Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Lucia pushed open the door to her corner office, her mind already focused on the morning’s agenda. Three board meetings, a conference call with international investors, and a review of the quarterly reports that would seal Hart Industries’ fate. The early morning sunlight streamed through her floor-to-ceiling windows, casting golden rectangles across the polished marble floor.

But something was wrong.

A single red rose lay across her keyboard, its petals perfect and unmarked, as if it had been placed there moments before her arrival. Beside it sat a cream-colored envelope, her name written across the front in handwriting that made her blood

turn to ice.

Lucia’s hand froze halfway to her coffee cup. She recognized that handwriting. The careful loops, the slanted letters, the way the ‘L’ in her name curled just slightly at the top. She had seen it on birthday cards, anniversary notes, love letters written during the early years of their marriage when Marco still believed in romance.

Her secretary’s voice came through the intercom. “Ms. Smith? Your nine o’clock is here early. Should I send them in?”

“Not yet,” Lucia said, her voice steadier than she felt. “Give me ten minutes.”

She stared at the rose and letter as if they were dangerous animals that might attack if she moved too quickly. How had Marco gotten past building security? How had he gained access to her private office? The thought of him being in her space, touching her things, violated every sense of safety she had built around herself.

With trembling fingers, she picked up the envelope. The paper was expensive, the kind Marco had always preferred for important correspondence. She could smell his cologne faintly on the paper, the same scent that had once comforted her, that had meant home and safety and love.

Now it made her feel sick.

Lucia broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter, her eyes scanning the familiar handwriting that had once planned their life together.

*My Dearest Lucia,*

*I know you probably don’t want to hear from me, but I had to try one more time to reach the woman I fell in love with all those years ago. The woman who used to wear red roses in her hair when we went dancing. Do you remember those nights? Do you remember how we used to talk for hours about our dreams, our plans, our future together?*

*I’ve been thinking about our first apartment, the one with the leaky faucet and the broken heater. You always said it didn’t matter because we had each other. You made that tiny space feel like a palace just by being there. You had this way of finding beauty in everything, of making me believe I could be better than I was.*

*I know I hurt you. I know I made the worst mistake of my life when I let Margaret come between us. But seeing how you helped Lucas with his school tuition reminded me of the mother you’ve always been, the woman who puts our children first no matter what. That generosity, that love, it’s still there, isn’t it?*

*I’ve been lost without you, Lucia. These past months have shown me that everything I thought I wanted was nothing compared to what I threw away. Margaret isn’t you. She’ll never be you. She doesn’t understand me the way you did, doesn’t support my dreams the way you did, doesn’t love me the way you did.*

*I know you’re engaged to Alexander now, but I have to believe that what we shared for seventeen years means something. I have to believe that the woman who once promised to love me forever still has room in her heart for the man who loved her first.*

*Please, Lucia. Give us one more chance. Give our family one more chance. I’ll do anything to prove that I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the pain I caused you.*

*The red rose was always your favorite. I still remember the first one I gave you, how your eyes lit up when you saw it. I want to see that light in your eyes again. I want to come home to the only woman who ever truly understood my heart.*

*Forever yours,*

*Marco*

Lucia’s hands shook as she finished reading. The letter was perfectly crafted, hitting every emotional note that had once mattered to her. Marco had remembered details she thought he had forgotten. The red roses in her hair. Their first tiny apartment. The dreams they had shared when they were young and hopeful.

But as she read his words about Margaret, about his regrets, about wanting to come home, all she could feel was a cold fury building in her chest.

Chapter 99

He was trying to manipulate her. Again

Waing their shared memories as weapons, their children as leverage, their history as a tool to pry open her heart so he could crawl back into her life.

“Ms. Smith?” Her secretary’s voice came through the intercom again. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Kane is on line two. He says it’s urgent.”

Lucia pressed the intercom button. “Jennifer, could you come in here please?”

Her secretary appeared in the doorway, a young woman with sharp eyes and an efficient manner. When she saw the rose and letter on Lucia’s desk, her expression grew concerned.

“Is everything alright?”

“I need you to dispose of these,” Lucia said, gesturing to the rose and letter. “And I need you to find out how someone gained access to my office this morning. Check with security, review the camera footage, whatever it takes.” Jennifer quickly gathered the items, handling them like contaminated evidence. “Should I call the police? This could be considered harassment.”

“Not yet,” Lucia said. “But I want a full security report by this afternoon.”

As Jennifer moved toward the door, Lucia called after her. “One more thing. Contact Preston & Associates immediately. Tell them I want the Hart Industries audit accelerated. Whatever timeline they’re working on, I want it cut in half”

Jennifer nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Lucia walked to her window, looking out at the city below where somewhere Marco was probably waiting for her response to his romantic gesture.

The letter had brought back memories she had buried deep. Dancing with Marco when they were young. Dreaming about their future in that cramped first apartment. Believing that love could conquer anything. For a moment, she had felt the ghost of the woman she used to be, the woman who had loved Marco Hart with her whole heart.

But that woman was gone. That woman had been destroyed the night Marco chose Margaret over their marriage, the night her children helped pack her belongings, the night she realized that seventeen years of devotion meant nothing when a younger woman smiled at her husband.

Lucia pulled out her phone and scrolled to Preston & Associates’, number. She wanted to hear personally that the audit would be expedited, that Marco’s financial crimes would be exposed as quickly as possible.

“This is Lucia Smith,” she said when the lead auditor answered. I need to discuss the Hart Industries timeline.”

“Ms. Smith, we were just about to call you. We’ve found some irregularities that require additional investigation. The offshore accounts are more complex than we initially thought/”

“How much longer?” Lucia asked.

“With the current scope, probably six weeks. But if you need us to prioritize certain aspects.”

“I need everything prioritized,” Lucia cut him off. “Double the team size if necessary. I want a complete report on Marco Hart’ s financial dealings in three weeks maximum.”

“That’s ambitious, but doable if we reallocate resources from other projects.”

“Do it,” Lucia said. “Send me the additional costs. Money is no object.”

୮

She ended the call and returned to her desk, where the faint scent of Marco’s cologne still lingered in the air. The rose was gone, the letter disposed of, but the memories they had triggered remained.

Lucia tried to focus on her morning agenda, but Marco’s words kept echoing in her mind. The apartment with the leaky faucet. The red roses in her hair. The dreams they had shared when they were young and innocent and believed that love was enough.

She pushed the thoughts away and opened her laptop, diving into financial reports and market analyses. Numbers didn’tie. Numbers didn’t manipulate. Numbers didn’t send roses and romantic letters to try to reclaim something they had thrown

away.

But as the morning progressed, as she reviewed profit margins and growth projections, a tiny voice in the back of her mind began to whisper questions she didn’t want to hear.

*What happens when Marco goes to prison? What will you gain from his destruction? Will seeing him in handcuffs heal the wounds he created? Will his suffering make you whole again?*

Lucia shook her head, trying to dislodge the unwelcome thoughts. Marco had made his choices. He had committed crimes. He deserved whatever consequences came from those actions.

*But what about Lucas? What about Monica? What happens to your children when their father is locked away?*

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