The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 162

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO_ CLAIRE’S POV

Lucian Dhark still changed rooms.

Even now- even with his empire collapsing publicly.

Even with the media tearing him apart daily.

Even with the whole country convinced he was some violent monster hiding behind expensive suits and generational wealth.

The moment he walked into Sinclair & Co, conversations shifted.

People stared.

Associates paused mid-step, assistants looked up from their desks.

And Lucian?

Lucian carried himself like none of it touched him.

Falling empire or not, Lucian Dhark still moved like he knew the world bent around him.

I spotted him through the glass walls of the conference room before stepping out toward him.

Something tightened painfully in my chest at the mere sight of him.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly as I approached, his dark eyes finding mine immediately.

“Probably not.”

But he stayed exactly where he was, the picture of dangerous composure.

Only the faint bruising along his jaw from the fight at the hospital hinted that something about him wasn’t quite right.

“We need to talk privately,” Lucian said.

The seriousness in his tone was enough to unsettle me.

I led him down the hallway quickly, towards Margot’s office which was just near the corner of the

executive floor.

Isolated enough for a private conversation.

I slowed slightly when we reached the door.

“It’s open,” Lucian noted immediately.

One glance confirmed it.

I frowned faintly.

1/9

+25 Banus

The office wasn’t supposed to be accessible right now.

But I pushed the thought aside- it was nothing important.

“The cleaners probably forgot to lock it,” I said, brushing it off. Stranger things have happened anyways.

Lucian still didn’t look convinced, but he followed me inside regardless.

The office was still untouched- and that hurt more than I expected.

Her coffee mug remained near stacks of legal paperwork, her reading glasses still rested beside the desk lamp.

Even her trench coat remained hanging near the back wall like she might walk in any second.

Lucian closed the door quietly behind us.

“I think Eva’s responsible for what happened to Margot.”

His voice was low, but somehow, hearing those words said out loud was deafening.

I stared at him.

“What?”

“The man in the hospital.” His jaw tightened slightly as he spoke. “I can’t get him out of my head.”

I moved closer slowly- almost subconsciously.

Lucian continued.

“I think he’s the same man from the incomplete security footage from the mansion. The one connected to the crash that nearly killed you.”

I felt a chill run down my spine.

“Margot suspected Eva was behind it,” he added. “She was pushing that investigation harder than

anyone.”

Oh, Margot.

“If this is true…” I whispered.

Lucian’s expression darkened.

“Eva is dangerous.” Lucian stated plainly. “More dangerous than any of us could have predicted.”

My stomach twisted.

Margot.

Her husband.

29

Her two children.

“What about Margot’s family?” I asked. “They could all be in danger.”

Lucian shook his head once.

“It’s you I’m worried about.”

That made me look at him fully.

“If Margot told you anything important before the accident…”

He didn’t finish- he didn’t need to. The implication was clear as day.

I moved quickly toward the wall safe hidden behind one of Margot’s paintings.

The code came back to me instantly- Margot had shown me weeks ago.

The lock clicked open and I pulled the thick file from inside.

Lucian frowned slightly as I placed it onto the desk.

“What is this?” He asked.

“Margot’s investigation.”

I opened the file slowly, letting Eva Sterling’s world unfold across hundreds of pages.

Multiple photographs, detailed reports and statements.

Destroyed careers.

Lucian’s expression changed page by page.

First, it was confusion. Then disbelief.

And finally, horror.

“What the hell…”

I flipped another page.

“Elise Sinclair.”

Lucian stopped. “That name rings a bell.” He said, then looked up sharply.

“Of course it does. She was a rising young actress years ago.” I explained.

Even I had seen one or two movies she starred in.

“Sinclair?”

“She’s also Margot’s younger sister.”

+25 Bonus

3/9

SVA, TERONG THEINDRED AND SIXTY TWO CLAIRES POV

+25 Bonus

His eyes widened slightly.

