He threw money on the bed after our one-night stand.
I threw it back in his face at his own inauguration.
By sundown, we were engaged. By the week's end — married.
Franklin Flemington needed a wife to secure his empire. I needed a miracle to save my family. For two years, we played our parts flawlessly — the golden couple the whole city envied.
Behind closed doors, I was invisible to him.
When the two years were up, I handed him divorce papers without blinking.
He stared at me like I'd lost my mind. "I've given you everything a husband should. What more do you want from me, Octavia?"
I smiled, signed my name, and walked out.
I thought that was the end. I thought I'd finally won.
I forgot one thing — Franklin Flemington has never lost anything in his life. And he has no intention of starting with me.
Game on.

The drive to the hospital parking lot felt endless, every red light and slow-moving car testing what little patience I had left. When I finally pulled in and spotted Franklin standing beside his car, his posture rigid with tension, my chest tightened before he even spoke.


"Someone kidnapped Octavia," he announced the moment I stepped out, his voice raw and edged with barely contained panic.


"What?" I said, the word escaping in a stunned breath as shock slammed into me.


"Whoever the person—or people—was, it seems they have eyes on us. Especially on her," Franklin continued, shaking his head as he stared at the ground, hands planted firmly on his hips. "They knew exactly when the perfect moment was to take her. Why didn't I do something about it? I should have hired bodyguards to protect her. Now her mother is worried sick…fuck!" He yelled the last word, the sound echoing off the concrete walls of the parking structure.


Chapter 143 - ~ 143