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Chapter 129 – Empire of Her Name

Author: Billie Patsy
last update Last Updated: 2025-11-05 20:43:58

LENA

The next few days passed in a haze of sleepless nights and constant movement. Security guards rotated shifts outside the penthouse, drones hovered discreetly above the building, and Roman’s private investigators worked round the clock. Every creak, every buzz of my phone made my heart leap into my throat.

That last message—You missed me—still sat on my screen like a curse. I hadn’t shown it to Roman. Not yet. He was already on edge, and I couldn’t bear to see that flicker of fear in his eyes again.

Instead, I focused on keeping things normal, at least for Isabella. Morning pancakes. Cartoons. Tiny moments of laughter between all the tension. Roman tried too—he read her bedtime stories, even though his phone never stopped buzzing. But I could see the lines deepening on his face, the sleepless nights wearing him down.

On the fourth morning, he disappeared into his office right after breakfast. No one was allowed in. The door stayed shut for hours, and every time I walked past, I co
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  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 205

    LENAI didn’t answer Billy right away.Agreeing to follow him felt like stepping into something I didn’t fully understand yet. But continuing to drive with no direction, with three tired children in the car and my heart still shaking, felt far more dangerous. I needed a place to stop. Not to decide anything. Just to stop.“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll follow you.”Billy nodded, relief flickering across his face. He walked back to his car, and moments later, the engine started. I waited until he pulled out before starting mine, following his car from behind.The road stretched forward quietly. There were no honking cars, no impatient drivers, no noise. Just the hum of engines and the steady rhythm of tires against asphalt. Billy drove at a careful pace, slow enough that I wouldn’t struggle to keep up.I kept my eyes fixed on the back of his car, afraid that if I looked away for even a second, I’d lose him.Isabella leaned forward between the seats. “Mommy, where are we going?”“Just so

  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 204

    LENAI didn’t even realize my foot was pressing harder on the gas.All I knew was that my heart was pounding too loudly in my chest, my thoughts racing faster than the road unfolding in front of me. I kept replaying that message in my head. He knows you left. Be careful. I didn’t know who sent it, didn’t know what they meant exactly, but my body reacted before my mind could catch up.Run.That was the only word echoing inside me.I wasn’t running toward anything. I was running away. Away from Roman. Away from Vivian. Away from the house that no longer felt like home and the marriage that felt like it was built on secrets layered over lies.I glanced at the rearview mirror.Isabella was leaning her head against the window, eyes half-closed, her small body swaying gently with the movement of the car. Benjamin and Nataniel were asleep, their chests rising and falling in sync. That sight grounded me for a second.Whatever happened between me and Roman, whatever twisted mess Vivian had cre

  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 203

    LENAThat night, I didn’t answer Roman. I stared at my phone until the screen dimmed, his name still burned into my vision like an afterimage. Ava had offered to take it from me, but I shook my head. This wasn’t about avoiding him forever. I just needed a moment. One quiet, fragile moment where my thoughts weren’t tangled with his voice, his explanations, his guilt, or his promises. But quiet never came. I lay on the mattress in Ava’s guest room, the lights turned off, the curtains half-open. The moonlight spilled across the floor in pale strips, illuminating the shapes of my children as they slept. Benjamin had kicked his blanket off again. Nataniel was curled up on his side, thumb tucked into his mouth like he used to do as a baby. Isabella lay between them, awake, her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. I shifted closer to them, careful not to wake the twins, and brushed Isabella’s hair back gently. “Mommy?” she whispered. “Yes, sweetheart.” “Why are we sleeping here?” I hes

  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 202

    LENAI closed the guest room door as quietly as I could.Benjamin and Nataniel were finally asleep, sprawled across the bed Ava had prepared for them, their small chests rising and falling in that steady rhythm that always calmed me. Isabella had insisted on sleeping beside them, one arm protectively draped over her brothers like she was their shield against the world. I stood there for a moment longer than necessary, watching them, memorizing the sight as if I was afraid it might disappear.They were my anchor.If it weren’t for them, I wasn’t sure I’d still be standing.When I turned around, Ava was there in the hallway, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She didn’t ask anything. She didn’t rush me. She just opened her arms.The moment I stepped into them, everything I’d been holding back shattered.I cried into her shoulder, hard and ugly, my body shaking so badly my knees almost gave out. Ava tightened her grip on me, steady and warm, like she was physically holding m

  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 201

    LENAThat night, I woke up without knowing why.It wasn’t a sound. It wasn’t a dream. It was that strange instinct women get, the one that tugs you out of sleep before your mind can catch up. My eyes opened to darkness, the room quiet except for Roman’s steady breathing beside me.Then I saw the light.A faint glow pulsing on the nightstand.Roman’s phone.He had put it on silent, I knew that. He always did. But the screen lit up anyway, soft and insistent, like it was calling only to me. Roman didn’t stir. He was sleeping deeply, his face turned slightly toward me, peaceful in a way that felt cruel.For a moment, I just stared.I told myself not to look.I told myself that if I reached for that phone, whatever I saw would change something forever. And I was so tired of things changing without my consent. I had promised myself I wouldn’t search for pain anymore. I had promised I would wait for honesty instead of digging for it.My hand still moved.Slowly. Carefully. Like I was afraid

  • Stepdaughter by Day, Wife by Night   Chapter 200

    LENAOther people wouldn’t understand what I felt.They would expect screaming. Crying. Breaking things. They would expect me to lose my mind after discovering my husband was doing something behind my back. And if it had been another woman, maybe I would have. Maybe I would have shattered into pieces so sharp I wouldn’t recognize myself.But it wasn’t another woman.It was my mother.Vivian.That was the part no one could wrap their head around. Not Ava. Not Billy. Not even Roman, if I was being honest. Betrayal has many faces, but betrayal that shares your blood feels different. It doesn’t stab you in the chest. It hollows you out slowly, until you reach inside yourself and realize there’s nothing left to grab onto.The night I finally put everything together, I didn’t cry.That scared me more than anything.I sat alone in the living room long after everyone had gone to bed. The house was quiet in that deep, heavy way that only happens past midnight. Roman was asleep upstairs. The ch

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