Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The credit card statement arrived on a Tuesday. Marco opened it at his desk. Home office. Quiet. Alone.

He scanned the charges. Routine at first. Groceries. Gas. Normal.

Then. Not normal.

Bergdorf Goodman. $47,000.

Cartier. $123,000.

Private jet charter. $500,000.

Renovation contractor. $1,000,000.

On. And on. Page after page.

Marco’s hands shook. He added them up. Once. Twice. Three times.

$4.5 million. In one month. One single month.

He’d asked Margaret to cut back. Explicitly. Three weeks ago. Explained the company situation. The investor withdrawals. The board investigation.

She’d smiled. Nodded. Said of course.

And spent $4.5 million.

Marco walked downstairs. Found her in the living room. On the phone. Laughing.

“Margaret. We need to talk.”

She held up one finger. “Just a second. Yes. Yes. Perfect. See you Thursday.”

She hung up. Turned to him. Still smiling. “What’s wrong?”

He held up the statement. “This. This is what’s wrong.”

Margaret glanced at it. “Oh. The credit card. What about it?”

“What about it? You spent four and a half million dollars. In one month.”

“Did I? I wasn’t really keeping track.”

“Wasn’t keeping track?” Marco’s voice rose. “We talked about this. I asked you. I specifically asked you to be careful. To cut back.”

“And I have been careful. These are necessities.”

“Necessities? A hundred thousand dollar necklace is necessary?”

“For the charity gala. Yes. I need to look appropriate. We can’t show up looking. Looking poor.”

“We’re not poor. But we’re also not. We can’t afford this. Not right now.”

Margaret stood. Walked to him. Hand on his chest. “Darling. You’re stressed. The company situation has you paranoid. But we’re fine. We have money. We can afford to live comfortably.”

“This isn’t comfortable. This is excessive.”

“Says who? Your first wife? Who was content with mediocrity?” Margaret’s voice stayed soft. Sweet. But the words cut. “I’m not her. I have standards. Expectations. You knew that when you married me.”

“I knew you liked nice things. I didn’t know you’d. You’d bankrupt us.”

Margaret’s eyes went cold. “Bankrupt? Don’t be dramatic. You’re worth. What? Hundreds of millions? And you‘ re complaining about a few million in expenses?”

“A few million adds up. Especially when the company is bleeding investors. When the board is investigating. When everything is. Is falling apart.”

“Then fix it. That’s your job. Not mine. My job is to maintain our lifestyle. Our image. Our place in society.” She turned away. “If you can’t handle that. Maybe you’re not the man I thought you were.”

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Chapter 29

The dismissal stung. Marco stood there. Credit card statement crumpling in his fist.

She was right. Wasn’t she? He was the CEO. His job was making money. Providing. Her job was. Was what? Spending it?

No. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t how marriage worked.

But arguing felt pointless. Exhausting.

“Just. Just try to be more careful,” he said. Weakly. “Please.”

“Of course, darling.” Margaret kissed his cheek. “Now. I have lunch. Don’t wait up.”

She left. Designer bag. Designer shoes. Designer everything.

Bought with his money. Spent without thought. Without care.

Marco returned to his office. Sat at his desk. Put his head in his hands.

That evening. Dinner. The kids ate quietly. Margaret dominated conversation. Talking about her day. Her friends. Her plans.

Not asking about Marco’s day. Not caring.

“Your business stuff is so boring,” she said when he tried to mention a client meeting. “Can we talk about something interesting? Like the party I’m planning for Monica’s birthday.”

Monica looked up. “What party?”

“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry about it.” Margaret smiled. “Just trust me. It’ll be perfect.”

Later. After everyone went to bed. Marco reviewed financial documents. Company reports. Bank statements. Trying to make sense of the bleeding.

A charge caught his eye. On a different credit card. One he didn’t recognize. One in Margaret’s name. Monthly payment. $2 million. To a storage facility. Premium Storage Solutions.

Two million dollars. Every month. For storage?

Marco’s stomach dropped. He pulled up more statements. Going back. Months.

Every month. Like clockwork. $2 million.

What the hell was she storing that cost two million a month?

He walked to their bedroom. Margaret was at her vanity. Removing makeup.

