LOGINShare
Chapter 78 : When It All Hits the Fan
Last Updated:
2025-02-03 03:51:29
Related chapters
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 79 : Trust Issues and Close Calls
Lucas’s POV However, the morning after the mysterious phone call, Mandy was quiet but focused as she’d barely slept, and I could see the weight of everything pressing down on her. I didn’t push her to talk. Instead, I focused on what needed to be done. Though we were meeting someone who could give us answers—a man who had once worked alongside her father at Horizon Enterprises but had managed to distance himself from the mess. It wasn’t easy tracking him down, but I had my resources. “Are you sure about this?” Mandy asked as we pulled into a secluded parking lot behind a rundown diner. I glanced at her, taking in the tension etched across her face. “No. But we don’t have many options.” She nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Let’s get this over with.” The diner was almost empty, save for a few regulars nursing their coffee. In the far corner sat our contact, a wiry man in his late fifties with sharp eyes that seemed to miss nothing. He looked up as we approached,
Last Updated : 2025-02-05The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 80 : Who’s Got Our Back?
Mandy’s POV The headlights tailing us didn’t feel like a coincidence. My stomach churned as Lucas glanced at the rearview mirror for the third time in under a minute, his jaw clenched. “Someone’s following us,” he muttered, his voice low but tense. Peter, slouched in the backseat, groaned. “They don’t give up, do they?” “Stay down,” Lucas ordered, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. “Mandy, call Ethan. Tell him to prep the security team.” I fumbled for my phone, my fingers shaking as I dialed Ethan’s number. The car behind us stayed close, the headlights glaring through the rear windshield like a predator stalking its prey. “Ethan,” I said as soon as he answered. “We’re being followed. Get the team ready.” “On it,” Ethan replied, his tone sharp. “Are you okay?” “For now,” I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay calm. “Just be ready.” I hung up and looked at Lucas. “What do we do?” “We lose them,” he said simply, his voice steady even as he
Last Updated : 2025-02-06The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 81 : Family Ties and Fractures
Lucas’s POVThe cryptic message sat on my phone screen like a ticking bomb. “‘The betrayal is closer than you think. Trust no one,’” I repeated, my voice grim. And Mandy sat across from me, her face pale and eyes shadowed with exhaustion. “What does that even mean? Who would send something like that?” I shook my head, the knot in my stomach tightening. “I don’t know, but whoever it is, they want us paranoid. And it’s working.” As the weight of the situation pressed down on us, the silence filled the room. So, I stood abruptly, pacing to the window overlooking the city. The lights below seemed distant, as a stark contrast to the chaos brewing in our lives. “We need answers,” I said, turning to Mandy. “And I think I know where to start.” Her brow furrowed. “Where?” she asked, as I grabbed my laptop from the desk and settled onto the couch.“Horizon Enterprises has always been a shadowy operation, but no one’s untouchable. If there’s a connection to us, it’ll be in their financ
Last Updated : 2025-02-06The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 82 : Digging Deeper, Running Faster
Mandy’s POVThe picture on Lucas’s phone was burned into my mind. As his family was unaware of the danger closing in.The tension in the room became much more suffocating as Lucas paced back and forth with his jaw clenched so tight I thought he might crack a tooth. His phone was still in his hand, the screen dark now, but the threat it carried lingered like a storm cloud. “We can’t stay here,” he said finally, his voice low and steady, though the fury behind it was unmistakable. “They know too much and they’re watching us.” I nodded, my heart thundering. “Where do we go?” Lucas stopped pacing, his sharp gaze locking on me. “Somewhere they can’t follow. But first, we need to figure out what they’re after.” I hesitated, my mind racing. The thought of leaving felt like admitting defeat, but staying was a risk we couldn’t afford. “I might have a lead,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. Lucas frowned. “What kind of lead?” “My dad had contacts,” I explained, my fingers twi
Last Updated : 2025-02-07The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 83 : When Trust Breaks
