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Home / Urban / THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND BECAME HIS WIFE'S BOSS / Chapter 173 PART 1
Chapter 173 PART 1
Author: Al-Razzaq
last update2026-03-11 23:29:20

"Both of you, stop!" Esperanza's voice cut through the rising tension like a blade. She wheeled herself between Diego and Santiago, her hands raised. "This isn't helping anyone! We need to calm down and discuss this rationally!"

But Diego barely heard her. The rage coursing through his veins was unlike anything he'd felt in years—not since his days as the Ghost, when anger had been a tool to be controlled and directed. Now it was raw, consuming, threatening to overwhelm the careful discipline h
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  • CHAPTER 183 PART 2

    "Weak?" Isabella's laugh was harsh. "He's not weak. He's being manipulated. By you. By your threats. By your constant interference in his happiness.""His happiness?" Esperanza's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Is that what you're calling this disaster? You using him for his money while working with the people who killed our father?""There you go again with the conspiracy theories," Isabella said, but something flickered in her eyes. "Diego really did a number on you, didn't he? Filling your head with paranoid fantasies about criminals and schemes.""Diego told me the truth. Something you wouldn't recognize if it bit you."Isabella's expression hardened. "You know what your problem is, Esperanza? You're a widow trying to stop young love because you can't stand seeing other people happy. You lost Diego—or he abandoned you, who knows—and now you want everyone else to be as miserable as you are."The words hit like physical blows, and Esperanza felt tears prick her eyes before she blinked

  • CHAPTER 183 PART 1

    Esperanza's hands slammed on the desk sergeant's counter with enough force to make papers jump. "I don't care about your protocols! I don't care about your resource limitations! My husband is missing and you've buried his case like it doesn't matter!""Ma'am, please calm down—""I will not calm down!" Esperanza's voice rose to a near-shout, drawing attention from everyone in the station. "I want to speak to your superior! Now! And while I'm waiting, I'm making some calls of my own!"She pulled out her phone and began dialing with furious precision. First, her family's lawyer. Then a city councilman who owed the Vegas a favor. Then a journalist friend who specialized in exposing police corruption and incompetence.Each conversation was loud, deliberate, and designed to create maximum embarrassment for the department."Yes, that's right," she said into the phone, her voice carrying through the entire station. "They've classified my husband's disappearance as low priority despite clear e

  • Chapter 182

    The tranquilizers had worn off enough for Diego to regain full consciousness, though his limbs still felt heavy and uncooperative. He found himself strapped to a cold stone slab in the center of the warehouse, his arms and legs bound with chains that had been etched with the same arcane symbols covering the walls.Around him, twelve figures stood in a perfect circle, all wearing dark robes identical to Severus's. The cult of Diablos, Diego realized with sinking dread. Twelve fanatics who actually believed the madness their leader preached.Candles burned at cardinal points around the ritual space, their flames casting dancing shadows that made the symbols seem to writhe and move. Incense smoke filled the air with a cloying sweetness that made Diego's head swim."This is a bad idea," Diego said, his voice still rough from the drugs. "If you do this ritual, you'll all die. Horribly. Painfully. I'm trying to save your lives by telling you this."Severus, his broken nose now bandaged but

  • CHAPTER 181 PART 2

    Later that night, Isabella's phone rang with Alejandro's number. She answered while Santiago was in the shower, stepping onto the apartment balcony for privacy."We need to accelerate the timeline," Alejandro said without preamble. "Lucia and I are done waiting. We've been planning this for years. Years, Isabella. And now that Diego is finally out of the picture, we're ready to take what's ours.""What's yours?" Isabella repeated. "You mean the Vega Empire?""Our birthright," Alejandro corrected, his voice carrying zealous conviction. "What should have been ours from the beginning if Ricardo Vega hadn't stolen it. If circumstances had been different. If justice actually existed in this world.""I'm working on it," Isabella said. "Santiago is almost completely under my control. Another few weeks and—""We don't have weeks," Alejandro interrupted sharply. "Every day that passes is another day something could go wrong. Another day for Esperanza to find allies or leverage. Another day for

  • CHAPTER 181 PART 1

    Santiago's mind raced as he saw the steel in his sister's eyes. The contract. She knew about the contract. And from her tone, she wasn't bluffing about enforcing it."Wait, Esperanza, you don't understand," Santiago started, his voice taking on a desperate quality. "This isn't what it looks like. Isabella and I, we're just—we're discussing a business deal. A potential investment opportunity she brought to my attention. That's all."Esperanza's eyebrow arched with contempt. "A business deal? At a romantic restaurant? With wine and candlelight? Do you think I'm stupid, Santiago?""No! I just mean—we happened to be meeting about business and decided to grab dinner while we discussed it. It's completely innocent. Professional. Nothing that would violate any contract or—"Through the glass window, Isabella had been watching the exchange with growing alarm. She couldn't hear the words, but she could read body language perfectly after years as an actress. And what she saw was Santiago crumbl

  • Chapter 180

    Five days. Diego had been gone for five days, and Esperanza felt the absence like a physical wound. This wasn't the first time her husband had disappeared—his work as a healer and his past as the Ghost meant he sometimes vanished for days at a time. But those times had always felt purposeful, controlled, temporary.This felt different. Wrong. Final.The Vega estate, once a home filled with warmth despite its size, had become a mausoleum of empty rooms and echoing silence. Esperanza found herself unable to stay inside, the walls closing in with memories and fears. So she'd ventured out for dinner alone, desperately seeking the comfort of crowds and strangers' conversations to fill the void Diego's absence had created.She chose a upscale Italian restaurant downtown, one she and Diego had never visited together. Somewhere without memories attached. Somewhere she could pretend, just for an hour, that her life wasn't falling apart.The hostess had just seated her near the window when Espe

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