All Chapters of The Ex-wife's Secret Empire: Beg For Me, Mr Blackwood : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 The interior of the Maybach smelled of expensive leather and cold ambition. Maya leaned her head against the headrest, her eyes closed. The adrenaline that had fueled her exit was cooling into a hard, crystalline resolve. "The board is in a frenzy, Ma’am," Marcus, her primary assistant and the only person who knew her dual life, said from the front seat. "They’ve been waiting three years for you to stop playing house. The moment you authorized the credit freeze, Blackwood Industries' stock dropped twelve points in the after-hours market." "Only twelve?" Maya’s voice was devoid of its former warmth. "By tomorrow's opening bell, I want it in the dirt. Lucian thinks he built that empire on his own merit. It’s time he learns he was just a puppet I dressed in a suit." "And the villa?" Marcus asked. "List it," Maya said. "Technically, the holding company Astraea owns the deed. Give Lucian and his 'Moonlight' forty-eight hours to pack.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 The rain in Veridian City didn't just fall; it judged. Under the glowing neon of the Astraea Tower’s digital ticker, Lucian Blackwood stood drenched. The ticker scrolled relentlessly:[𝗕𝗪𝗜: -𝟰𝟮.𝟴%] [𝗔𝗦𝗧: +𝟭𝟱.𝟰%]His wealth was evaporating in real-time, flashing in vibrant red against the darkening sky. "Lucian, my shoes are ruined!" Cynthia wailed behind him, huddled under the measly shelter of a designer carry-on. "Call a car! Call the Ritz! Why aren't they answering your calls?" Lucian didn't move. He was staring at the sleek silver Bugatti as it peeled away from the curb, carrying his wife; his Maya into the arms of his most hated enemy. "She's playing us, Cynthia," Lucian rasped, his voice cracking. "She’s been lying to me for three years. Every kiss, every meal, every time she told me she believed in me... she was just waiting to pull the rug out." "She’s a monster!" Cynthia hissed, her eyes darting around. She w

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐔𝐩 The darkness wasn't just an absence of light; it was a weight. Maya’s first sensation was the metallic tang of blood in her mouth and the suffocating scent of stale industrial cleaner. Her head throbbed with a rhythmic, pulsing pain; the kind that suggested a heavy-handed dose of midazolam. She tried to lift her hands to rub her temples, but a sharp, biting cold around her wrists stopped her. Zip ties. Cheap, jagged, and effective. She opened her eyes. The blurry world slowly sharpened into a nightmare. She wasn't in a dungeon or a basement. She was in a high-security storage unit, the corrugated metal walls humming with the vibration of a nearby highway. The "Astraea Star" sapphire still hung around her neck, its blue light mocking her in the dim emergency lighting. "The Phoenix looks a bit more like a plucked chicken in this light, doesn't she?" The voice was shrill, cutting through Maya’s drug-induced fog like a serrated blade. Cynthia Thorne ste

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 The air in the boardroom, once charged with Maya’s victory, had turned stagnant and cold. The name on the screen; the simple, elegant ‘V’ felt like a phantom hand tightening around Maya’s throat. "Dead men don't sign digital ledgers, Leo," Maya whispered, her eyes refusing to leave the tablet. "We buried him. Five years ago. The plane went down over the Alps. There were no survivors." "The DNA was fragmented, Maya," Leo reminded her, his voice shaking. He was the one who had identified the remains back then, a trauma that had turned him into the recluse the world thought he was. "We assumed it was him because of the watch. But $500 million doesn't just walk out of a blind trust unless the person has the primary biometric key. A key that is literally encoded into the bone marrow." Maya felt the floor beneath her obsidian-heeled shoes tilt. Her father, Arthur Vance, had been a titan of industry; a man who taught her that a crown was only wor

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 The physical letter felt like a shard of ice against Maya’s palm. The parchment was heavy, smelling faintly of the dried lavender her mother used to keep in her stationery box; a scent that should have been a comfort but now felt like a warning from the grave. Don’t trust the boy. Maya’s eyes flickered to the reflection of the doorway behind her. Leo was there, hunched over his consoles, his fingers dancing across the keys with a frantic, loyal energy. He was her "boy." Her baby brother. The only person who had never asked her for anything but her safety. Was the letter referring to him? Or was it Lucian, the "boy" she had married before he became a monster? Or Xavier, the "golden boy" of the Thorne dynasty? "Sis? I’ve got the perimeter schematics for the Manor lunch," Leo said, turning around. His eyes were bright with caffeine and adrenaline. "If Dad or Xavier bring hidden security, the floor sensors in the dining room will pick them up instantly. Y