“Don’t.” Lucia’s voice shook. “Don’t you dare bring that up now.”

“And our wedding. God, Lucia, you were so happy. We were so happy. The honeymoon in Italy. Buying our first house. The day you told me you were pregnant with Ria.” Marco’s words tumbled out faster, more frantic. “Remember how I spun you around the kitchen? How we laughed and cried together?”

“Stop it.” Tears were streaming down Lucia’s face now but her voice came hard as steel.

“And Lucas. And Monica. We built something beautiful, Lucia. We had seventeen years of beautiful memories. That has to mean something. That has to be worth fighting for.”

“Worth fighting for?” Lucia took a step closer to him, her hands curling into fists. “You want to talk about what was worth fighting for?”

Her hand flew up and cracked across Marco’s face. The slap echoed across the grounds. Marco’s head snapped to the side, shock replacing the desperation in his eyes.

“I gave you everything!” Lucia’s voice rose to a scream. “Everything! I stopped my career to support yours! I had a job offer at the best design firm in the city and I turned it down because you said you needed me to help you start your company!”

“Lucia, I…”

“I’m not finished!” Her voice cracked. “I gave you my inheritance! Every penny my parents left me! Six point four million dollars that was supposed to be for our children’s education! I gave it to you to invest in your business! And you know what you did with it? You used it to take Margaret on trips while I stayed home with our children!”

Marco’s face went pale. “I was trying to build something for us…”

“For us?” Lucia laughed but it came out broken. “You built it for yourself! And the moment your company was successful, the moment you had money and power, you threw me away like garbage! You replaced me with a younger version! Someone who didn’t have stretch marks from carrying your children! Someone who didn’t look tired from raising them!”

“That’s not…”

“I sacrificed everything for you!” Lucia was crying fully now, years of pain pouring out. “My dreams, my money, my youth, my self-respect! I forgave you over and over when you cheated! I took you back when you promised to change! I believed your lies because I loved you!”

“And I love you too!” Marco tried to move toward her but the guards held tight. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you! I made a mistake! I chose wrong! But I love you, Lucia! I always have!”

“You don’t know what love is!” Lucia’s voice came raw. “Love doesn’t betray. Love doesn’t abandon. Love doesn’t hit children or push pregnant women! You destroyed everything we had and now you want me to feel sorry for you?”

“I’m sorry.” Marco’s voice broke completely. “I’m so sorry. But we can start over. We can rebuild.”

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There is no we anymore.” Lucia spoke each word with finality “There hasn’t been a we for a long time. You made sure of that when you chose Margaret.”

“But she seduced me!” Marcos desperation turned to anger again. “Margaret came after me! She knew I was married! She knew I had children! She’s the one who destroyed our marriage!”

The words hung in the air for a moment. Then Lucia stepped forward until she was inches from Marco’s face.

“Margaret didn’t make you cheat.” Her voice came deadly quiet. “Margaret didn’t make you lie. Margaret didn’t make you throw away seventeen years of marriage. You did that. A by yourself. Stop blaming everyone else for your choices.”

Marco opened his mouth but nothing came out. Because she was right. Deep down, in a place he’d been avoiding for months, he knew she was right.

“Now get off my property.” Lucia stepped back, her face hard despite the tears still streaming down it. “And don’t come back. If you show up here again, I will call the police. I will press charges. And I will make sure you never see your children again.”

“Lucia, please…”

“Guards.” Lucia turned her back on him. “Remove him from my property. If he resists, call the police.”

The guards began dragging Marco back toward the gate. He fought against them, still reaching for Lucia even as she walked

away.

“Lucia! Lucia, don’t do this! I love you! Please! Give me one more chance!” His voice grew more desperate, more broken. “Lucia! Those are my children! That’s my family!”

“Not anymore.” Lucia didn’t turn around. She walked back toward the house with Alexander limping beside her, his arm around her shoulders.

Marco’s screams echoed across the grounds as the guards dragged him through the gates. They deposited him on the other side and the iron bars swung shut with a clang that sounded like a prison door closing.

Marco collapsed against his car, his face bleeding, his body aching, his heart shattered. Through the gates, he could see Lucia and Alexander disappearing into the house. The warm lights in the windows seemed impossibly far away now.

He’d come here to reclaim his family.

Instead, he’d lost them all over again.

And this time, there was no going back.

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