All Chapters of THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND BECAME HIS WIFE'S BOSS: Chapter 221
- Chapter 230
307 chapters
CHAPTER 142 PART 1
The Vega Entertainment boardroom filled with somber executives, all dressed in dark suits befitting the mourning period. The massive mahogany table stretched between them like a battlefield waiting for war. Santiago sat at the head—his father's chair—looking haggard but determined.Esperanza wheeled herself into the room, her face pale but her eyes sharp. As the second-largest shareholder in Vega Entertainment, she had every right to be present despite her recent medical ordeal. Diego had offered to accompany her, but she'd refused. Some battles had to be fought alone."Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Santiago began, his voice lacking the confidence his father's had always carried. "I know we're all still grieving, but business cannot wait. My father built this empire on decisive action, and I intend to honor his legacy by doing the same."Several board members nodded respectfully, though Esperanza noticed the doubt in their eyes. They were humoring Santiago, not belie
CHAPTER 142 PART 2
The other board members exchanged uncomfortable glances, unsure whether to intervene or let the siblings air their grievances."Isabella brings valuable skills to this position," Santiago continued, clearly regurgitating the talking points Isabella had fed him the night before. "She understands the creative process. She has relationships with directors, producers, talent agencies. She can negotiate deals that I—that we—might miss. The entertainment industry is different from traditional business. We need someone who speaks that language.""The only language Isabella speaks is manipulation," Esperanza countered. "Or have you forgotten how she manipulated Diego? How she played him for a fool while sleeping with his best friend?""That was years ago," Santiago protested weakly. "People change. She's changed. She deserves a second chance.""At the expense of our father's legacy?" Esperanza's voice cracked with emotion. "Santiago, I'm begging you. Don't do this. Wait. Take time to find som
Chapter 143 PART 1
Isabella stood in the penthouse suite Alejandro had rented under a false name, champagne glass in hand, watching the city lights glitter below. Just hours ago, she'd been a failed actress living in a roach-infested apartment. Now she was CEO and CFO of Vega Entertainment, one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the country.Life could change so fast when you knew how to play the game."To Santiago Vega," Alejandro said, raising his own glass with a cruel smile. "The biggest fool in the entire city."Isabella laughed, the sound bright and sharp. "I can't believe how easy it was. A few drinks, some strategic moaning, and the idiot signed over his entire empire without even reading the documents.""Did you see his face during that board meeting?" Alejandro moved behind her, his hands sliding around her waist. "Trying so hard to sound authoritative, like he had any idea what he was doing. Pathetic.""Completely pathetic," Isabella agreed, leaning back against him. "He actually
CHAPTER 143 PART 2
Esperanza was leaving the Vega Entertainment building when Isabella intercepted her near the parking garage. The clicking of expensive heels on concrete announced Isabella's approach."Esperanza," Isabella called out, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "We need to talk."Esperanza stopped her wheelchair and turned slowly. "I have nothing to say to you.""Well, I have plenty to say to you." Isabella moved to stand directly in front of her, arms crossed. "That little stunt you pulled in the boardroom today? It ends now.""Excuse me?""You heard me." Isabella's voice hardened. "You need to back off from Santiago. Stop trying to undermine his decisions. Stop questioning his leadership. He's the majority shareholder, which means he's in charge. Not you."Esperanza's laugh was cold. "You've been CEO for all of five hours and you're already giving me orders? That's bold, even for you.""It's not bold. It's realistic." Isabella leaned down, getting in Esperanza's face. "Your father's co
Chapter 144
Diego looked at his wife, the woman he'd saved from death itself, and shook his head slowly. "I can't make you that promise, Esperanza."Her face fell. "Diego—""Alejandro, Lucia, Vasquez—anyone who had a hand in your father's death will not go unpunished. Not on my watch." His voice carried a cold finality that made her shiver. "I won't let them get away with murdering Ricardo. I can't."Esperanza sighed deeply, her hands folded in her lap. For a long moment, she said nothing, just stared at the floor as if answers might be written there."Why do you think they killed my father?" she asked finally, looking up at him. "As far as I know, they had no problem with him. Alejandro's grudge was always against you. Lucia wanted revenge for her grandfather's death, but Father had nothing to do with that. Vasquez—I don't even know what his connection is. So why target my father specifically?"Diego hesitated. He'd initially thought it was just another way to get at him—kill someone he cared ab
