All Chapters of After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

Isabella The silence in the room was brittle, broken only by the sound of the double doors clicking shut behind me. Lucas didn't scream; instead, he leaned back in his leather chair, a chillingly calm smirk playing on his lips. He looked like a man who had already won."Ah, the guest of honor has arrived," Lucas said, his voice smooth and deceptively relaxed. He gestured to the room with a glass of scotch, despite the early hour. "I was just telling my son how predictable this all is. The dramatic entrance, the defiant stance... it’s all very cinematic, Isabella. But unfortunately, it doesn't hold up in the real world.""The real world is exactly why I'm here, Lucas," I replied, walking toward the center of the room. I didn't stop until I was standing right beside Gabriel. My voice was ice—professional, sharp, and utterly devoid of the fear I had felt last night. "Because in the real world, a Chairman who embezzles from his own infrastructure projects to hide a forty-percent loss doe

Isabella The kitchen was filled with the warm, savory aroma of garlic and herbs, a sharp contrast to the cold, sterile boardroom from earlier that morning. Mia was busy chopping vegetables while I kept an eye on the stove, but my mind was miles away. From the living room, the low, steady murmur of Gabriel and Elias’s voices drifted in—two tactical minds already beginning to map out a new world.Mia slowed her knife, glancing toward the door before leaning closer to me. "Be honest, Isa," she whispered. "How are you really feeling? Not the 'brave wife' version you showed at the office, but you."I stirred the sauce, watching the steam rise. "I’m relieved, Mia. Truly. Seeing him walk out of that building was like watching someone finally take off a suit of lead. But I’m also terrified.""Terrified of Lucas?""Not just Lucas," I admitted, turning to look at her. "I’m worried about the weight Gabriel is carrying. He says he feels free, and I believe him, but he just lost his father and hi

Gabriel The taillights of the SUV flickered one last time as I turned the corner, the image of Isabella standing on the porch etched into my mind. Leaving her behind felt like tearing off a limb, but I knew the mansion was a lightning rod. If Lucas was going to strike tonight, I wanted him striking at me, not at the woman who had already sacrificed her peace to save mine."Leo," I said into the hands-free comms, my voice returning to the cold, surgical tone of a man at war. "Keep two men on the front gate and two at the back. If she so much as opens a window, I want to know. And stay off the Thorne frequencies. Use the encrypted line only.""Copy that, Sir," Leo’s voice crackled back. "We’re on it."I didn't head toward the city. I drove deeper into the outskirts, toward the glass-and-stone fortress that Lucas didn't know I owned. As I pulled into the long, winding driveway of the secluded estate, the gates opened silently, recognizing my encrypted transponder.Waiting for me on the

Isabella The sharp, rhythmic rapping on my door pulled me out of a heavy, dreamless sleep. I sat up, disoriented for a second, before the weight of the previous night came rushing back."Isa! Wake up! It’s happening!" Mia’s voice was muffled but frantic through the wood.I threw on a robe and swung the door open. Mia stood there in her pajamas, her hair a mess, but her eyes were wide with excitement as she brandished her tablet like a trophy. Behind her, Elias was already dressed in a crisp suit, holding a cup of coffee and staring at the television in the hallway."Look," Mia whispered, thrusting the tablet toward me.The headline from The Financial Insider was live. "CRACKS IN THE EMPIRE: Allegations of High-Level Embezzlement Rock Thorne Corporate Holdings." The article was a masterpiece of strategic ambiguity—it didn't name Lucas, but it detailed "misappropriated infrastructure funds" and "untraceable offshore transfers.""That’s not all," Elias added, nodding toward the TV.I wa

Isabella The dining room table had become a sea of blue light and discarded coffee mugs. Even though Gabriel was miles away at his estate, his presence was everywhere—in the rapid-fire files he was sending back for verification and the short, clipped calls he made to check on our progress."Got it!" Elias whispered-shouted, his fingers flying across the keys. "I just cross-referenced the 'Aethelgard' shell company with the private dividends Lucas claimed were 'losses' last year. The numbers match to the decimal point. He wasn't just losing money; he was moving it into his own pockets right under the board's noses."Mia let out a low whistle, leaning over to look at his screen. "He really thought he was a ghost, didn't he? It’s almost pathetic how arrogant he got. He didn't even bother to use a third-party server for the final transfer.""He thought no one would ever dare to look," I said, hitting Save on the latest batch of site logs I had reconstructed. "He spent thirty years making