I continued quietly. He needed to hear the truth- everyone did.

“The rumors about her sleeping with producers for roles? Eva started them.”

Silence.

“She didn’t want Elise becoming competition.” I added. “She was Elise’s mentor and she set her up for ruin.”

Lucian looked back down at the file again slowly.

In the first photograph, Elise Sinclair looked young. Bright. Beautiful.

She had long, luscious blonde hair and bright green eyes, flecked with grey. She looked like a freshly dug up diamond.

In the next picture, she looked… ruined.

“She was twenty-two when it started,” I said softly. “She never recovered from it.”

The room fell silent again except for pages turning.

Everywhere; more names.

Models, actresses, socialites, even executives.

People Eva had dismantled quietly over years.

There was never enough evidence to prosecute or enough proof to even sue cleanly.

Just destroyed lives left behind like collateral damage.

“That’s what frustrated Margot most,” I said. “She knew Eva was responsible. She just couldn’t pin her down.”

Lucian looked physically sick now.

“I brought her into our home,” he said quietly, like realization was finally dawning upon him.

“I let her destroy everything.”

I looked at him carefully. He looked physically pained.

“We were already falling apart before Eva came into the picture.” I stated.

That mattered.

Because despite everything, I wasn’t about to let him rewrite history into something prettier than it was.

Lucian looked down briefly, then nodded once. “You’re right.”

4/9

CHATTERONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO CLAIRES POV

+25 Bonus

The honesty in his tone was so raw it hurt.

I continued flipping through the file before stopping suddenly.

A photograph of a man.

Unlike all the others, there were barely any notes on him- military background, former Navy operative.

My pulse quickened immediately.

“This-”

Lucian moved beside me instantly.

The second he saw the file, his expression hardened.

“That’s him.”

“You’re sure?”

“The build,” he said immediately. “The posture.”

Lucian had told authorities that the man wore a nose mask at the hospital, so he didn’t get a look at his

face.

But if somehow, his instincts were right…

I grabbed my phone quickly and snapped several pictures.

“This could help Nathaniel.”

Lucian kept staring at the file in silence, he barely seemed to hear me anymore.

“She was never pregnant.” He said abruptly.

I looked at him sharply.

“Excuse me?”

“Eva.”

His voice sounded hollow now. “She lied.”

For a second, I genuinely couldn’t process the words.

“She forged ultrasound results, she had a fake doctor covering her tracks,” he continued quietly. “I found out just before I asked her to leave.”

Shock moved through me slowly.

All this time.

All this destruction and chaos.

5/9

CART

+25 Bonus

All for nothing.

Lucian let out a bitter, broken laughter under his breath.

“I should’ve known, the way she only told me just when I wanted to end the affair,” he murmured. “The timing alone should’ve made me suspicious.”

I looked at him carefully now.

And for the first time in months-

Lucian Dhark looked exhausted.

Not physical exhaustion. He was soul-deep exhausted.

“I’ve learned more in the past few months than I did in years,” he said quietly.

His dark eyes lifted toward me.

“But I hate that it cost me the most important person in my life.”

My chest tightened painfully then. I opened my mouth, but the words weren’t coming

“Lucian…”

“I regret everything.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly undid me.

“I regret the affair. I regret the divorce. I regret what I said to you after the infertility diagnosis.”

A pause.

Then he continued, his voice dropping even lower than I thought it could.

“If I could go back, I would’ve fought the board harder.”

I swallowed hard.

“You really wanted an heir.” I stated.

“Yes,” he admitted. “But it was never your fault.”

His gaze held mine steadily.

“Because you already gave me something far more important.” I held my breath, unsure of what he would say next. “Purpose.”

Silence filled the office.

Intimate silence… dangerous.

Lucian stepped closer slowly.

6/9

UNDRED AND SIXTY TWO CLARE STEV

“I see that now.”

My heart started pounding painfully hard beneath my ribs.

Because he was close to me- too close.