Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Wife He Forgot: Ashes to Empire: Kabanata 151 - Kabanata 160

POV: ISLAOur lawyer thought we were insane."You want to meet with Romano victims? Privately? Without legal protection?""Yes.""That's a terrible idea. They could record you. Use your words against you. Sue you.""Let them. We need to do this.""Why?""Because it's right. Because hiding behind lawyers and PR teams isn't healing anyone. Because these people deserve to be heard."She sighed. "Fine. But I'm arranging a mediator. And you're signing waivers. And if anyone gets violent…""There will be security," Clifford interjected. He'd insisted on being there. "Discreet. But present."We arranged the meeting through a victims' advocacy group.About fifteen people agreed to come. Families of people who'd been hurt, killed, or destroyed by Dante's organization.The meeting was in a neutral location. Community center. Private room.Jaxon and I arrived early. Nervous. Terrified."We don't have to do this," he said."Yes, we do.""What if they hate us? What if this makes it worse?""Then a

POV: JAXONThe tech industry moved fast.New companies. New innovations. New competition.But this was different.Zenith Corp appeared seemingly overnight. Aggressive. Well-funded. Ruthless.And they were targeting Apex directly.Isla first mentioned it over breakfast."There's a new competitor. Zenith. They're poaching our employees.""How many?""Three this month. All key engineers. They're offering double salary.""That's aggressive.""That's war."She wasn't wrong.Over the next few weeks, Zenith's attacks escalated.They undercut Apex's prices. Spread rumors about Apex's stability. Filed frivolous lawsuits."They're trying to destroy us," Isla said during one of her stress calls."Can they?""Maybe. If they keep hemorrhaging our talent and undercutting our revenue. We're strong, but we're not invincible.""Who's behind it?""Some kid. Adrian Cross. Thirty-two. Brilliant programmer. Harvard dropout. Came out of nowhere with billions in funding.""Billions from where?""No one know

POV: JAXONThe exposé dropped on a Wednesday morning.Major tech publication. Front page. Devastating."Apex Technologies: Built on Blood Money?"The subheading was worse: "How Isla Winters Knowingly Built Her Empire on Romano Crime Family Wealth"I read the entire article. Every brutal word.It claimed Apex used Romano family resources to fund its early growth. That Isla knew. That she benefited from criminal enterprise.And here's the thing: part of it wasn't false.I had used family money. Twelve years ago. When I first started investing in tech companies. Before Isla was involved. Before everything changed.But the article twisted it. Made it sound like Apex was currently funded by criminal enterprises. That Isla knowingly, actively built her company on dirty money.It was a lie. But it was close enough to the truth to be believable.My phone rang. Isla."Have you seen it?""Yes. I'm so sorry""It's Adrian. Has to be. The timing. The specific details. Only someone with access to o

POV: ISLAThree days passed.No word from Adrian.The exposé continued to circulate. The damage was done.Apex's stock stabilized at a thirty percent loss. The board was in crisis mode. Employees were nervous.And we heard nothing."What if it didn't work?" I asked Jaxon one night."Then we deal with it. Like always.""I'm tired of 'dealing with it.' I want this to be over.""Me too."Then, on the third day, my phone rang.Unknown number."Hello?""Mrs. Winters. It's Adrian Cross."My heart stopped. "Adrian.""I want to meet with your family. In your house.""Why?""Because I need to see. I need to understand. Please."The vulnerability in his voice was new. Different."When?""Tonight. If possible."I looked at Jaxon. He nodded."Okay. Seven PM."I told the kids we were having a guest."Who?" Nova asked."A friend of Daddy's. Mr. Cross.""The one who's been mean to you?" Rowan asked.Smart kid. He'd overheard more than we'd thought."Yes. But he's trying to be better. So we're going

POV: ISLAThe letters kept coming.One every few days. Like clockwork.Always hand-delivered. Always evading security somehow.Always the same message: variations of "you'll pay," "your children will suffer," "Dante's legacy lives." Blah blah blahWe reported it to everyone. Police. FBI. Clifford's entire security team.But whoever was doing this was a ghost.No fingerprints. No DNA. No pattern to when they were delivered.The kids didn't know.We intercepted the letters before they could see them.But the tension was affecting them anyway."Why are there so many security guards now?" Rowan asked."Just being extra careful.""About what?""Nothing specific. Just... careful."He didn't believe me. But he didn't push.I barely slept.Every noise was a threat. Every shadow was danger.Jaxon was the same. We'd pass each other at 3 AM. Both checking locks. Both checking kids."We can't live like this," I said one night."I know.""So what do we do?""We catch whoever's doing this.""How? T