All Chapters of The Underestimated Ex-husband: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
81 chapters
Cortez's Track
The news reached Cortez by accident.He was in his study with a glass of half-finished whiskey when one of his men barged in with a tablet in hand “Sir, you need to see this” the man said breathlessly.Cortez raised an unimpressed brow “It better not be another excuse.”“No, sir” the man handed him the tablet.The ice in Cortez’s glass clinked “What?”“I checked twice…. It’s him. He’s alive.”Silence filled the room thick and dangerous for a second and then Cortez leaned back slowly, his lips curving into something dark, “Impossible… He was supposed to rot in custody.”The man swallowed “Apparently not.”Cortez’s jaw tightened “Then someone higher than me wanted him out.”He stood pacing toward the window but his reflection was all he saw with rage, disbelief, and something more sinister forming beneath.“Find out everything” he said quietly, “Where he’s living. Who he’s talking to. Every move.”The man hesitated “Sir, if he’s under government protection, that could…”“I said find out
Victor’s Control
Elena had stopped counting how many nights she’d slept in Victor’s house.It was meant to be “temporary protection” at first just until things settled but somehow days stretched into weeks and she was still there living in his world by his rules.Victor was careful in the beginning, he brought her breakfast, checked on her constantly, and acted like the perfect gentleman but that perfection was cracking lately.He stood at the doorway that morning watching her as she poured coffee into a cup “You didn’t answer my call last night,” he said quietly.“I was asleep.”“You weren’t.”Elena looked up startled “Excuse me?”His eyes held hers calm and unblinking but there was something darker in them now “I called twice. You were online. Why didn’t you pick up?”She set the cup down “Victor, I don’t need to report every second of my life to you.”He stepped closer “You’re living under my roof, Elena. The least you can do is answer when I call.”There it was again; the control wrapped in concer
New Target
The sun was already sinking behind the city skyline when Seraphina locked her office doorThe day had dragged endlessly with meetings, reports and smiles she didn’t mean and all she wanted now was silence, just a quiet drive home and maybe call Adrian on her way if she could find the right words this time.She sighed clutching her purse tighter as she walked through the near-empty parking lot but for a second she thought she heard another pair of footsteps behind her then she glanced back but saw nothing.“Long day, Miss Seraphina?”She froze at the voice that came from behind one of the parked cars and two men stepped out dressed too neatly to be random strangers even when their smiles didn’t reach their eyes.“Can we talk for a minute?” the taller one asked politely adjusting his cufflinks as if they were about to discuss business.“I’m not interested” she replied trying to sound calm though her pulse raced.The second man moved subtly cutting off her path “We just have a message fo
The Lingering Gaze
The night after the parking lot incident was too quiet and Seraphina sat on Adrian’s couch with her knees pulled up and a blanket around her shoulders but the silence between them was thick and heavier than the bruise-colored sky outside while Adrian stood by the window but he hadn’t said much since they got back, he only just watched guarded but she hated that silence because it made her thoughts louder.“Are you always this quiet after saving someone?” she finally asked with her voice breaking the still air.He turned slightly with one hand still in his pocket “I’m just making sure we weren’t followed.”“You’ve checked the windows twice already” she said softly, “You even disconnected the Wi-Fi. I think we’re safe.”Adrian didn’t move “Cortez’s men don’t stop when they fail once. They regroup.”Seraphina sighed, setting the blanket aside “So what now? You keep watch all night while I pretend not to be terrified?”“Something like that”The calm in his tone irritated her “You make it
Extra Guarded
Seraphina’s front door now had two new locks, a reinforced frame and a security camera staring at her like an unblinking eye while Adrian stood in the hallway giving quiet instructions to two men in plain black suits while his tone was clipped and professional “Rotate shifts every eight hours and no one enters without clearance and I want vehicle IDs logged and faces recorded. Got it?”The men nodded and left.Seraphina watched them go with her arms crossed tightly “You’re kidding me, right?”Adrian turned to her “No.”“You brought bodyguards to my apartment.”“They’re not bodyguards, they’re trained agents.”“Oh, that makes me feel so much better” she said sarcastically, “So now I’m living in a government bunker?”Adrian’s tone stayed calm “This isn’t about comfort. It’s about being safe.”She exhaled shaking her head “I don’t need this. I don’t need you turning my life into some… classified operation.”He took a step closer “Seraphina, Cortez won’t stop until he breaks me and that m