Lucas’s POV The man stepped out of the shadows, his face partially illuminated by the dim streetlight. I froze, my hand instinctively tightening around Mandy’s arm. “Elliot,” I said, my voice cold. Elliot was a name I hadn’t spoken in years—a former business partner who had disappeared after a falling out that nearly cost me my company. Now, here he was, standing in front of me, looking far too comfortable in the chaos. “We need to talk,” he said, his tone calm but edged with urgency. I didn’t move. “Talk about what?” He glanced at Mandy, his gaze lingering for a moment before shifting back to me. “Not here. It’s not safe.” Mandy stiffened beside me, and I could feel the tension radiating off her. “Why should we trust you?” she asked, her voice sharp. Elliot’s lips curved into a faint smile, though there was no humor in it. “You don’t have to trust me. But if you want to survive, you’ll listen.” With that, I exchanged a look with Mandy, her unease mirroring my own. A
Last Updated : 2025-02-07The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 84 : The Enemy Within
Mandy’s POVThe room felt like it was closing in on me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight. Lucas’s father had been involved with Horizon Enterprises, the very same Horizon that had been hunting us down for months. My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of this new reality. The betrayal was overwhelming—Lucas’s own flesh and blood, the man who had always been the picture of integrity, had been part of the enemy all along. I could barely look at Lucas as the weight of the revelation hit me. His father. The man who had always been the foundation of his strength, the man Lucas had trusted above all others, had been secretly working with the very people who wanted to destroy us. It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be true. But Ma'am Elizabeth's words echoed in my mind, and the look on her face had been one of utter fear. She wasn’t lying. “Lucas…” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Your father… he was working with them. He was part of Horizon.” He didn’t resp
Last Updated : 2025-02-08The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 85 : The Stakes Get Real
Lucas's POVThe weight of the folder in Mandy’s hands felt like a ticking time bomb. Grandma Claire’s revelation about Mandy’s father and nine was still hanging in the air, suffocating us both. Mandy’s eyes darted across the documents, her expression shifting between disbelief and determination. Her father and mine had been working to dismantle Horizon from the inside? And their death wasn’t an accident? The pieces were falling into place, but they painted a picture none of us were ready to see. “We can’t keep running,” Mandy said suddenly, her voice steady but sharp. “If our father was willing to risk everything to take them down, then so are we.” Her words hit me like a jolt. This wasn’t the same Mandy I’d known years ago—the woman who once shied away from confrontation. She was fierce now, resolute. But her determination also scared me. So, I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to ground her. “Mandy, we can’t rush into this. If we make one wrong move, we’re done.” She s
Last Updated : 2025-02-10The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 86 : The Ticking Clock
Mandy's POVThe world felt like it was closing in on me as I sat in the dark room, my hands bound to a cold metal chair. My mind raced, struggling to make sense of what was happening. How had they gotten to me? I tried to stay calm, but panic was creeping up. The thought of Lucas being out there, looking for me, gave me some comfort, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was part of something bigger. My father’s death. Horizon. The betrayal. It was all connected, and now I was a part of it—whether I wanted to be or not. Thank goodness Emily isn't anywhere stuck in the middle of these.However, I strained against the ropes, but they were too tight. My thoughts drifted to Lucas, to his face when he’d found the note. I’d seen the fire in his eyes, the rage that would push him to do whatever it took to get me back. But what if it was already too late? What if this was the beginning of the end? Suddenly, the door to the room creaked open, and I froze. A man stepped in, his prese
Last Updated : 2025-02-10
Latest chapter
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 109 : Checkmate
