She Was Never Just the Wife novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

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In the master bedroom of the Stein Mansion, heavy curtains shut out most of the afternoon light. Only a few thin streaks slipped through, falling across the carpet.

Laylah sat at her vanity. The woman in the mirror was still beautiful, but the strain showed. She had just touched up her makeup, trying to cover the dark circles and the fatigue in her eyes.

The shock from the police visit still hadn’t faded. Hiring a private investigator only made the waiting worse. She kept refreshing her phone, hoping for an update, yet dreading any news about Aiyana or last night.

Suddenly, her phone screen lit up. It wasn’t the investigator, but Daphne Cantrell, one of her so-called friends from the fashion world, known for being well-connected and always in the know.

The message was short, but it hit hard:

[This is bad. A few editors I know reached out, asking if someone is targeting your family. They’ve received anonymous submissions full of dirt from your years overseas, along with questions about your son’s background.

[There are photos, travel records, and financial documents. Nothing names you directly, but it’s obvious who it points to. You need to deal with this now.]

Laylah froze. It felt like a cold grip tightened around her heart.

She shot to her feet. The stool scraped and tipped over. Her phone slipped from her fingers and hit the carpet face-down.

She didn’t bother to pick it up. She just stood there. Her blood rushed to her head, then turned cold. A sharp ringing filled her ears. Her vision dimmed. Her breathing grew shallow.

Overseas. Dirt. Her son’s background. The words spun in her head, growing louder, sharper, biting at her like something alive.

‘How is this happening? I cleaned everything up. There were no loose ends. Almost no one knew. And the few who did would never talk. So who leaked it? Who’s coming after me?

‘Celia? No. Impossible. She couldn’t know any of this. Then who? Why now? Or was it Aiyana, that idiot, trying to save herself and dragging me down with her?’ she pondered.

Panic hit Laylah all at once. Compared to Aiyana’s stunt, this was on a different level.

If these leaks came out, they would ruin her completely. The secrets she had buried, and the truth about her son’s background, would drag her down with no way back.

Once exposed, the image she had built as a strong, independent single mother would fall apart. She would become a scandal, the kind people in high society pass around behind closed doors.

There was no way she could marry into the Lucero family. She might not even be able to hold on to her place in society. The scandal would drag the Stein family down with her. The stock would take a hit. And her parents…

19:32 Mon, May 11 d

Chapter 45

47

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‘No way! I can’t let this happen!’ she thought.

She dropped to the floor and grabbed her phone with shaking hands. The screen was intact. Another message from Daphne listed the outlets that received the submission.

Two were notorious tabloids known for digging into high society scandals. The third was a major financial publication.

Her fingers had gone numb. She could barely hold the phone. She typed back, hands shaking:

[Daphne, help me. I don’t care what it takes or how much it costs. You have to shut this down. It cannot get out. Please. Contact those outlets. I’ll pay anything. Do it now.]

After hitting send, she still didn’t feel safe. She added another message: [Find out who’s behind this. Anything you get, I’ll double the payment.]

When she finished, her strength gave out. She slumped back against the vanity, sitting on the floor, struggling to breathe. Cold sweat covered her forehead and palms. The silk clung damply to her back, leaving a chill against her skin.

She pulled her knees in, trembling, her teeth chattering. Whatever composure she had was gone. Only raw fear remained.

‘No. Daphne won’t be enough. I can’t handle it alone. I have to tell my parents. I need the family behind me,’ Laylah told herself.

She forced herself up and stumbled to the nightstand, grabbing the landline. Her fingers shook so badly it took several tries to dial her father’s private number.

“Dad, where are you and Mom? Drop everything and come home right now. Something’s happened. This is far worse than Aiyana getting arrested.” Her voice was sharp and unsteady, nothing like her usual softness.

On the other end, Nash was clearly alarmed. He kept asking what was going on, but Laylah didn’t have time to explain. “Just come back. I’ll explain when you get here. Hurry.”

She hung up and immediately called her mother, repeating the same rushed demand. By the time she finished, she felt drained.

