All Chapters of Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

91 Chapters

031 The Reckoning

(Cole)I slam Jade’s penthouse door so hard the glass panels shake.Jade’s voice floats from the living room. “Cole? What are you doing here?”She’s standing by the bar in silk and diamonds, the picture of composure.“What am I doing here?” I bark. “I just got thrown out of my own mansion by my wife. How’s your day going?”She sets her wine down and folds her arms. “She crashed my interview. We’ll fix it. We always do.”“Fix it?” I take a step closer. “You want to fix it with another photo op? Maybe another crying interview about how hard it is to raise a dying child while you destroy everyone around you?”Her expression darkens. “Don’t you dare throw Owen in my face.”“You’re the one who said this was all necessary,” I fire back. “You were the one who said we needed another child for a match. You told me to keep it from her. You said if she knew she’d never let Lucy be a donor.”Her chin lifts. “And I was right. You’d both still be waiting for miracles while our son was dying. I did

Last Updated : 2025-10-22

032 Served

(Jade)Cole’s gone. The argument keeps looping in my head—the look on his face when he asked if I’d done what Maya said I did.The way he looked at me like a stranger.I tell myself he’ll calm down. He always does. He needs me; they all do.The knock comes midmorning—hard, official.When I open the door, two uniformed officers stand there, polite but expressionless.“Ms. Mercer?”“Yes?”“Court order. We’re serving you a restraining order filed by Maya Vance. You’re restricted from approaching or contacting her or her daughter. You’re also prohibited from entering the Vance property or communicating through intermediaries. The conditions are in writing. Please sign to confirm receipt.”For a second, I can’t speak.“This is ridiculous.”They don’t answer. The officer holds out a pen. My hand shakes when I take it.I sign.When they leave, I tear the envelope open.Harassment. Coercion. Emotional abuse.I drop onto the couch, the papers sliding across the coffee table.The headlines will

Last Updated : 2025-10-22

033 The Return

(Maya)The mansion looks different without him.The corridors feel wider. The marble floors echo louder.The staff don’t speak above a whisper, and no one meets my eyes.The last of Cole’s things are being packed… his suits, his watches, his office is being locked because of privacy until he can get his files collected. I don’t need to go in there.Each piece that leaves makes the place feel different.I stand in the grand foyer and watch as the movers carry out boxes marked personal.This mansion used to intimidate me. Every corner is designed to make people small… the high ceilings, the mirrored halls, the silence.Now it feels like victory.When the elevator doors close behind the last mover, I go back to the living room in the main wing. I don’t go to the east wing where Lucy’s room is.I’ll have all our things that are still there brought into the main wing.I go to the main suite… the one Cole and I shared before everything changed. The one where I thought our love was real. Tha

Last Updated : 2025-10-22

034 The Plea

(Maya)It’s almost midnight when the knock comes.I tell myself I imagined it. No one comes to a mansion like this without permission.But then I hear it again… steady, deliberate.My stomach turns cold before my mind catches up. I know who it is before I even check the security monitor.Cole.He’s standing just beyond the entry lights, hands buried in his pockets, shoulders tense.I should walk away. I should call security, let them handle it.But it’s something about the look of him that doesn’t call the police. Instead, I unlock the door.The air between is heavy when he looks at me.He doesn’t say my name at first. Just stares, as if he’s trying to remember the right way to start.“You’re not supposed to be here,” I say. My voice sounds a lot steadier than my swirling insides.“I know.” His voice is quiet, frayed around the edges. “But I had to see you.”“You could be arrested. I should call the police.”“I don’t care. I have to try.”That part, I believe.He looks stripped down…

Last Updated : 2025-10-27

035 Confusion Reigns Supreme

(Maya)Then the sound of soft footsteps behind him. A quiet clearing of a throat.“Ma’am? Is everything okay here?”Security.The bodyguard stops a few meters away, silent, professional.He’s waiting for direction from me knowing full well that Cole should not be here. But of course, he respects the man he’s worked for and he doesn’t make a scene.I pull back first. The look in Cole’s eyes is satisfaction. I can see it clearly. He thinks he’s gotten what he wanted again. Maybe he has.The real question is what do I want?For a second I let myself consider exactly that. I picture him leaving the way he did tonight and never coming back… not in the small petty ways, but in the deeper, irrevocable way.That future feels possible and clean, and the thought lifts something inside me.It’s not joy, not exactly, but it’s a steadier feeling than the buzz of anger that had been keeping me going since coming back.Then I think of the other thing… the hollow ache that’s been growing since this s