Re-planned Fury
Cortez stood in the center of the space surrounded by shadows and men who didn’t dare breathe too loudly while his coat was thrown over a chair beside him with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt flecked with blood that wasn’t his while he was unnervingly calm which made the few men kneeling before him even more terrified.Three people went missing and were never found again the last time Cortez was this quiet.One of the kneeling men with blood dripping from his nose tried to speak “Sir, we didn’t…”“Didn’t what?” Cortez interrupted with his voice low and almost gentle “Didn’t finish the job? Didn’t think before acting?” He crouched slowly with his eyes level with the man’s, “Didn’t expect Adrian Hart to show up?”The man swallowed hard trembling “He came out of nowhere. We… we didn’t have time to…”“Time” Cortez said softly standing upright, “That’s your excuse?” He walked a slow circle around them with the sound of his shoes sharp on the concrete “You had one assignment. One. Woman
The Heated Moment
The mansion had grown too quiet.Seraphina had watched Adrian drift through the halls like a ghost for days as he spoke little, ate even less and spent hours on his laptop.It wasn’t the aftermath of a battle that scared her anymore but it was this silence between them.Every time she tried to reach him he slipped away with an excuse of a meeting or that curt nod that meant not now.The storm finally broke tonight.She found him in the study with the fire burning low and his sleeves rolled up with a half-empty glass of whiskey sweating on the desk beside his hand while the light cast shadows across his face deep, sharp, and tired.“Adrian” she said softly stepping closer.He didn’t look up “You should be resting.”“I’ve been resting for three days” she replied with her tone even but edged with frustration, “You haven’t looked at me once in those three days.”He sighed and finally met her gaze but his eyes were colder than the whiskey in his hand “Because looking at you reminds me of w
The Briefing Room
The drive to the facility felt longer than it should have, maybe because every mile took Adrian further from her.The government complex stood like a scar in the middle of nowhere with steel, silence and security fences that even the air felt sterilized and void of warmth and as he stepped out of the car with his coat catching the wind and for a moment he just stared at the tall, faceless building.Adrian walked in with quiet precision as he always did, measured steps and emotion locked behind an expression that gave nothing away.The door at the end of the hall opened with a click.Three men were waiting inside with all in dark suits, all wearing that familiar brand of calm that came from too much control he same kind he’d been trained to wear.“Mr. Hart” one of them said while gesturing toward the seat across the table, “It’s been a while.”Adrian didn’t answer but took the seat with his hands folding neatly in front of him while a folder sat in the middle of the table with his name
Seraphina’s Prison
The first thing Seraphina felt was cold.Her wrists ached when the metal cuffs cut into the tender skin just enough to remind her she couldn’t move and as she blinked her vision blurred.When her eyes finally adjusted and she saw where she was, a vast warehouse that was empty except for her chair, a few stacked crates, and a single camera on a tripod in front of her.Her heart kicked hard in her chest while she tried to steady her breathing slow even and then a voice crackled through the intercom smooth and casual as if this was a conversation over wine “Good morning, Miss Doyle.”She froze at the sound of the voice.It was Cortez.Her stomach twisted “What do you want?” she said with her voice trembling only once before she caught it.“What I’ve always wanted” he replied with a tone that held quiet arrogance as the kind of man who never needed to raise his voice to make you listen, “But today, I’m interested in something else.”There was silence and then a faint buzz from the interc
Elena's Confessions
The message had been playing in Elena’s head for hours.She had seen the report on the news and her world had started spinning again just like it always did when Adrian’s name appeared in the chaos.She sat in her living room with her lights off and hands trembling around a half-empty glass of water while her reflection in the dark TV screen looked foreign with tired eyes and a pale skin like a woman haunted by choices she could never undo.When her phone buzzed again but she hesitated before answering “Gaius?” Her voice cracked slightly.“Mrs. Hart” he said quietly with his tone controlled and professional as always but there was fatigue and maybe pity “I didn’t expect you to call.”“I didn’t expect to either.”There was a pause and that kind that stretched between guilt and pride.Elena took a breath “You’re Seraphina’s lawyer, right?”“Yes”“She’s still missing?”He hesitated “We have leads but nothing solid.”Elena closed her eyes. The guilt pressed harder. “And Adrian?”There was