All Chapters of The Wife He Forgot: Ashes to Empire: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

177 Chapters

Kira Russo

POV: ISLAClifford called with the news.Our head of security. The man who'd been protecting us for years."Found her. Kira Russo. Living in Manhattan under the alias 'Kira Rossini.' Wealthy. Connected. Dangerous."I put him on speaker so Jaxon could hear."Where exactly?""Upper East Side. Penthouse apartment. She runs something called the 'Dante Romano Cultural Foundation.'""Cultural foundation?" I repeated."Front for money laundering. We're looking into it. But on paper, she's clean. Philanthropist. Moves in elite circles. Art collector.""How has no one caught her?""Because she's smart. And patient. And very, very good at hiding in plain sight."The FBI pulled surveillance footage.Kira Russo had been everywhere.Outside the twins' school. At the park. At Nova's soccer games.Walking past our house. Multiple times.Not hiding. Just... watching. Learning. Planning."She's been stalking us for months," I said, feeling sick.Agent Drew nodded. "Classic predatory behavior. She's st

The Setup

POV: JAXONThe plan was risky.Borderline insane.But it was the only way to catch Kira in the act."We need her to make a move," Agent Drew explained. "Force her hand before she's ready.""How?" I asked."We leak information. Make it look like you'll be vulnerable. Away from the children."Clifford pulled up a diagram on his laptop. "There's a charity gala next Saturday. High-profile. Public. You're already invited.""We decline those," Isla said."Exactly. Which is why you'll accept this one. Leak through channels we know Kira monitors that you'll both be attending. Without the children.""And the kids?""Will be in a secure FBI location. Off-site. With armed guards and Mia.""Mia?" Isla asked.Clifford shifted slightly. "She volunteered. Said the kids trust her. They'll be calmer with her there.""That's brave of her," I said."She's..." Clifford cleared his throat. "She's remarkable."Agent Drew and I exchanged a look. Not subtle."So we go to a gala," Isla said. "While our childr

Interrogation

POV: ISLAThe FBI let us watch the interrogation.One-way glass. Jaxon and I on one side. Kira Russo on the other.She sat calmly. Too calmly.Hands folded. Perfect posture. Like she was at a dinner party, not under arrest."She doesn't look worried," I said."She should be," Agent Drew replied. "We caught her red-handed. Armed. Breaking and entering. Attempted kidnapping. She's looking at twenty-five to life."But Kira just smiled.The interrogation began."Ms. Russo, do you understand the charges against you?""I do.""Do you wish to have an attorney present?""No. I have nothing to hide."Agent Drew leaned forward. "You were caught attempting to break into the Winters residence. Armed. With two accomplices. What was your intention?""To retrieve what belongs to the family.""What belongs to the family?""Dante Romano's grandchildren. Rowan and Nova."She said it so casually. Like it was obvious."They're not property," Agent Drew said."They're Romano blood. That makes them ours."

The Statement

POV: JAXONWe filmed the statement in our living room.Simple. Direct. Honest.No fancy production. No PR team. Just me, sitting in my home, speaking from the heart.The FBI helped distribute it. Social media. News outlets. Everywhere.Within hours, it was everywhere.I looked into the camera and spoke."My name is Jaxon Winters. Formerly Jaxon Romano.I was born into a legacy of violence and fear. My father, Dante Romano, ran a criminal organization for over thirty years. He hurt people. Destroyed lives. Built an empire on suffering.And for many years, I was part of it.I'm not proud of that. I carry the weight of what I did every single day. The people I threatened. The lives I helped destroy. I can't undo it. But I can refuse to continue it.Years ago, I made a choice. I chose love over power. Family over blood. Forgiveness over revenge.I testified against my father. Against the organization. Against everything I'd been raised to believe was important.It was the hardest thing I'

Rowan's Therapy

POV: ISLAThe nightmares started after the Kira incident.Rowan would wake up screaming. Convinced someone was in his room. Coming for him."They're here! They're taking us!"It broke my heart.We'd told the kids age-appropriate details. That some bad people tried to come to the house, but the FBI caught them. That everyone was safe.But Rowan wasn't buying it."What if they come back?" he asked constantly. "What if there are more?""There might be," I admitted. Honesty felt important. "But we're being careful. We have security. We'll always protect you.""But what if you can't?"I didn't have a good answer for that.Dr. Sam, the child psychologist came highly recommended.Her office was warm. Colorful. Filled with toys and art supplies."This is a safe space," she told Rowan at the first session. "You can say anything here. Feel anything. No judgment."Rowan sat stiffly on the couch. Arms crossed. Guarded."I don't need therapy," he said."That's okay. We can just talk if you want."

