The Wife He Forgot: Ashes to Empire

POV: ISLA WINTERS (Present Day)

The moment I walked into Jaxon Romano's boardroom, I made sure he wouldn't recognize me.

Six years ago, I'd been the plain, broken girl with oversized glasses and a desperate need for his approval. The girl who'd loved him so completely, she'd lost herself in the process. The ghost-wife who'd coded his empire in the dead of night while he slept in another woman's bed.

Today, I was Dr. Isla Vale, sleek, sharp, and worth more than his entire board combined.

"Gentlemen," I said, setting my Hermès briefcase on the polished mahogany table with a satisfying click. The sound echoed in the tension-thick silence. "Let's discuss why Apex Technologies is hemorrhaging money."

Twelve pairs of eyes turned toward me. Eleven looked impressed, grateful, maybe even a little intimidated by the woman their headhunter had called "the best in the business."

One pair, cold, calculating, impossibly blue looked right through me.

Jaxon Romano didn't recognize his own wife.

Perfect.

I let my gaze sweep the room with practiced indifference, landing on each face for exactly two seconds before moving on. When I reached him, I allowed myself three. Not long enough to seem interested. Just long enough to let the knife twist.

He looked older. Not in a bad way, distinguished, if I was being generous. Salt-and-pepper now threaded through his dark hair at the temples. The lines around his eyes had deepened. But those eyes, God, those eyes were exactly the same. Ice blue. The eyes that had once looked at me with such cold dismissal I'd felt myself disappearing.

He studied me with the same intensity he probably gave every important business acquisition. Assessing. Calculating value. Determining usefulness.

He had no idea he'd done this before. To me. Six years ago.

"Dr. Vale," his assistant, a nervous woman named Patricia, said from her seat near the door. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. As we mentioned, Apex is facing some... challenges."

"Challenges." I let the word hang in the air as I opened my briefcase and pulled out my tablet. "Is that what we're calling a thirty-percent decline in stock value over six months? A product launch failure that cost you fifty million? And a mass exodus of your top engineers to competitors?"

The board members shifted uncomfortably. Good. They should be uncomfortable.

Jaxon leaned back in his chair at the head of the table, steepling his fingers. "You've done your homework."

"I always do, Mr. Romano." I met his eyes directly. "Unlike some people."

A flicker of something crossed his face. Surprise, maybe. Or irritation. Men like him weren't used to being challenged.

Men like him had forgotten they'd created women like me.

"Shall we begin?" I pulled up the first slide on the large screen behind me. The Apex Technologies logo, the one I'd designed years ago in this very building

For the next forty minutes, I dissected his company with surgical precision. Every flaw. Every vulnerability. Every place where the foundation I'd built was now crumbling because the people he'd hired after I left didn't understand the elegant complexity of the original code.

"Your core architecture is sound," I said, pulling up a complicated diagram of system integrations. "Whoever built your original platform was operating at a level most coders never reach. The problem is, you've been patching instead of understanding. Your team is treating symptoms, not the disease."

"And you can fix it?" This from Gerald, the CFO. A good man. One of the few who'd been kind to me back when I was nobody.

"I can." I turned to face them fully, one hand resting on the table, the picture of confidence. "But I don't come cheap."

"We're prepared to pay for quality," Jaxon said. His voice was deeper than I remembered. Or maybe I'd just forgotten. I'd tried so hard to forget everything about him.

"I don't want just money, Mr. Romano." I smiled. "I want a seat on the board. Full access to all systems and personnel. Complete autonomy over the technology division. And," I paused for effect, "I want the title of Chief Technology Officer."

The room erupted in murmurs. Patricia's eyebrows shot up. Gerald looked intrigued. The other board members looked shocked.

Jaxon's expression didn't change. "That's asking a lot, Dr. Vale."

"I'm worth it." I held his gaze. "The question is, are you desperate enough to admit you need me?"

The words hung between us, loaded with meaning he couldn't possibly understand. How many times had I needed him? How many times had I been desperate for his attention, his approval, his love?

And how many times had he looked at me exactly like this, as if I was a problem to be solved, not a person to be cherished?

"We'll need to discuss this with the board," Gerald said diplomatically.

"Of course." I closed my tablet and slid it back into my briefcase. "You have until five PM tomorrow to decide. After that, I have other offers to consider."

It was a lie. I had no other offers. I'd engineered this entire situation to be here, in this room, with these people.

With him.

"I'll walk you out," Jaxon said, standing abruptly.

My heart kicked against my ribs, but I kept my face serene. "That's not necessary."

"I insist." He was already moving toward the door, opening it for me.

Old habits, I thought bitterly. He'd always been good at the gestures. It was the substance he'd failed at.

I walked past him into the hallway, acutely aware of his presence behind me. He was tall, I'd forgotten how tall. Or maybe I'd just been so small back then, I'd never really noticed.

The elevator was mercifully close. I pressed the button and watched the numbers climb. Fifteen floors. Surely I could survive fifteen floors.