Lucas’s POVIvan’s smirk was a razor slicing through my control. He stood there, holding Emily, his grip just tight enough to send my pulse into overdrive. My daughter whimpered, her big, frightened eyes darting between me and Mandy. “Let her go, Ivan,” I said, my voice low, even. Controlled. Because if I let the rage take over now, I’d lose her. Ivan chuckled, shifting Emily slightly in his arms. “You think it’s that easy?” His gaze flicked to Mandy. “You’ve always been so predictable, Lucas. Always acting like you’re the one in control. But look at you now.” He tilted his head. “Powerless.” Mandy stood frozen beside me, her hand gripping my arm like it was the only thing keeping her upright. I could feel her shaking, but she didn’t break. She didn’t scream or lunge at him. She trusted me. And she should. I forced a slow breath. I couldn’t make a mistake. Not with Emily in his hands. “What do you want?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. “Money? Territory?” I knew what his
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 108 : The Calm Before the Storm
Lucas’s POVMy hands shook as I put the phone back in my pocket. The words burned in my mind, like an acid that wouldn’t stop eating away at everything I’d fought for.So, I turned to Mandy, her face pale, eyes wide with fear. Her breath was shallow, and for a split second, I saw everything I’d worked to protect hanging by a thread. Emily. Her daughter. My child, too, whether we’d ever said the words out loud or not.“Lucas…” Mandy whispered my name like it was a plea, but I didn’t have an answer. There was nothing to say because I felt it too—everything we’d been through, everything we’d fought for, now felt like it was slipping through my fingers.I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “We’ll fix this, Mandy. I promise you.” But even as the words left my mouth, I wasn’t sure if I believed them.Her eyes locked onto mine, but her voice cracked as she spoke. “How? How do we fix this when he has Emily?”I didn’t have an answer. Not yet.But I knew one thing for sure: Ivan had c
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 107 – Into the Lion’s Den
Lucas’s POVThe moment Viktor’s voice crackled over the radio, my stomach dropped. “Ivan knows we’re coming.” The air in the van grew heavy, like we were all holding our breath at the same time. Mandy’s hand tightened around mine, her nails digging into my skin, but I didn’t care. Her fear was my fear, and it was all too real. “What do you mean he knows?” James’s voice came sharp and fast over the comms. “He’s moved his men,” Viktor replied, his tone clipped. “The hub isn’t empty. It’s crawling with guards. This isn’t going to be the surgical strike we planned.” My jaw clenched, anger bubbling just beneath the surface. “Then we adapt,” I said, my voice steady despite the chaos brewing inside me. “We didn’t come this far to turn back now.” Viktor’s silence was answer enough. He wasn’t going to argue, but he wasn’t happy about it either. “Stay sharp,” he said finally. “And for God’s sake, don’t get yourselves killed.” The radio went dead, leaving us in a suffocating sile
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 106 : Shadows Closing In
Mandy’s POVThe dust from the van’s tires still hung in the air, gritty and suffocating. My hands were trembling as I clung to Lucas, the warmth of his body grounding me in the chaos around us. But Viktor’s words rang in my ears like a death knell. *This was just the beginning.* “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice shaky. “What beginning?” Viktor crouched beside us, his gaze sharp and unyielding. “Ivan isn’t the kind of man who lets go of his prey. He wanted to make a statement tonight, and he succeeded. But this? This was just his opening move.” I looked down at Lucas, his face battered and bloodied but alive. Relief warred with terror in my chest. “Then we need to stop him. We can’t just wait for him to come after us again.” James appeared at my side, his jaw tight. “She’s right. We can’t keep playing defense. If we don’t take the fight to Ivan, he’ll keep coming until there’s nothing left of us.” Viktor let out a dry laugh. “And what exactly do you propose, James? Marc
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 105 : The Clock is Ticking
Mandy’s POVThe bloodied man collapsed to the floor, his words echoing in the tense silence. Ivan’s men were here. The weight of those words hit me like a punch to the gut. Viktor didn’t flinch. He leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze flicking to the man crumpled on the floor. “So, it begins,” he said calmly, as though he’d been expecting this all along. James, however, wasn’t so composed. He grabbed my arm, pulling me back toward the door. “We need to leave. Now.” But Viktor’s voice cut through the panic. “Running will only get you killed. Ivan doesn’t leave loose ends.” James turned, his hand already reaching for his weapon. “Then maybe it’s time someone took care of Ivan.” Viktor chuckled, slow and deliberate. “Ah, the bravado of the unprepared. You think you can waltz into Ivan’s world and take him down? He’s been playing this game longer than you’ve been alive.” I stepped forward, my voice shaking but firm. “Then tell us what to do. If you know how to stop him, te
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 104 : Into the Lion’s Den
Mandy’s POVJames’s hand hovered near his jacket, ready to draw whatever weapon he had stashed there. But the man standing by the car didn’t even flinch. His calmness was unnerving, like he knew he had all the power in the world. “I said,” the man repeated, his voice sharp, “get in the car if you want to save Lucas. This isn’t a request.” I glanced at James, my heart pounding in my chest. “What do we do?” I whispered. James’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. “We don’t trust him, that’s for damn sure.” The man smirked, as if he could hear us. “You don’t have to trust me. But you don’t have time to argue. Lucas’s life is ticking away with every second you waste.” Something about the way he said it made my stomach twist. He wasn’t bluffing. Whoever this man was, he knew exactly what was happening, and he wasn’t here to play games. “We don’t have a choice,” I said, my voice trembling. “If there’s even a chance he’s telling the truth, we have to take it.” James hesitated, hi
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 103 : A Debt in Blood
Mandy’s POVThe room erupted into chaos. People screamed, chairs toppled, and glass shattered as the armed men pushed through the crowd. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. Lucas moved instantly, stepping in front of me like a shield. His hand gripped my arm, pulling me closer. “Stay behind me,” he growled, his voice low and commanding. The man who had barked Lucas’s name stepped forward, his gun aimed directly at us. He was tall, broad, and radiated an air of menace. “Mr. Vanderbilt, you’ve been a hard man to find. But you know how this works. You can’t run forever.” Lucas’s jaw tightened, his body coiled like a spring. “I don’t owe you anything.” The man smirked. “Oh, but you do. Ivan doesn’t forget, and he doesn’t forgive. You know that better than anyone.” “Ivan’s beef is with me,” Lucas said, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. “Leave her out of this.” The man’s gaze shifted to me, and I felt ice crawl up my spine. “Her? Oh, Lucas, you don
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 102 : A War on Two Fronts
Mandy’s POVDeliberate. The word echoed in my head like a gunshot, deafening and disorienting. Someone had intentionally hurt Emily. I felt Lucas’s hand tighten around mine, but I couldn’t look at him. My gaze was locked on the doctor, who stood there with an expression that teetered between pity and professional detachment. “What do you mean... deliberate?” My voice sounded foreign to my own ears—shaky, distant. The doctor hesitated, clearly choosing his words carefully. “The type of toxin we suspect—based on her symptoms—isn’t something one would encounter in everyday life. It’s... rare, and it would require deliberate exposure.” “Deliberate exposure?” Lucas’s voice was low, deadly. “Are you saying someone poisoned her?” The doctor nodded slowly. “That’s what we’re investigating. I’ve already informed the authorities. They’ll need to speak with you both as soon as possible.” Authorities. Police. Poison. I couldn’t process it. My daughter—my innocent, bright, beautiful
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 101 : The Thin Line Between Hope and Despair
Mandy’s POVThe room erupted into chaos. Nurses and doctors flooded in, their movements quick and precise, but to me, it felt like slow motion. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think—my feet rooted to the spot as I watched them surround Emily’s bed. “Clear the room!” one of the nurses barked, her voice sharp and commanding. “No!” I screamed, trying to push past Lucas, but his arms locked around me, holding me back. “Mandy, let them work,” he said, his voice firm but trembling. “I can’t leave her!” I cried, clawing at his chest, desperate to break free. “Lucas, let me go! She needs me!” His grip tightened, his face inches from mine. “She needs them to save her. Please, Mandy, don’t make this harder for her—or for yourself.” I sagged against him, my strength gone, and he guided me out of the room. The door shut behind us with a heavy thud, cutting me off from my baby. The hallway was eerily quiet compared to the chaos inside. My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, my hands t