Nova's Strength

POV: NOVAI'm not scared of the Romano name.I'm mad about it.Really, really mad.Rowan has nightmares. He worries about being bad. He goes to therapy to talk about his feelings.But me? I just want to punch something.Or someone.Preferably the people who keep trying to hurt my family.It started at school.A boy named Tyler. Fifth grader. Big mouth.He found out about our family. Saw Daddy's video that went viral."Hey Nova," he said at recess. "Your grandpa was a criminal!"I ignored him. Walked away.Like Daddy taught me. "Use your words. Not your fists."But Tyler followed me."What's wrong? Scared to admit it? Your whole family is trash!"I stopped. Turned around."Take it back.""Why? It's true. Your grandpa hurt people. That makes you bad too.""I said take it back.""Make me."So I did.I punched him right in the nose.The principal called Mom and Dad.I sat in the office, not sorry at all.Tyler was crying. His nose was bleeding. His mom was yelling.But he deserved it."No

Asher's Innocence

POV: JAXONFour-year-old Asher was blissfully unaware of everything.The threats. The danger. The Romano legacy.To him, life was simple: dinosaurs and whether we'd have pancakes or waffles for breakfast.Today was a pancake day."Daddy! Look!" He held up a plastic T-Rex. "He's eating Rowan's homework!""Asher, no!" Rowan grabbed his math worksheet from the dinosaur's jaws. "Dad!""Asher, we don't let dinosaurs eat homework.""But he's hungry!""Feed him pretend food.""That's boring."Welcome to my mornings.Isla had a morning meeting at Apex. The twins were at school. Grace was at her playgroup.Which meant I had Asher all to myself."What do you want to do today, buddy?""PARK!""Park it is."We got ready. Or tried to.Asher insisted on wearing his Spider-Man costume. Over his clothes. With rain boots. And a cowboy hat."You look very... unique," I said."I look AWESOME.""That too."At the park, Asher ran straight for the swings."Push me! Higher! HIGHER!"I pushed. He squealed wi

Marriage Check-In

POV: ISLAThree months after the Kira incident.Things had stabilized.Security was still present but less intrusive. The kids were adjusting. The loyalist network was fragmenting.Life was almost... normal.Which meant it was time for our weekly date night.Dr. Mitchell's homework. Mandatory. No excuses.And honestly? I looked forward to it now.Mia came to babysit.With Clifford… Again."We're not a package deal," she protested when they both showed up at the door."Could've fooled me," I said, smiling."He just... happened to be stopping by. For security reasons.""At 6 PM on a Friday?""Security doesn't have office hours!"Clifford looked sheepish. "I can leave if…""Don't you dare," Jaxon said. "Stay. Help Mia with the kids.""We don't need help," Mia insisted.Right on cue, Grace screamed from upstairs. Asher started crying. The twins began arguing."Okay, maybe we need a little help," Mia admitted.Jaxon and I escaped to our favorite Italian restaurant.The same one from our fi

The Book Deal

POV: JAXONWe finished the manuscript together.Isla and I, co-authors.She wrote her perspective. I wrote mine. We wove them together into something cohesive.Honest and brutal at times.But also hopeful.The story of how two broken people found each other, destroyed each other, then rebuilt each other into something better."ASHES TO EMPIRE: Breaking Free from a Legacy of Violence"We submitted it to literary agents.Within days, we had responses."This is powerful.""This will change lives.""I want to represent this."We chose an agent who understood trauma. Who got what we were trying to do.She submitted to publishers.The bidding war started within a week."Four publishers want it," our agent said. "They're offering significant advances.""How significant?"She named a number that made me dizzy."That's... that's a lot of money.""Your story is valuable. Unique. There's nothing else like it on the market."We accepted an offer from a major publisher.Big advance. Marketing budg

Advance Copy

POV: ISLAFinally, the advance copies arrived.A box on our doorstep. Plain. Nondescript.But inside: our story."They're here," I called to Jaxon.He came running. We stood over the box like it might explode."Open it," he said."You open it.""No you open it""Together?""Fine"We opened it together.And there it was."ASHES TO EMPIRE: Breaking Free from a Legacy of Violence"By Jaxon and Isla Winters.We each took a copy.Held it. Felt the weight of it."We wrote a book," I whispered."We really did."The cover was beautiful. Simple. Powerful.Dark background. Our title in bold letters. A phoenix rising from ashes.Perfect.We sat on the couch and read it. Cover to cover.Every word we'd written. Every truth we'd exposed. Every moment of pain and healing.It was surreal seeing it in print.Some parts made me cry.Jaxon's childhood. The abuse. The manipulation.My escape. The twins. The years apart.Finding each other again. Choosing love. Fighting for us.Other parts made me laugh.

...

13 14 15 16 17 18

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP