Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 92

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Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Margaret stood in the bedroom she shared with Marco, staring at her phone screen with trembling hands. The engagement photos were everywhere Lucia’s face glowing with happiness. Alexander Kane’s protective hand on her back. That ring. That massive, obscene twenty-four carat diamond ring catching every light like it was designed specifically to mock Margaret’s existence.

Twenty-four carats. Margaret had googled the estimated value. Millions. Literally millions of dollars on Lucia’s finger while Margaret’s own engagement ring suddenly felt cheap and inadequate.

She threw her phone on the bed, watching it bounce against the silk pillows. The pillows she’d chosen. The bed she’d insisted Marco buy. The bedroom she’d decorated to erase every trace of Lucia.

But none of it mattered now. Because Lucia was marrying Alexander Kane. CEQ of Kane Enterprises. Billionaire. A man who made Marco look like a struggling middle manager.

Margaret paced the room, her heels clicking against hardwood floors. Alexander Kane. The man had everything. Wealth beyond imagination. Power that stretched across industries. Connections that reached into every corner of the business world

And he was giving all of it to Lucia. To the boring, plain, nothing woman Marco had thrown away. The woman Margaret had helped pack up and remove from this very house.

“She doesn’t deserve him,” Margaret said to the empty room. “She doesn’t deserve any of this.”

But the universe didn’t care what Margaret thought was fair. Lucia had Alexander. Lucia had that ring. Lucia had a wedding planned with someone who actually chose her, actually wanted her, actually valued her enough to put millions of dollars on her finger.

While Margaret had Marco. Crumbling, panicking, broke Marco with his hidden crimes and federal audits and paranoid conspiracy theories about Alexander orchestrating his downfall.

Margaret caught sight of herself in the mirror. Still beautiful. Still young. Still everything Lucia wasn’t. But somehow it didn’t matter anymore. Because Lucia had won. Completely. Devastatingly. Finally.

The engagement announcement kept playing in Margaret’s mind. Lucia’s calm confidence. The way she’d talked about gratitude for experiences that led her to this moment. The way Alexander had looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.

Marco had never looked at Margaret like that. Not even in the beginning when everything was new and exciting. He’d looked at her with lust, with possession, with the smug satisfaction of a man who’d traded up.

But love? Real love? The kind Alexander showed Lucia in every photo?

Never.

Margaret grabbed her phone again, scrolling through more photos. More articles. More comments from strangers celebrating Lucia’s happiness. Thousands of people cheering for the woman Margaret had spent months trying to erase.

“She’s doing this on purpose,” Margaret said aloud. “She’s marrying him to spite Marco. To rub his face in how much better

face she can do.”

The thought took root, growing in her mind like poison ivy. Of course. That’s what this was. Revenge. Lucia was marrying Alexander Kane not because she loved him, but because she wanted to destroy Marco. Wanted to show him what he’d lost. Wanted to grind his face in her success.

And with Alexander’s money and connections and power, Lucia would have everything she needed to finish what she’d started. To destroy Marco completely. To destroy their family. To destroy the kids’ futures.

Margaret stood up straighter, her mind racing. This wasn’t about love. This was strategy. And if the kids didn’t understand that, they were all going to suffer.

She left the bedroom and walked down the hall to Ria’s room. Light showed under the door. Voices. Both girls were in there.

Perfect.

Margaret knocked once then opened the door without waiting for permission. Ria and Monica sat on the bed, tissues scattered around them, eyes red from crying.

“We need to talk,” Margaret said, closing the door behind her.

Ria looked up with puffy eyes. “We don’t want to talk to you.”

“Too bad,” Margaret said, sitting in the desk chair without being invited. “Because you need to hear this whether you want

Chapter 92

to or not

Monica wiped her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want you to understand what your mother is doing,” Margaret said, leaning forward. “I want you to see this engagement for what it really is.”

“It’s Mom getting married to someone who loves her,” Ria said coldly. “Something you wouldn’t understand.”

Margaret ignored the barb. “Your mother isn’t marrying Alexander Kane because she loves him. She’s marrying him to spite your father. To have more resources to destroy this family.”

Both girls stared at her.

“That’s ridiculous,” Monica said.

“Is it?” Margaret raised an eyebrow. “Think about it. Your mother takes over your father’s company. Forces him into a subordinate position. Orders a federal audit that could send him to prison. And now, right when he’s at his weakest, she announces her engagement to a billionaire?”

“So?” Ria challenged.

“So she’s positioning herself for the final attack,” Margaret said, her voice taking on urgency. “Alexander Kane has connections everywhere. Political connections. Legal connections. Media connections. Your mother is marrying him to get access to all of that power.”

“You’re paranoid,” Ria said.

“Am I?” Margaret pulled out her phone, showing them photos of the engagement announcement. “Look at that ring. Twenty-four carats. Worth millions. Do you know what that kind of money can buy? Lawyers. Investigators. Politicians. Judges.”

Monica stared at the photo, her expression uncertain.

“Your mother is building an arsenal,” Margaret continued. “And when she’s done, she won’t just destroy your father. She’ll destroy all of you. Your reputations. Your futures. Your ability to get into good schools or find good jobs. Because Alexander Kane’s money and connections will make sure everyone knows you’re the children of a criminal who betrayed their mother.”

“Mom wouldn’t do that,” Ria said, but her voice wavered slightly.

“Wouldn’t she?” Margaret leaned closer. “She already took your father’s company. She already humiliated him publicly. She already rejected all of you when you tried to apologize. What makes you think she’ll stop there?”

“Because she loves us,” Monica whispered.

“Does she?” Margaret’s voice was soft, poisonous. “Because’ from where I’m sitting, she’s replaced you. She’s got Lena now. Alexander’s daughter. The child she calls ‘our daughter’ in interviews. The child who chose her, who stayed loyal, who didn’ t make the mistake you three made.”

Ria’s hands clenched into fists. “Stop.”

“I’m trying to help you,” Margaret insisted. “I’m trying to make you see what’s coming. Once your mother marries Alexander Kane, she’ll have unlimited resources to make sure you all suffer for rejecting her. She’ll use his money to blacklist you from universities. His connections to block you from jobs. His power to make sure you spend the rest of your lives paying for choosing your father over her.”

“That’s not true,” Ria said, but tears were forming in her eyes.

“You have to stop this wedding,” Margaret pressed. “It’s the only way to protect yourselves. If she marries him, it’s over. You’ Il never escape what she can do to you with Alexander Kane’s resources behind her.”

Monica was crying openly now. “We can’t stop the wedding. We can’t do anything. Mom won’t even talk to us.”

“Then you find a way,” Margaret said urgently. “You make her listen. You make her understand that you’re sorry, that you want her back, that you need her to stop this revenge.”

“It’s not revenge,” Ria said, her voice breaking. “She’s happy. Can’t you see that? She’s actually happy.”

“She’s happy because she’s winning,” Margaret corrected. “But her happiness is built on destroying your father. And once he’s completely destroyed, she’ll come for you next.”

Ria stood up abruptly. “Get out.”

“Ria, I’m trying to help…”

“GET OUT!” Ria screamed. “You’re trying to manipulate us! You’re trying to make us believe our mother is some kind of monster when the only monster in this house is you!”

Chapter 92

Margaret stood, her face flushing with anger. “I’m trying to protect you from what’s coming.”

fur mom loves He, Ria said, her voice shaking but firm. “She still loves us even after everything we did to her. Even after we chose you and Dad over her. Even after we rejected her.”

“Then why won’t she forgive you?” Margaret challenged.

“Because we don’t deserve forgiveness yet,” Monica said quietly. “We hurt her. We destroyed her. We need to prove we’ve changed through our actions, not just our words.”

“And we’re not going to stop her wedding,” Ris added. “We’re not going to interfere with her happiness. She deserves to be happy.”

“She deserves to be happy?” Margaret’s voice rose. “What about your father? What about this family? What about your futures?”

“Dad destroyed his own future,” Ria said coldly. “He stole five hundred million dollars from his company. He spent one hundred and thirty million of it on you. He lied to everyone. He betrayed Mom. He did this to himself.”

“And we helped him,” Monica added, wiping her eyes. “We helped him destroy Mom. We helped pack her things. We believed his lies about her. We chose wrong. And now we have to live with that.”

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