001_The Weight of the Second Chance

Evelyn's POV The last thing I felt was the cold. It wasn’t a winter chill, but a heavy, draining cold that started in my chest and spread to my fingertips. I was lying on the floor of a penthouse I once thought was my sanctuary. Above me, Marcus was swirling a glass of wine. He didn't look like the prince I had betrayed my husband for. He looked like a butcher."You really were pathetic, Evelyn," he said. His voice was smooth, devoid of any of the love he’d promised me for years. "Did you think I’d actually keep a woman who turns on her own family so easily? If you did it to Caleb, you’d do it to me."Beside him, Sarah—my best friend, the woman who had coached me through every cruel argument with my husband—leaned down and smiled. "Don't worry, Eve. I’ll take good care of Caleb’s assets once we’re finished. And that brat of yours? I’m sure a boarding school in another country will handle him."I tried to scream, but my lungs felt like they were filled with water. The last thing I s

Last Updated : 2026-02-24

002_The poisoned apple

Evelyn's POVAfter breakfast with Leo—which consisted of him staring at me in total silence while I tried to make small talk about his dinosaur toys—I went back upstairs to my dressing room. I needed to think. In my past life, I had used my skills as a software engineer to build a backdoor into Caleb’s company server. I had told myself I was a "genius" for outsmarting his security team, but I was really just a thief working for a liar.I sat down at my laptop. My fingers flew across the keys. I wasn't just a socialite; I was a damn good coder. I had spent years hiding that from Caleb because Marcus told me "men like him" feel threatened by smart women. What a joke.I quickly navigated to the hidden partition where I had stored the spyware. My finger hovered over the delete key, but I stopped. If I just deleted it, Marcus would know something was up. Instead, I began to write a script that would feed the spyware "ghost data"—fake logins, empty folders, and corrupted blueprints.I was s

Last Updated : 2026-02-24

003_The Lion’s Den

Evelyn's POVI checked the time. It was barely noon. In my past life, I would have spent this time at a luxury spa, complaining about the temperature of the water while Marcus sent me suggestive texts. Today, I was sitting in the back of a car, clutching a small velvet box containing Caleb’s sapphire cufflinks.He didn’t actually need them—he had dozens—but it was the only excuse I had to get into the building without an appointment.When the car pulled up to the glass-and-steel monolith that was Kingston Enterprises, my stomach did a somersault. The security guards at the front desk looked at me with immediate, visible discomfort. They knew my face. They knew me as the woman who once made a scene in the lobby because the elevator was "too slow.""Good morning," I said, offering a small smile to the guard. "I'm here to see my husband."The guard blinked, looking like he expected me to start screaming. "Uh, yes, Mrs. Kingston. Let me call up to Margaret.""Thank you. I appreciate it,"

Last Updated : 2026-02-24

004_The final polish

Evelyn's POVWhen I got back from the office, the house felt quieter than usual. I went straight to Leo’s room. He was sitting on his play mat, quietly lining up his toy cars in a perfect, straight line. He didn't look up when I opened the door, but I saw his little shoulders stiffen."Hey, Leo," I said, sitting on the floor a few feet away from him. "Those are some fast cars."He looked at me quickly, then back at his toys. "Blue one is the fastest. Daddy says it looks like his car.""It does," I said. I picked up a small green truck. "Can I play for a minute? Just until I have to get dressed?"Leo nodded slowly. "Okay. But don't crash them. I don't like when they crash.""I won't crash them. I promise." We sat there for about fifteen minutes. I asked him about his lunch and if he liked the pancakes. He started to relax, even telling me about a bird he saw outside his window. It was a small, normal conversation, but to me, it felt like winning a marathon.Eventually, Mrs. Higgins kno

Last Updated : 2026-02-24

All Chapters of The Ice Queen's Return: Vengeance I. Velvet Heels: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

001_The Weight of the Second Chance

002_The poisoned apple

003_The Lion’s Den

004_The final polish