Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Marco sat hunched over his computer screen at three in the morning, his eyes burning from staring at financial documents for twelve straight hours. Empty coffee cups littered his desk, and his shirt was wrinkled from hours of nervous sweating. The auditors from Preston & Associates would arrive in six hours, and he was running out of time.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, moving numbers between accounts, adjusting dates on transactions, creating explanations for funds that had disappeared into offshore accounts Margaret knew nothing about. Every keystroke felt like digging his own grave deeper, but he couldn’t stop.

The office building was silent except for the hum of fluorescent lights and the frantic clicking of Marco’s keyboard. Outside his window, the city slept peacefully, unaware that a man’s entire world was crumbling behind the glass walls of Hart Industries.

“Still working, honey?”

Marco’s head snapped up. Margaret stood in the doorway wearing a black cocktail dress that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. Her makeup was perfect despite the late hour, and she carried herself with the confidence of someone who had spent the evening being admired.

“Where have you been?” Marco asked, his voice hoarse from hours of silent panic.

“Networking event,” Margaret said, stepping into the office on impossibly high heels. “Very productive evening. Made some fascinating connections.”

Marco noticed she didn’t elaborate on what kind of connections, and part of him didn’t want to know. The photo she had sent earlier with Harrison Blackwell was still burned into his memory.

“How’s the preparation going?” Margaret asked, moving to stand behind his chair. Her perfume was different tonight, expensive and seductive, the kind worn to impress someone new.

“It’s complicated,” Marco muttered, turning back to his screen. “There are discrepancies I need to explain.”

Margaret’s hands landed on his shoulders, her fingers kneading the tense muscles of his neck. But instead of comfort, her touch felt calculating.

“Poor baby,” she cooed, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “This is all so stressful for you.”

Marco continued typing, trying to focus on the numbers that refused to add up correctly. “I can handle it.”

“Can you?” Margaret’s fingers dug deeper into his shoulders. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like your ex-wife has completely destroyed you.”

The words hit Marco like ice water. He stopped typing, his hands frozen over the keyboard.

“She’s taken your company,” Margaret continued, her voice soft but poisonous. “Made you into her employee. Turned you into a laughingstock in front of your own board.”

“Margaret, please.”

“I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking,” Margaret interrupted, her massage becoming more aggressive. “The great Marco Hart, reduced to begging his ex-wife for permission to run his own business.”

Marco’s jaw clenched. He tried to return to his work, but Margaret’s words had hit their target.

“Do you know what people are saying about us?” Margaret asked, moving around to perch on the edge of his desk. “About you?”

“I don’t care what people say.”

“They’re saying you’re weak,” Margaret said, examining her manicured nails. “That you let a woman walk all over you. That you’re not the man they thought you were.”

Marco’s hands began to shake. “Stop.”

“Harrison Blackwell mentioned it tonight,” Margaret continued casually. “He said he couldn’t imagine being in business with someone who couldn’t even control his own ex-wife.”

The mention of Harrison made Marco’s stomach churn. “You talked to him about me?”

“He brought it up,” Margaret shrugged. “Apparently, the whole financial district is buzzing about how Lucia Smith played you. How she outsmarted the great Marco Hart without breaking a sweat.”

Marco stood abruptly, knocking over his coffee cup. The dark liquid spread across his papers, staining hours of careful

Chapter 85

work.

he didn’t outsmart me,” he said desperately. “This is just temporary. A strategic partnership.”

“Is that what you call it when your ex-wife owns fifty-one percent of your company?” Margaret’s laugh was cold and cutting. “When she can fire you with a simple board vote?”

Marco grabbed napkins from his desk drawer, frantically trying to save his documents from the spreading coffee. But the stains had already soaked through, making the numbers illegible.

“Look at you,” Margaret said, watching him scramble to clean up the mess. “This is what she’s reduced you to. A desperate man making desperate mistakes.”

“I’m fixing this,” Marco said, his voice cracking. “The audit won’t find anything. I’ve covered everything.”

“Have you?” Margaret slid off the desk and moved closer. “Because Harrison mentioned something interesting tonight. He said Preston & Associates are known for finding things other auditors miss.”

Marco’s blood turned to ice. “What do you mean?”

“I mean they’re very thorough,” Margaret said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “They look at everything. Bank records, transaction histories, account transfers. The kind of details that can reveal patterns.”

Marco felt the room spinning around him. Preston & Associates had a reputation for being absolutery relentless. If there were hidden assets to find, they would find them.

“But don’t worry,” Margaret continued, her hand sliding up Marco’s arm. “I’m sure you’ve been completely honest about all your financial dealings. I’m sure there are no secret accounts or hidden assets that might complicate things.”

The way she said it made Marco’s skin crawl. There was knowledge in her voice, suspicion that cut too close to the truth.

“Of course not,” Marco lied, but his voice betrayed him.

Margaret’s smile was sharp as a knife. “Good. Because if they did find something like that, it would be devastating. Not just professionally, but personally. Imagine if I discovered you’d been hiding money from me the same way you hid it from Lucia.”

Marco stared at her, seeing clearly for the first time the woman he had married. Not the supportive partner she pretended to be, but a predator who was already calculating her next move.

“You wouldn’t…” Marco started.

“I wouldn’t what?” Margaret’s voice was innocence itself. “Support my husband through a difficult time? Stand by the man I love? Of course I would, darling. As long as he’s the man I married. Strong. Successful. In control.”

She moved closer, her lips near his ear. “But you’re not in control anymore, are you? You can’t even manage your own ex- wife. You let her take your company. Your position. Your authority. What kind of man does that?”

Marco’s fists clenched. “I didn’t let her do anything. She manipulated the situation.”

“Did she?” Margaret’s voice was soft, mocking. “Or did you just underestimate her? Just like you’re underestimating me

now.”

She pulled back, studying him with eyes that held no warmth. “I married a powerful man, Marco. A man who controlled his company. His family. His life. I didn’t sign up to be married to someone who`takes orders from his ex-wife.”

“This is temporary,” Marco repeated, but the words sounded hollow even to him.

“Is it?” Margaret moved toward the door. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks pretty permanent. Lucia is Chairwoman. You’re COO. She gives orders. You follow them. That’s not temporary. That’s a complete role reversal.”

She paused in the doorway, looking back at him with calculating eyes. “And I need you to understand something, Marco. I’

m not ready to become poor. I’m not ready to be married to a man who can’t provide the life I deserve.”

The threat was subtle but unmistakable. Margaret was letting him know that her loyalty had conditions. That if he couldn’t maintain his wealth, his status, his power, she would find someone who could.

“I should get back to work,” Marco said weakly.

“Of course,” Margaret agreed. “The auditors will be here so soon. I do hope everything goes smoothly.”

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