She slid down the wall and sank to the floor, covering her face as her shoulders shook. She wasn’t crying. It was the kind of tremor that came with fear and anger pushed to the limit.

Time dragged on. Every second felt endless.

Laylah stared at her phone, desperately hoping for good news from Daphne, yet dreading what might come next. The air in the room felt heavy, almost suffocating

After what felt like forever, she heard a car pull in, followed by her parents’ hurried footsteps.

Laylah pushed herself up, quickly fixing her hair and clothes. She took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself, but the panic in her eyes gave her away.

19:32 Mon, May 11 d

Chapter 45

347

# 55 vouchers

Nash and Monica practically burst into the room. Monica still looked annoyed at having her break interrupted, while Nash’s expression was grim, his face dark with concern.

“What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?” Monica snapped first, her tone edged with irritation. “The lawyer is already with Aiyana. It’s not looking good, but he’s working on it.”

“That’s not the problem right now,” Laylah cut her off, her voice hoarse with urgency. “Someone’s coming after me. They’ve sent everything to the media, my past overseas and Ricardo’s background.”

“What?” Monica’s face went pale. Her handbag slipped from her hand.

Nash’s eyes went wide with shock. He stepped forward and grabbed Laylah by the shoulders. “Explain. What do you mean by everything? How did anyone find out?”

Laylah winced at his grip but didn’t pull away. She repeated what Daphne had told her, her voice breaking. “They’re this close to naming me. If it gets out, I’m finished. We’re all finished. The Lucero family will never accept me.”

“How could you be so careless?” Monica burst out, anger and panic mixing as she pointed at her. “I told you to stay out of trouble when you were overseas.

“And now this. You had a child, and you left all this behind for someone to use against you. What are we supposed to do?”

“Stay out of trouble?” Laylah shot back, jerking her head up. Years of resentment, fear, and anger broke loose.

Her eyes were red as she stared at her mother. “When things fell apart at home, when the money was running dry, and Dad was under so much pressure, you sent me overseas to ‘lie low.

“Do you really think that was all it was? You wanted me to find someone to rely on.

“By my second year, we were already on the edge. The Lucero family wasn’t even an option back then. They weren’t going to help us.

“So who do you

think

got

that money? It was me. I found a way. Did you think it just came out of nowhere?”

Her words landed hard, tearing open what they had kept buried for years.

Monica froze, caught off guard. Her mouth hung slightly open, her face shifting from flushed to pale.

“And you think that makes it right?” she snapped back, shaken and furious. “Yes, things were bad at home, but that doesn’t mean you had to go that far. And then you even had a child.”

“Enough,” Nash cut in sharply. “Both of you, stop.” His face darkened. He shot his wife a hard look, then turned to his eldest daughter, still caught in the surge of emotion.

He knew where the money had come from. He knew what she had paid. No one had ever said it out loud. Now that it was out, the shame was there, but the fear was worse.

The room went quiet, filled only with their breathing.

19:32 Mon, May 11 d

Chapter 45

6.47

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Nash took a few steady breaths, forcing himself to calm down. He walked to the window, standing with his back to them. When he turned back, his expression had settled. The warmth was gone, replaced by the sharp, cold focus of a businessman.

“This isn’t the time to blame each other,” he said in a low, steady voice. “We deal with two things first. Aiyana’s case comes first. The lawyer needs to have her take full responsibility.

“She acted out of jealousy, made a bad call, and got played. It has nothing to do with you. You handed her the drink without knowing anything. She cannot pull you into this.”

Laylah nodded quickly. That was exactly what she wanted.

“Second,” Nash went on, his gaze fixed on her. “We need to shut down the media. Whatever it takes. The family will cover it. Have your friend Daphne handle it.

“Do what needs to be done with the outlets. At the same time, use every connection we have to find out who’s behind this. If it’s Celia,” he said, his voice hardening, “we deal with her directly.”

Laylah nodded again.

Nash paused, then stepped closer. He lowered his voice, his tone firm and leaving no room for argument.

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