"Have we met before?" Jaxon's voice came from beside me.

I nearly stumbled. Forced myself to turn slowly, professionally. "I don't think so, Mr. Romano. I'm sure I'd remember."

His eyes narrowed slightly, studying my face like it was a puzzle he needed to solve. "Something about you seems..."

"Familiar?" I supplied, injecting just enough ice into the word.

"Yes."

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. I stepped inside and turned to face him, my hand poised over the close-door button.

"Perhaps I have one of those faces," I said smoothly. "Or perhaps you've seen my work before. I've consulted for several major tech firms."

"Perhaps." But he didn't look convinced.

The doors started to close, and for one horrible moment, I thought he might stop them. Might step inside. Might look at me closely enough to see past the expensive haircut and designer suit and laser-corrected vision to the girl who'd once loved him with everything she had.

But he didn't.

The doors closed, and I was alone.

I sagged against the elevator wall, pressing a hand to my chest where my heart was trying to escape. Six years. Six years of preparation, of planning, of transforming myself into someone he could never dismiss or discard.

And he didn't recognize me.

I should have felt triumphant. This was what I wanted, to walk back into his world as a stranger, as someone powerful enough to bring him to his knees.

So why did it hurt?

My phone buzzed. Mia.

How did it go?

I typed back with shaking fingers: He has no idea who I am.

Three dots appeared immediately. Then: Good. Let's burn his world down.

A smile tugged at my lips despite the ache in my chest. Mia had been with me through everything, the divorce, the pregnancy, the terrifying first years as a single mother. She'd held me while I cried and pushed me to be stronger when I wanted to give up.

She'd been there when Jaxon hadn't.

The elevator reached the ground floor. I stepped out into the lobby of Apex Technologies, the building I'd helped build with my code, my sleepless nights, my naive belief that if I just worked hard enough, loved completely enough, he'd finally see me.

I'd been so stupid.

But I wasn't that girl anymore.

I walked through the lobby with my head high and I didn't look back.

Outside, the October air was crisp and sharp. New York City rushed around me, people and cars and the constant hum of life moving forward. I'd been gone for six years, but the city hadn't changed. It never did. It just kept moving, kept building, kept consuming.

Just like Jaxon Romano.

My town car pulled up to the curb. The driver, a professional I'd hired for the day, opened the door. I slid inside, and only then, in the privacy of tinted windows, did I let my mask slip.

My hands were shaking.

I'd just faced the man who'd destroyed me. The man who'd thrown me away like trash when I was eight months pregnant. The man who'd told me I was worthless, useless, a mistake.

And he hadn't even recognized me.

The car pulled into traffic, and I watched the Apex building disappear from view. Tomorrow, Gerald would call. Tomorrow, they'd accept my terms because they were desperate, and I was the only one who could save them.

Tomorrow, my revenge would truly begin.

But tonight... tonight I had to go home to my babies. To Rowan and Nova, my three-year-old twins who were my entire world. The children Jaxon didn't know existed. The heirs he'd never claimed because he'd never known about them.

They were with Mia at my penthouse in Tribeca. Safe. Loved. Happy.

Everything I'd never been in Jaxon Romano's world.

My phone rang. Unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but something made me.

"Dr. Vale." Jaxon's voice was like ice water down my spine.

I kept my voice steady. "Mr. Romano. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. The 'have we met before' comment. It was unprofessional."

"It's fine."

A pause. Then: "The board is meeting tonight. But between you and me, Dr. Vale, we need you. Whatever your terms are, we'll meet them."

We need you.

I closed my eyes against the bitter irony. How many times had I needed him? How many times had I whispered those exact words in the dark, hoping he'd hear me, hoping he'd care?

He never had.

"I'll await your formal offer," I said coolly.

"There's one more thing." His voice dropped slightly. "I know this is unusual, but would you have dinner with me? Tonight. To discuss the transition."

My eyes snapped open. "Dinner?"

"Just business," he clarified quickly. "I like to know the people I'm working with."

Liar. I could hear it in his voice. Curiosity. The same curiosity that had made him successful, he sensed something off, something he couldn't quite place, and he wouldn't rest until he figured it out.

I should say no. Should keep this professional.

But the temptation to sit across from him, to make him look at me, really look at me, and still not see his forgotten wife, it was too delicious to resist.

"Eight o'clock," I said. "Aquavit. I'll make a reservation."

"I'll be there." He sounded pleased.

I hung up before he could say anything else.

Then I let out a breath of pure, unadulterated rage.

Dinner. He wanted dinner.

Six years ago, I'd made him dinner every night. Set his place at the table. Waited in the cold, empty penthouse for hours while he worked late or fucked my sister or simply forgot I existed.

He'd never come home.

Now he wanted dinner with Dr. Isla Vale, the brilliant consultant he found intriguing.

I looked out the window at the city rushing by and felt something cold and hard settle in my chest.

Fine, I thought. Let's have dinner, Jaxon Romano. Let's see if you can figure out who I really am before I destroy everything you've built.

Just like you destroyed me.