All Chapters of The Second Wife's Revenge : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The safehouse wasn't what I expected.I'd pictured something dark and industrial. All concrete and cameras. Instead, Dante pulled up to a beautiful Tribeca loft with floor-to-ceiling windows and warm light spilling onto the street."Mr. Rhodes owns the building," Dante said. Like that explained everything.Maybe it did.The elevator required a keycard. The hallway was empty. Quiet.And when the door opened, Marcus Rhodes stood there.I finally let myself feel it.Relief. Bone-deep, overwhelming relief.I wasn't alone anymore.Marcus was taller than I expected. Six-three at least. Dark brown hair slightly disheveled. Warm brown eyes with gold flecks catching the light.He wore jeans and a black t-shirt. Not the corporate billionaire I'd imagined.His nose had a slight crook. Like it had been broken once."Are you hurt?" His first words. Immediate concern.I shook my head. Couldn't speak.Dante behind me. "She was followed. Clean now."Marcus's jaw tightened. But his voice stayed gentle

After Rachel Cohen signed off, Sienna went to lie down.Pregnancy exhaustion, she said. But I saw the grief in her eyes when she mentioned Daniel's files.Dante disappeared to check security feeds.And suddenly it was just me and Marcus in his kitchen. City lights glittering through the windows. Three years of unspoken things hanging between us.He was washing dishes. I picked up a towel to dry.Domestic. Normal.Except nothing about this was normal.The silence was comfortable at first. Just the sound of running water. Dishes clinking.Then I asked. "Tell me about the coffee shop. What you remember."Marcus's hands went still in the soapy water."Everything. I remember everything."He rinsed a plate. Handed it to me."That was the worst day of my life up to that point. Court had just ruled against me. Temporarily, but it felt permanent. Flynn's lawyers got another delay.""I was broke. Exhausted. Losing hope. I went to that coffee shop because it was cheap. And my card declined."His

Monday morning, the world found out.Sienna filed divorce papers at 9 AM sharp. Rachel had reporters waiting.By 9:30, Flynn Lancaster's bigamy was trending on social media.By 10:00, my phone had two hundred notifications. Friends I hadn't spoken to in years. Former coworkers. Random strangers.Everyone wanted to know: was it true? Had I really married a bigamist? Was I the victim or the other woman?I turned off my phone. Watched the news coverage on Marcus's TV.And waited for Flynn to respond.Morning news was relentless. "Breaking: Tech CEO Accused of Bigamy."Sienna's official statement scrolled across the screen. Rachel had written it perfectly.Married Flynn seven years ago. Never divorced. He remarried while still legally married to her. Seeking divorce and damages."Mr. Lancaster engaged in a pattern of deception and fraud."Reporters stood outside Lancaster Global headquarters. Employees arrived for work, confused. Some covered their faces from cameras.A ticker at the bott

We spent hours going through Victor's files. Marcus at his computer, pulling up document after document. Sienna on the couch with her laptop, cross-referencing names and dates. Dante pacing, phone to his ear, coordinating security upgrades.And me, reading emails that proved my entire life had been a transaction.Flynn hadn't fallen in love with me. He'd acquired me.Like a stock option. Like property.The rage I felt was so pure it almost felt clean.Marcus leaned back from his screen. "This is unbelievable. He's been laundering money for The Covenant for six years."He turned the laptop toward me. Spreadsheets filled with numbers that made my head spin.Two hundred million dollars moved through shell companies. Offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Malta. Lancaster Global was essentially a front. Clean money in, dirty money out.His investors had no idea."This is what I found," Sienna said quietly. "What Daniel was investigating. This is why they killed him."Marcus

The makeup artist dabbed powder on my face. "Try not to cry," she said gently. "It'll streak."I looked at myself in the mirror. Aria Winters. Alessandra Ashford. Flynn Lancaster's victim.Soon to be: the woman who told her story on national television.Five million people would watch this interview. Five million witnesses to my truth.Rachel had coached me for hours. "Be honest. Be emotional. But stay focused on the facts."Beside me, Sienna was getting her own makeup done. We were doing this together. The way we'd done everything since that Tuesday night.In the green room, Marcus paced. Dante stood by the door. Rachel reviewed notes one more time."The interviewer is Diane Chen. Tough but fair. She'll ask hard questions. Don't avoid them."Rachel ticked off her fingers. "Did you know about Sienna? Why didn't you leave sooner? Are you after his money? Can you prove the abuse?""Answer honestly. Show emotion. But don't let her corner you."Marcus stopped pacing. "You don't have to do