Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 265

0 Likes

Chapter 265

Chapter 265

Ria came back in, phone in hand, something in her expression that had shifted from the earlier professional energy into something more personal. Something that suggested the conversation she had just had was important. She came to the table and sat down across from where Lucia was sitting and the phone went face- down on the surface between them.

Lucia looked at her daughter’s face. At whatever was sitting in it that had brought her back down the stairs to find her mother alone.

“Yes,” Lucia said, before Ria had even asked the question. “What is it?”

Ria looked at the table for a moment, at the photographs and the plans spread across the surface. Her hands were resting on the edge, and they looked like they were holding onto something. She was choosing her words carefully, the way she did when she was about to say something that mattered.

“I was just on the phone with one of the event coordinators,” Ria said. “We were talking about the venue options for Monica’s birthday. And she mentioned that the Meridian Gallery owner reached out. The one who put Monica’s work on the wall in the first place.” Ria paused. “He wants to sponsor part of the event. To put together a whole exhibition around what Monica has created since the original show. Not as a defense or a

statement. Just as art.”

Lucia listened without interrupting.

“And while she was telling me that,” Ria continued, “I couldn’t stop thinking about something else entirely.” She looked up at her mother. “I keep thinking about what happens six days from now when we go to that courtroom. When the judge says custodial sentences. When Josh Junior goes to prison and Claire goes to prison and their children grow up without them.” She swallowed. “When Josh Senior, who is sixty-six years old, goes to prison. When Marie goes to prison.”

Lucia’s expression did not change.

“I know what they did,” Ria said. Her voice was steady but there was something underneath it, something that sounded like it was difficult to say. “I know how much they hurt Monica. I’m not denying any of that.” She paused. “But I also know that Margaret is already in jail. And now her entire family is about to be in jail with her. Her parents. Her siblings.” Ria looked directly at her mother. “All of them. Gone.”

“Ria,” Lucia said.

“I’m not saying they don’t deserve consequences,” Ria said. “I’m not saying Monica shouldn’t have justice.” She paused, and her voice became quieter and more uncertain. “I’m just asking if we have to destroy every single one of them. If we have to send an elderly couple to prison. If we have to take parents away from their children just so Monica can have revenge.”

Lucia set down her pen. She looked at her daughter without speaking for a long moment.

“This is not something I can answer for you,” Lucia said finally. “And it’s not something you should be discussing with me.”

“Then who should I discuss it with?” Ria asked.

“Your father,” Lucia said. “This decision, this path we’re on, it belongs to him. He made the choice to pursue this. He is the one who decided the Lowes should answer.” She looked at Ria directly. “If you have doubts about that path, if you think there’s another way, you need to talk to him about it. Not me.”

“But you’re my mother,” Ria said. “Your opinion…”

“My opinion will only complicate things,” Lucia said. She stood and gathered the materials on the table, moving them to one side with deliberate care. “My opinion will make you think there’s disagreement in this family when there isn’t. There’s only Alexander’s decision and the consequences of that decision.” She looked at her daughter. “If you want to ask him to reconsider, to think about other options, to look at whether there’s mercy somewhere in this, then that conversation needs to be between you and him. Alone. Not through me.” Ria sat very still.

1/2

Chapter 265

“He won’t change his mind,” she said quietly.

“You don’t know that,” Lucia said. “You haven’t tried. You’re assuming his answer based on what you think you know about how he thinks.” She came back to the table and put her hand on Ria’s shoulder. “Your father is a good man. He’s not cruel. He’s protective. Those two things are sometimes hard to separate, but they’re not the same.” She paused. “Talk to him. Really talk to him. Tell him exactly what you told me. Tell him about the elderly father and the children who will lose their parents. Tell him about Margaret being in jail and now everyone else in her family going to join her. Tell him everything you’re feeling about it.”

“And if he still says yes?” Ria asked.

“Then you’ll know you tried,” Lucia said. “And you’ll know that whatever comes next, you at least gave him the chance to make a different choice.”

Ria picked up her phone. She stood to leave and then stopped.

“What if he decides I’m being naive?” she asked. “What if he thinks I’m being soft?”

“Then he’ll tell you that, Lucia said. “And you can decide whether he’s right or whether you still believe what you believe.” She looked at her daughter steadily. “But he needs to hear it from you. Not because he’ll necessarily change his mind. But because these are your thoughts and your values and they matter.”

Ria nodded slowly. She moved toward the door.

“Ria,” Lucia called after her.

She turned back.

“Speak honestly with him,” Lucia said. “Your father may disagree with you, but he will listen. And compassion isn’t weakness. He knows that, even if this situation makes it hard to see.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify