Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Margaret sat in her car outside the sleek office building that housed Hart Industries, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles had turned white. She had been sitting there for twenty minutes, gathering the courage to walk inside and face the woman who was destroying her marriage from beyond the grave of their divorce.

The past week had been hell. Marco barely spoke to her except to hurl accusations and insults. He spent his days plotting ways to “get Lucia back” and his nights drinking himself into a rage-filled stupor. The bruises on his face from Alexander’s fists had faded, but his obsession with his ex-wife had only grown stronger.

Margaret couldn’t compete with a ghost. She couldn’t fight a memory that Marco had elevated to sainthood in his twisted mind. But she could confront the flesh-and-blood woman who was pulling her husband away from their marriage with every breath she took.

The elevator ride to the executive floor felt endless. Margaret’s reflection in the polished steel doors showed a woman barely holding herself together, expensive clothes that couldn’t hide the exhaustion in her eyes, perfect makeup that couldn’ t cover the stress lines around her mouth.

The receptionist at Hart Industries looked up with professional politeness. “Can I help you?”

“Margaret Hart to see Lucia Smith,” Margaret said, her voice steadier than she felt. “It’s urgent.”

The young woman’s eyebrows rose slightly at the name. Everyone in the building probably knew about the Hart family drama by now.

“I’m sorry, but Ms. Smith is in meetings all afternoon. Perhaps I could schedule an appointment for next week?”

“Tell her it’s about Marco,” Margaret said firmly. “Tell her his wife needs to speak with her immediately.”

After a brief phone call, the receptionist directed Margaret to a conference room. “Ms. Smith will be with you shortly.”

Margaret paced the glass-walled room, her heels clicking against the polished floor. Through the windows, she could see the bustling office space, employees working diligently, the hum of success and ambition filling the air. This was Lucia’s world now, far removed from the domestic life she had once shared with Marco.

The door opened, and Lucia entered with the confident stride of someone who controlled millions of dollars and hundreds of employees. She wore a charcoal gray suit that probably cost more than Margaret’s car payment, her hair pulled back in a style that suggested efficiency without sacrificing elegance.

“Margaret,” Lucia said, her voice professionally neutral. “This is unexpected.”

Margaret turned to face her husband’s first wife, the woman she had replaced, the woman Marco now wanted back more than anything in the world. Up close, Lucia looked even more formidable, poised, successful, completely in control of herself and her surroundings.

“We need to talk,” Margaret said, her voice wavering slightly.

“About what?” Lucia settled into a chair at the conference table, her posture relaxed but alert.

Margaret remained standing, needing the height advantage to feel any sense of power in this conversation. “About Marco. About what you’re doing to my marriage.”

Lucia’s eyebrows rose. “What I’m doing to your marriage?”

୮

“He came to see you,” Margaret said, her voice gaining strength. “He begged you to take him back, and you played games with him. You led him on, made him think there was hope.”

“I told him no,” Lucia said calmly. “Very clearly. Multiple times.”

“Then why is he still obsessed with you?” Margaret’s voice rose. “Why does he spend every day talking about ways to win you back? Why does he look at me like I’m nothing compared to you?”

Lucia’s expression didn’t change. “That sounds like a question for your husband, not for me.”

Margaret felt her carefully controlled composure beginning to crack. “You know exactly what you’re doing. You’re keeping him dangling on a string, making him think he can have you back if he just tries hard enough.”

“Marco’s delusions are his own responsibility,” Lucia replied. “I have no control over what he chooses to believe.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Margaret slammed her hand on the conference table. “You love the power, don’t you? You love knowing that even though he left you, he still wants you more than he wants me.”

Lucia’s expression grew colder. “Is that what you think? That I enjoy watching my ex-husband have a mental breakdown?” “I think you enjoy being wanted,” Margaret said desperately. “I think you get satisfaction from knowing that two men are fighting over you while you sit in your ivory tower playing the victim.”

Chapter 96

Lucie stood slowly her movements controlled but dangerous. “Careful, Margaret. You’re walking into territory you don’t

weal to explore.”

Amt?” Margaret laughed bitterly. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re nothing but a homewrecker who can’t let go of a man who doesn’t want her anymore.”

The words hung in the air like a challenge. Lucia’s eyes narrowed, and when she spoke, her voice was deadly quiet.

“A homewrecker?” Lucia repeated. “That’s interesting coming from you.”

Margaret felt a chill run down her spine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Lucia said, moving closer, “that between the two of us, only one person destroyed a marriage. Only one person pursued a married man. Only one person helped pack another woman’s belongings while planning to move into her house.”

“Marco came to me.”

“Maroo was married when you started sleeping with him,” Lucia cut her off. “Marco was married when you helped him plan his exit strategy. Marco was married when you picked out furniture for the house you knew would be yours once you got rid of the inconvenient wife.”

Margaret’s face flushed red. “That’s not how it happened.”

“Isn’t it?” Lucia’s voice was ice cold. “Because I remember you measuring my kitchen for new countertops while I was still living there. I remember you choosing paint colors for my bedroom while I was still sleeping in it.”

“You were already separated.”

“We were having problems,” Lucia corrected. “Problems that you encouraged and exploited for your own benefit. So tell me, Margaret, between the woman who was married to Marco for seventeen years and the woman who seduced him away from his family, who exactly is the homewrecker?”

Margaret felt tears of rage and humiliation burning behind her eyes. “You don’t understand what it’s like.”

“What what’s like?” Lucia demanded. “Living with the man you helped me divorce? Discovering that he’s still in love with the wife he threw away for you? Realizing that you’re just a rebound who got a ring?”

Each word hit Margaret like a physical blow. “Stop it.”

“Realizing that no matter what you do, no matter how beautiful you are or how hard you try, you’ll always be second choice?” Lucia continued relentlessly. “Welcome to karma, Margaret. This is what it feels like to reap what you’ve sown.”

Margaret was sobbing now, her carefully applied makeup running down her cheeks. “I won’t let you destroy my marriage.”

“I’m not destroying anything,” Lucia said. “Your marriage is destroying itself. Marco’s obsession with me is his choice, not my doing.”

“Stay away from him,” Margaret said desperately. “Stay away from my husband.”

“Your husband came to my fiancé’s home uninvited,” Lucia replied. “Your husband reached for me against my will. Your husband is the one who can’t stay away.”

“If you don’t stop this, I’ll make you pay,” Margaret threatened, her voice breaking with hysteria. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my home, my marriage, my life. I’ll destroy you if I have to.”

J

Lucia stared at Margaret for a long moment, taking in the desperation, the tears, the complete breakdown of the woman who had once seemed so confident and in control.

“You already tried to destroy me once,” Lucia said quietly. “You succeeded, actually. You and Marco together managed to take away my home, my marriage, my family, my identity. You left me with nothing.”

Margaret wiped her eyes, hope flickering in her expression. Maybe Lucia would show mercy, woman to woman.

“But I built something better from the ruins,” Lucia continued. “I found real love with a man who values me. I created a new family that chose me freely. I built a life that no one can take away from me.”

The hope in Margaret’s eyes died.

“So go ahead,” Lucia said, moving toward the door. “Try to destroy me. Threaten me. Plot against me. Do whatever you think will save your marriage to a man who wishes you were someone else.”

She paused with her hand on the door handle. “But remember this. I survived losing everything once. I’m stronger now than I was then. And I have Alexander Kane protecting me.”

Margaret felt the blood drain from her face at the mention of Alexander. The man who had beaten Marco bloody for reaching for Lucia. The man with unlimited resources and the will to use them.

“If I were you, Lucia said, her voice soft but deadly, “I’d worry less about destroying me and more about what happens

Chapter 96

when the FBI finds those offshore accounts Marcu has been hiding. Because when that happens, you’ll discover exactly how quickly a marriage can end when one spouse becomes a liability.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify