Chapter 4: The Game of Proximity

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• Once my Wife   Chapter 35: Exposed on the Pedestal

  The proof Aris Thorne found against Helena Vance was sharp enough to cut in both directions. It finally confirmed what Jason and Bella had feared that Helena wasn’t just part of George Reed’s twisted empire. She was its new head. She was the one known as “The Weaver,” the woman working from the shadows, pulling the strings, finishing what George started. But exposing her wouldn’t be simple. Helena Vance wasn’t someone who panicked when cornered. She had power, deep connections, and more money than most people could dream of. She would fight like hell to protect what she’d built.With the evidence in hand, Jason and Bella brought Detective Harris into the loop. They showed him the encrypted emails, the money trails, the logs that linked Vance directly to George’s crimes. Harris, who’d always suspected George still had control over things, sat quietly for a moment, staring at the documents. Then he leaned back in his chair and said, “This is it. This ties her to everything; the embezzle

• Once my Wife   Chapter 34: Unmasking The Weaver

  Now that Dr. Aris Thorne had joined their fight, everything around Jason and Bella started to feel more alive and charged with a quiet urgency. Aris was strange, intense, and often lost in his own world, but he was also a genius. From the moment he arrived, he buried himself in the digital ruins of George Reed’s empire. He made very specific demands: complete silence in his private workspace, access to every single piece of old Reed International data they could find even files that had supposedly been deleted and a constant supply of his favorite herbal tea, which came from some rare, unknown corner of the world.He worked without pause, moving through the layers of encrypted emails, network trails, and digital traces left behind by the so-called Silent Partner; someone Aris now referred to as The Weaver.While Aris stayed hidden away, decoding the web of lies and hidden messages, Jason was still in the middle of his brutal uphill battle to save Reed International. Even now, George R

• Once my Wife   Chapter 33: The Chessboard Shifts: A Glimmer of Aris

  The truth about the Silent Partner shook Jason and Bella deeply. This wasn’t just about George Reed anymore. This was something much bigger, something far more dangerous. George might be gone, but someone else had taken over. Someone who knew how to hide, how to move pieces around without being seen. It was like a game of chess, but they didn’t even know who they were playing against.Jason knew he couldn’t fight this alone. He had reached his limit. Between managing Reed International, keeping Bella and Lila safe, and trying to bring down this invisible enemy, he was stretched too thin. He needed help. Real help. Someone who could understand the kind of deep, hidden digital traps being set around them.That’s when he thought of one person; Dr. Aris Thorne. Silas’s younger brother.Unlike Silas, Aris had nothing to do with crime. He was a genius when it came to computers and security, but he had left his family behind long ago. He hated what Silas stood for. Aris had always stayed far

• Once my Wife   Chapter 32: The Phantom Limb of Power

  New York felt strangely quiet after the chaos. Veronica Pierce had been destroyed in the media, and George Reed had disappeared behind the walls of a hospital, pretending to be a dying man. On the surface, it looked like the storm had passed. But Jason and Bella both knew better. The quiet was fake. It was like holding your breath before the next wave hit.George was not weak or sick. He was hiding behind that story, using it to shift attention and control the public’s opinion. Everyone now believed Veronica had acted alone. News stations showed old photos, played interviews with “sources” who claimed she had always been unstable. They said she was obsessed with Jason and jealous of Bella. The public believed it.“It’s sick,” Bella whispered, watching one of the reports. Her voice shook with anger. “They’re turning her into a mad woman. Like it was all just about jealousy. And George? He gets to stay clean?”Jason’s jaw tightened. He was always angry these days quietly, coldly angry.

• Once my Wife   Chapter 31: The Unseen Strings and a Vanishing Shadow

  The streets outside the safe house were in chaos.Police cars flashed their lights. Sirens screamed. People were shouting over each other. But inside the building, everything went quiet for Bella. She couldn’t hear the noise anymore, all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her chest.She was holding Lila close, too close. Her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter’s small frame, her face buried in Lila’s soft hair. Lila didn’t understand what had almost happened. She didn’t know how close danger had come. She was safe now, back inside the building’s secure zone. But Bella wasn’t. Not on the inside. Her heart was racing, and fear still clung to her like a second skin.Jason stood nearby, his face tight with rage. He wasn’t shouting, but every word he spoke into his headset came out cold and sharp. “Lock the exits. Sweep the entire floor. I want full security lockdown. Now.”Mark Jenkins and his team moved fast, spreading out like a trained response unit. The

• Once my Wife   Chapter 30: The Storm Breaks

  The silence in Jason’s office was suffocating, broken only by the crackle of Mark Jenkins’s voice over the secure communication line, each word slicing through the tension like a blade.“First vehicle has breached the outer perimeter,” Jenkins reported, voice steady but clipped. “Three armed operatives exiting. Moving towards the east gate.”Jason and Bella stood motionless, eyes fixed on the surveillance feeds. Onscreen, figures in black moved with alarming precision calculated steps, fluid maneuvers. These weren’t amateurs. They were professionals. Silas Thorne’s merciless signature was unmistakable.“Our team is engaging,” Jenkins continued. “Non-lethal force authorized. But if they resist, neutralize the threat.”A silent flash burst across one of the monitors, followed by a dull thud then another. Bella gasped, clutching Jason’s arm so tightly her nails dug into the fabric of his suit. Her fear was palpable. Jason remained stoic, his expression carved in granite, but tension radi