CHAPTER 145 PART 1
The days following Diego's refusal to promise he wouldn't pursue vengeance were tense. Esperanza tried repeatedly to change his mind, approaching from every angle—logic, emotion, pleading, even anger."Diego, please," she said one evening as they ate dinner in strained silence. "Just let the police handle it. Let the system work.""The system doesn't work against people like Vasquez," Diego replied without looking up from his plate. "He's been evading justice for years. You think one more murder investigation will suddenly bring him down?""So you become judge, jury, and executioner instead?" Esperanza's voice rose. "That's not who you are anymore!""It's exactly who I am," Diego said coldly. "I just stopped pretending otherwise."The argument ended like all the others—with bitter silence and separate rooms. The strain on their marriage was palpable, a wedge driven between them by Diego's refusal to let go of his quest for revenge.But Diego didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Not while Ricard
CHAPTER 145 PART 2
Gael reluctantly backed out of the room, closing the damaged door as best he could behind him.The assassin actually smiled. "You're foolish to send your partner away. You think you can handle me alone? I've killed thirty-seven people. Military-trained operatives. Crime bosses. Politicians with private security. And you—a cripple with a gun—think you can intimidate me?""I'm not a cripple," Diego said softly. Then he moved.What happened next took less than five seconds. Diego's gun clattered to the floor as he closed the distance. The assassin launched a kick aimed at his head—textbook Krav Maga. Diego deflected it with his right hand while his left hand struck her solar plexus with precise force. She gasped, her breath stolen.Before she could recover, Diego's fingers found the pressure points on her neck—the brachial plexus, the carotid artery, the nerve clusters that could paralyze or kill depending on how hard he pressed. The assassin's eyes went wide as her body stopped respondi
CHAPTER 146 PART 1
Gael stood outside room 237, his back against the wall, listening to the muffled sounds from inside. He wasn't supposed to look. Diego had told him to wait, to watch the corridor, to make sure nobody came up the stairs.But when the scream erupted—that raw, inhuman, soul-stripped scream—Gael's eyes went automatically to the thin gap between the broken door and the frame.What he saw through that sliver of space made his blood freeze.The dark energy swirling around Diego's bare left hand wasn't like anything Gael had encountered in his years studying ancient rituals and mystical arts. He'd helped Diego perform the transference ritual, had been present when the Hand of the Saint had crumbled, had seen enough supernatural phenomena to fill three lifetimes.But this was different. This was something alive and malevolent, something that had its own hunger, its own intelligence, its own terrible will. Even through the door, even from six feet away, Gael felt it—a cold, crushing presence th
CHAPTER 146 PART 2
"Alejandro needed resources, connections, manpower. Vasquez needed someone to do the dirty work while he kept his hands clean enough for plausible deniability." Diego leaned back, rubbing his face. "It wasn't just revenge. I was wrong about that."He remembered standing at the cemetery, watching Alejandro tip his hat with that smug smile. He'd assumed it was purely personal—Alejandro taunting him with Ricardo's death, making Diego suffer by taking someone he loved.But now the full picture emerged, darker and more calculated than simple revenge.Ricardo's death had served multiple purposes simultaneously. For Alejandro—revenge against Diego by targeting his family. For Vasquez—eliminating the one man standing between him and the empire he'd coveted for twenty years.Business and revenge wrapped in a single assassination."They're planning to take over Vega Entertainment," Diego said, his voice hardening. "Vasquez wants the company. That's why Ricardo's dead. Not just to hurt me—to cle
CHAPTER 147 PART 1
Diego's patience was wearing dangerously thin. Every second he wasted arguing with Isabella was another second Santiago remained ignorant of the conspiracy unfolding around him.But Isabella stood planted in the doorway like a sentinel, her arms crossed, her expression carrying the smug satisfaction of someone who believed they held all the power."Santiago is extremely busy right now," Isabella repeated, her tone dripping with false professionalism. "If you have something to discuss that's relevant to Vega Entertainment, as CFO, I'm authorized to hear it. You can relay your concerns to me."Diego's jaw clenched. The audacity of this woman—his ex-wife who'd betrayed him, destroyed their marriage, and now somehow wormed her way into a position of power over his wife's family legacy—was almost breathtaking in its shamelessness."This has nothing to do with business," Diego said, keeping his voice level despite the fury building beneath the surface. "This is a family matter. A private co