Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Lucia thought it would feel different.

That was the first thing she noticed.

Not the headlines. Not the numbers. Not the messages pouring in. Not even the silence in the house that felt heavier than anything she had lived in before.

It was the feeling.

Or the lack of it.

She sat at her desk with her laptop open, the screen glowing softly in the dim light of the room. Morning had already come and gone. She had not noticed when the sun rose. The curtains were still half drawn, leaving thin lines of light across the floor like something broken trying to get in.

Her coffee sat beside her. Cold. Untouched.

She had made it hours ago.

She remembered the sound of the kettle. The steam. The simple movement of her hands.

After that, everything blurred.

Now it just sat there, forgotten, like everything else that used to matter.

On the screen, Margaret’s name was everywhere.

Articles. Comments. Videos. Threads. Endless. Growing.

Lucia did not scroll at first. She just stared at the headline. The same one. Over and over.

Margaret Hart’s betrayal exposed.

Family scandal.

Affair.

Pregnancy.

Abortion.

Words that should have made Lucia feel something strong. Something sharp. Something close to satisfaction.

Instead, there was only a dull weight pressing inside her chest.

She leaned back slowly, her chair creaking under the movement. Her fingers rested on the edge of the desk, cold against

the wood.

She waited.

Waited for the feeling to come.

It didn’t.

Her chest felt tight, but not in the way she expected. Not excitement. Not relief. Not even anger.

Just… empty.

Like she had been running for so long that her body forgot how to stop.

Like she reached the end and found nothing there.

Lucia finally moved the mouse.

The page refreshed.

New comments appeared instantly.

They were brutal.

They did not hold back. They did not soften anything.

People did not care about truth. They cared about the story. About tearing someone apart.

Margaret was the story now.

Snake.

Home wrecker.

Disgusting.

r

Chapter 66

Lucia read the words slowly. Her eyes moved across each line, but something inside her stayed still.

She thought she would enjoy this.

She thought watching Margaret fall would feel like breathing again.

It didn’t.

Her throat felt dry. She reached for the coffee out of habit, took a sip, and immediately put it back down. It tasted bitter. Wrong.

She swallowed hard and looked back at the screen.

A video started playing automatically.

Reporters outside Margaret’s house.

Flashes. Voices shouting questions. A crowd forming.

Lucia watched without blinking.

They called Margaret’s name again and again.

No answer.

The door stayed closed.

Lucia leaned forward slightly.

Her heart should have been racing.

It wasn’t.

It just… beat.

Slow. Steady. Unmoved.

She pressed pause.

The room went quiet again.

Too quiet.

The kind of silence that made her aware of every small thing. The ticking clock on the wall. The faint hum of the air conditioner. The sound of her own breathing.

She rubbed her chest lightly.

It still felt heavy.

Why?

She got what she wanted.

Didn’t she?

Margaret was exposed.

The world saw her.

They believed it.

୮

They turned on her.

This was everything Lucia had imagined.

Everything she had worked for.

So why did it feel like something was missing?

Her phone vibrated.

She glanced at it without picking it up.

A message from Sarah.

Another update.

Lucia ignored it for a moment.

She stood up instead.

Her legs felt slightly weak, like she had been sitting too long. She walked slowly to the window and pulled the curtain aside.

The city moved like nothing had happened.

Cars. People. Noise.

Chapter 66

Normal.

#felt strange.-

How could everything look so normal when something so big had just happened?

Or maybe it wasn’t big.

Maybe it only felt big to her.

She pressed her hand lightly against the glass.

It was cool.

Grounding.

Real.

Unlike the hollow feeling inside her.

Lucia closed her eyes.

For a second, she let herself remember.

Seventeen years.

Her home.

Her children.

The way she used to wake up early, make breakfast, plan the day around everyone else.

The way she used to wait for Marco.

The way she used to believe things would stay the same.

Her chest tightened sharply this time.

That feeling was different.

That one hurt.

She opened her eyes quickly.

No.

She was not going back there.