Last Updated : 2025-10-27

036 Maybe. Maybe. Maybe

(Maya)Maybe he meant it.But will he ever do the work? I doubt it. How late is too late? I need to make a life for me without him.I go over the same possibilities until the questions blunt themselves. What if he’s genuinely sorry?What if Jade really was the architect and he was the gullible accomplice?If that is true, what should I do? Can I trust him with Lucy? With Owen?With the private parts of our life that mattered… the decisions I made when I had no one to defend me?The questions pile up. They do not resolve themselves.Love is not the same as forgiveness. Love is not the same as admitting you need to change. I have changed.I changed because I miraculously survived what happened.I don’t want to be cruel just because I can. I’m not Jade.I don’t need to prove anything to anyone but myself. But I want to show the world that there is evil here and that evil needs to be stopped.Survival made me into someone who will not accept being treated like a baby incubator. I’m not a

Last Updated : 2025-10-27

037 Headline Damage and Betrayal Again

(Maya)I wake to the daylight, but it isn’t the sunlight waking me up.It’s my phone. It won’t stop buzzing. I reach for it, still half-asleep, swipe the screen.Headlines. Mentions. Tags.Hundreds of them.COLE VANCE AND WIFE REUNITE IN MIDNIGHT KISSVANCE LOVE STORY BACK ON?EXCLUSIVE VIDEO SHOWS MAYA MELTING IN COLE’S ARMSI sit up and throw back the covers. “Shit! Shit. Shit. Shit.”One of the clips auto-plays. I see us.Right there inside of the mansion doors. In the grand foyer.Cole’s hand on my face. My eyes closed.The kiss. Deep and long.Captured from a few meters away, clear, close.There’s no doubt what’s happening. It’s not grainy. It’s clear and now the world thinks I’m crazy again.File a restraining order and then let him come here and kiss her. Who is she kidding?That’s what they are saying. I stop reading the comments because they are not kind. But can I blame them? I let this happen. I was a fool again.Whoever filmed this knew exactly where to stand and when to h

Last Updated : 2025-10-28

038 Can’t Wait To See Her Face

(Maya)“He told me he loved me,” I say quietly. “I’m a fool. I know.”Keaton’s tone is steel. “Every article paints you as unstable again. We need to change the story. But first I need to know if you’re in this for real?”I meet his stare. “I am. I had a slip but I still want to make this happen. Somehow.”“I think we have a chance.”“How?”“By revealing his under the table deals in your name. And if you can pull off this CEO thing, it’ll go in your favor.”He slides a single sheet from the folder. “My investigator’s already moving. We leak the holdings. No names yet. Just the pattern. Journalists will run with it.”“I’ll do my best. Don’t forget Jade has interior designs in her office that are clearly mine.”He looks at me. “You’re sure?”“Positive. And I have those designs and research right from their conception. I showed them to Jade and she said they were to ‘out there’ to hit.”“Can you prove that you showed her in any way?”“Like what?” I ask.“Like anyone else being there. Any

Last Updated : 2025-10-28

039 Hell Says Hi

(Maya) I don’t tell Keaton. I don’t tell Tessa.I go.I walk into Jade’s studio like I own the place.Jade is at her desk with two clients.She looks up when I open the door and walk in. Her eyes sharpen, the smile stays in place.“If you would both excuse me. I’ll be in touch with the design ideas. I have some trash to take out.”I glare at her.The clients get the signal. They leave.She doesn’t stand. “You can’t be here.”“Actually, I can.” I cross the room to her desk. “The restraining order is void. But you know that, don’t you?”“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”“Sure you don’t. But your lips are moving so I know you’re lying.”Then she grins. “Oh, you mean that kiss that’s all over the internet. Well, nothing to do with me. You’re the thirsty one when it comes to Cole.”“I don’t believe you. You are up to your scrawny neck in it.”“This is harassment.”“You put that footage out,” I say. “Like every other thing you’ve done to bring me down, but I’ll have the last laug

Last Updated : 2025-10-28

040 What Have You Done?

(Cole)The footage is everywhere. But not the footage I expect.The kiss has faded away.My phone starts vibrating before I even open my eyes. Calls, messages, alerts… all of them screaming one thing: Jade Mercer loses control. Attacks Maya Vance. Is Maya right about her?The kiss that should have fixed the story is gone from the front page.All anyone cares about now is her screaming, slapping, grabbing at Maya like she’s rabid. Every outlet has it. The audio, the swearing, the tears.I’ve seen her lose control before, just never where people could see it. What did Maya say to set Jade off like that?I watch it. There’s no clear audio apart from the noises of the catfight. And Jade flipping out.Her voice shakes as she calls Maya a psycho. She looks unhinged. And Maya… calm, sharp, not the one losing her mind.She clearly says she will have Lucy as a donor, no matter what. God, this is bad. She has no care whatsoever for my daughter. I thought she thought of Lucy like her own child.

Last Updated : 2025-10-29

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