“What’s Premium Storage Solutions?” Marco asked.

Her hand stilled. Briefly. Then continued. “What?”

“Premium Storage Solutions. You’ve been paying them two million dollars a month. For six months. What is it?” Margaret set down her makeup remover. Turned to face him. “You went through my credit card statements?”

“Answer the question. What are you storing?”

“That’s. That’s private.”

“Private? We’re married. There’s no private when it comes to twelve million dollars.”

“It’s for Monica’s birthday. The surprise I mentioned.” Margaret’s voice softened. Became vulnerable. “I’ve been. I’ve been saving things. Planning. It’s going to be special. Something her mother never would have done. But I wanted. I wanted to give her something meaningful.”

“Twelve million dollars worth of meaningful?”

“It’s not just the storage. It’s. It’s everything I’m planning. The party. The gifts. The. The whole event. I wanted it perfect. For her. To show her. To show all the kids. That I care. That I’m here. That I’m. I’m their mother now.” Tears formed in her eyes. Calculated. Perfect.

“I was going to surprise you too. But now. Now you’ve ruined it. You’ve made me feel. Feel like a criminal. Like I’m doing something wrong. When all I wanted. All I wanted was to make Monica happy.”

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Chapter 29

The tears fell. Margaret turned away. Shoulders shaking.

And Marco. Marco felt like garbage.

She was planning something special. For Monica. For his daughter. And he’d. He’d accused her of. Of what? Stealing? Lying?

“I’m sorry,” he heard himself say. “I didn’t. I didn’t mean to accuse you. I just. The money. It’s a lot.”

“I know. I know it is. But Monica deserves it. After everything. After losing her mother. After all the changes. She deserves something special.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Margaret turned. Wiped her eyes. Smiled through tears. “It’s okay. I understand. You’re stressed. The company. Everything. It’s a lot of pressure.”

She came to him. Wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll get through this. Together. I promise.”

Marco held her. Felt her warmth. Her softness. Her. Her manipulation.

No. He shook the thought away. She wasn’t manipulating. She was. She was being thoughtful. Caring. Planning for Monica.

Wasn’t she?

But twelve million dollars. For a thirteen year old’s birthday. That was. That was excessive. Even for them.

Later. Marco couldn’t sleep. He went back to his office. Pulled up company reports.

Something David had mentioned. About business partners backing out. Creating patterns.

Marco started looking. Really looking.

Thompson Holdings. Backed out of their manufacturing contract. Three months ago.

Jensen Brothers. Pulled their investment. Two months ago.

Meridian Supply. Refused to renew their agreement. Last month.

One by one. Systematically. Like. Like someone was contacting them. Offering them better deals. Better terms. Better.

Better what?

Marco searched for connections. Thompson. Jensen. Meridian. All different industries. Different sectors. No obvious link.

Except. Except they’d all worked with Hart Industries for years. All been loyal. All been profitable.

And all left. Within months of each other. Right after Marco’s wedding.

Right after Margaret.

No. That was paranoid. Ridiculous.

Margaret didn’t know these people. Didn’t have access to company information. Didn’t have any reason to. To sabotage him.

Did she?

Marco pulled up the timeline. The dates. The patterns.

Wedding: June 15th.

Thompson backs out: August 2nd.

Jensen pulls investment: September 14th.

Meridian refuses renewal: October 28th.

Three major partners. Three months. All gone.

His phone buzzed. Email from David.

3/5

Chapter 29

“Another investor pulled out. Anderson Group. Three billion. Said they found better opportunities elsewhere. Board meeting moved to tomorrow. Emergency session. We need to talk.”

Marco stared at the screen. Another one. Anderson. Four billion total now. Gone.

He looked at the timeline again. At the dates. At the pattern.

Almost orchestrated. Almost deliberate. Almost.

Almost like someone was systematically destroying his company.

But who? Who had the resources? The knowledge? The motivation?

Lucia’s face flashed in his mind. But no. Impossible. Lucia was gone. Disappeared. Hiding somewhere. Probably barely surviving on whatever savings she’d had.

She didn’t have the skills. The connections. The power to do this.

Did she?

Marco shook his head. Paranoia. Stress. Exhaustion.

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