She forced her hand away from the window and turned back to the desk.

The laptop was still open.

Still waiting.

Still showing Margaret’s face.

Lucia walked back slowly and sat down again.

Her phone vibrated again.

This time, she picked it up.

Sarah.

Lucia answered.

‘Yes.”

୮

‘Mrs. Smith, the first wave is still spreading. It’s bigger than expected. Brands are dropping her one after the other. Her eputation is collapsing fast.”

Lucia listened.

der expression did not change.

‘Good,” she said quietly.

There was a pause on the other end.

Sarah continued, more carefully now.

‘We can stop here if you want. This is already enough to destroy her publicly. Completely.”

Lucia did not answer immediately.

She looked at the screen again.

Chapter 66 Margaret’s face.

Frozen in a photo taken years ago.

Smiling.

Carefree.

Untouched.

Lucia felt something shift slightly inside her.

Not satisfaction.

Something darker.

Something that had been quiet until now.

Not enough.

The thought came suddenly.

Clear.

Cold.

Not enough.

This one story was not enough.

One affair.

One scandal.

People would talk about it.

They would drag her.

Then they would move on.

They always moved on.

Lucia knew that.

The world forgot quickly.

Too quickly.

Margaret would survive this.

Maybe not today.

Maybe not tomorrow.

But eventually, she would rebuild.

Rebrand.

Smile again.

Pretend again.

And people would believe her again.

Lucia’s fingers tightened around her phone.

No.

That could not happen.

Not after everything.

Not after what Margaret had done.

Not after what Lucia had lost.

Her chest tightened again, but this time it came with heat.

With anger.

With something that felt alive.

“She doesn’t get to walk away from this,” Lucia said softly.

Sarah stayed quiet.

Listening.

Chapter 66 Waiting.

Lucia stood up again, this time faster.

She began pacing slowly across the room.

“She doesn’t get to cry for a few days and then move on like nothing happened. She doesn’t get to rebuild. She doesn’t get to fix this.”

Her voice was still calm, but there was something under it now.

Something sharper.

“She built her life on lies. Not just one. Not just that affair. All of it.”

She stopped walking.

Her gaze fixed on nothing.

“She used people. Again and again. She took what she wanted. She destroyed what she didn’t care about.”

Her breathing grew slightly uneven.

“And now she thinks this is the worst it gets?”

Silence.

Then Sarah spoke carefully.

“What do you want to do?”

Lucia looked back at the laptop.

2

At the comments.

At the outrage.

At the chaos she had created.

Still not enough.

She shook her head slowly.

“No.”

Her voice was low now.

Firm.

“This is just the beginning.”

She walked back to the desk and placed the phone down for a second, pressing her palms flat against the surface as if grounding herself.

Her reflection stared back at her from the dark screen edges.

She looked different.

Harder.

Colder.

But her eyes…

Her eyes looked tired.

Lucia swallowed.

Then picked up the phone again.

“Release the rest.”

Sarah did not respond immediately.

Lucia could almost hear her thinking.

Measuring.

Calculating.

“Everything?” Sarah asked.

Lucia closed her eyes briefly.

Images flashed in her mind.

Photos.

Chapter 66

Documents.

Names

All the things Margaret thought were buried.

All the things Lucia had uncovered,

Yes.

Everything.

“All of it,” Lucia said.

Her voice did not shake.

“The other men. Every affair. Every married man she touched. Every deal she secured by sleeping with someone.”

She paused, her jaw tightening.

“Every abortion.”

The word felt heavy as it left her mouth.

But she did not take it back.

“Release the timeline,” she continued. “Make it clear. Make them see it wasn’t one mistake. It wasn’t one moment. It was a pattern. A choice. Again and again.”

Sarah exhaled slowly.

“This will destroy her completely.”

Lucia opened her eyes.

There was no hesitation now.

“That’s the point.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then Sarah spoke.

“I’ll prepare everything. Multiple outlets. Coordinated release.”

Lucia nodded, even though Sarah could not see her.