“She had a miscarriage?” he said calmly… He abandoned his pregnant wife, who was bleeding, to be with his mistress – the billionaire rival who had saved the mother and her two twin sons.
A snowstorm swept through Chicago on Christmas Eve, leaving the city a stark white graveyard. Inside their opulent Gold Coast mansion, Madeline lay slumped on the marble floor of the living room. Painful spasms pierced her lower back, and a hot, crimson liquid began to seep through her white silk nightgown.
“Ethan… please… our child…” Madeline whispered, her trembling hand reaching for her husband’s trousers.
Ethan, the husband she had supported throughout his youth, from his humble beginnings as a lowly salesman, stood there. He didn’t bend down. He adjusted his gold cufflinks, his cold eyes fixed on the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist.
“You had a miscarriage?” Ethan said calmly, his tone indifferent, as if inquiring about a defective item.
Madeline looked up at him, disbelief in her ears. “Ethan… save me… call an ambulance…”
“I have an appointment I can’t be late for, Madeline,” Ethan grabbed his expensive wool coat, stepping over the pool of blood without blinking. “If the baby dies, consider it God’s way of freeing us from a failed marriage. I’ll have my lawyer file for divorce tomorrow morning.”
He walked out, the roar of his Porsche engine fading into the distance, leaving Madeline in the darkness, the cold and the looming threat of death.
1. The Savior from the Opponent
Madeline’s consciousness faded. She thought she was dead. But then, a blinding flash of headlights ripped through the night. The door was flung open. A woman entered with the demeanor of a warrior queen.
It was Isabella Thorne – Madeline’s family’s long-time business rival, the billionaire head of Thorne Global. Ethan had always insulted Isabella at parties, calling her a “cruel witch.”
“Damn it, Madeline!” Isabella screamed at the horrifying sight. Without hesitation, she knelt in the pool of blood, tearing off her expensive Hermes scarf to stop the bleeding for Madeline. “Wake up! You can’t die because of a bastard like him!”
Isabella personally carried Madeline into her private ambulance. Throughout the frantic journey to the hospital, Isabella held Madeline’s hand tightly, ordering the city’s best doctors: “If anything happens to them, I’ll flatten this hospital!”
2. Rebirth in Secret
Six months later.
Ethan was now at the height of his self-satisfaction. He believed Madeline was dead or rotting away in some cheap infirmary. He was preparing to marry his “secret lover”—a woman he believed was his trump card for taking over Thorne Global. He had no idea that Isabella Thorne had spent millions of dollars to save Madeline and her twin sons in a top-secret Swiss resort.
Madeline was no longer the weak woman she once was. Under Isabella’s tutelage and training, she had become a “ghost” stalking Ethan.
“Why did you save me, Isabella?” Madeline once asked, holding her twin sons in her arms.
Isabella took a sip of wine, her eyes sharp: “Because I was once betrayed by a scoundrel like him. And because I realized my real opponent is your talent, not Ethan’s shadow. Now, let’s show him what a wounded mother can do.”
3. Climax: The Devil’s Wedding
Ethan’s wedding was held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. He smiled broadly, waiting for his bride – the woman he boasted was “the sole heir of the Thorne corporation.”
But when the grand hall doors opened, the person who entered wasn’t his little mistress.
It was Madeline. She wore a dazzling red dress that hugged her fully recovered body, exuding a breathtakingly elegant aura. Beside her was none other than Isabella Thorne.
Ethan froze, the wine glass in his hand shattering on the floor. “Madeline? You… you’re not dead?”
“I seem to have disappointed you, Ethan?” Madeline smiled, a smile that sent chills down the spines of all the guests. “You were so busy dating that you forgot your wife was pregnant with twins, and we have more vitality than you imagine.”
He looked at Isabella, hoping for an explanation. “Isabella, what’s going on? We had a merger agreement…”
4. The Twist: The Hunter is Hunted
Isabella stepped forward, patting Ethan on the shoulder sarcastically. “Oh, Ethan. Do you really think I’d associate with someone who abandoned his wife and child to die in a pool of blood? I’m a businesswoman, not a monster.”
Isabella took out a tablet and played a video recording from a hidden camera in the mansion that Christmas Eve. Ethan’s voice echoed clearly in the hall: “If the baby dies, consider it God’s way of freeing us…”
A murmur of outrage erupted from the guests. Ethan’s biggest business partners began to recoil as if avoiding a contagious disease.
“And here’s the most interesting part,” Madeline continued. “Over the past six months, under Isabella’s guidance, I’ve acquired 51% of your company’s shares through the trust accounts of my two sons – the
The child he called a ‘defective item.’ Now, he’s no longer the CEO. He’s penniless.
Ethan roared like a cornered beast: “You conspired together! Isabella, you saved her only to harm me?”
“No, Ethan,” Isabella said coldly. “I saved her because she deserved to live. I harmed you because you are a disgrace to our kind.”
5. The End: The Verdict of Solitude
Security officers entered, escorting Ethan out of the hotel on charges of financial fraud and attempted murder (by abandoning the victim in critical condition). He screamed and begged, but Madeline didn’t turn.
She stood there, in the magnificent lobby, holding Isabella’s hand. Two women who had once been rivals now stood on the same side.
“Thank you, Isabella,” Madeline whispered.
“Don’t thank me,” Isabella smiled, looking out the window where snow was beginning to fall. “Thank yourself for not dying in that darkness. Now, let’s go, the children are waiting for their mother.”
Ethan’s Porsche was impounded. He lost everything: his honor, his money, and even the chance to see his two brilliant sons grow up. His cruel betrayal received the most fitting punishment: the world’s contempt and the rise of the woman he once thought he could trample underfoot.
That night in Chicago, the lights of Thorne Global shone brighter than ever, marking the beginning of a new empire – where true compassion and talent were celebrated above the ashes of betrayal.
Ethan’s downfall was not just an end, but the opening shot of a new era in Chicago. Under Isabella’s leadership and Madeline’s fierce determination, Thorne Global was no longer just a name in the financial market; it had become a fortress of women who never bowed down.
CHAPTER 2: THE LEGACY OF THE SURVIVORS
Six months after that bloody, honorably tragic wedding, Madeline sat in her new office on the 60th floor of the Thorne Tower. Beside her were not luxurious vases, but a monitor watching her twins—Leo and Max—playing with their nanny in the safe penthouse apartment directly above.
Isabella walked in, tossing a stack of gray files onto her desk. Her usually calm face now showed a hint of anxiety.
1. Ghosts from the Past
“The man Ethan contacted before his arrest… wasn’t just a broker,” Isabella said, her voice dropping. “It was Julian Vane. He’s my ex-husband, the one I thought I’d sent to prison ten years ago for attempting to murder me.”
Madeline froze. She recognized the name. Julian Vane had once been the darling of London’s banking world, a man with a genius intellect but the heart of a vulture.
“He’s out of prison?” Madeline asked.
“He received an early pardon thanks to some hidden forces. And it seems he used Ethan as a pawn to gauge my strength before directly taking action,” Isabella clenched her fist. “Julian doesn’t want money. He wants my complete downfall, and now yours too, Madeline.”
2. Climax: The Digital Attack
At that moment, all the lights in the building flickered on and off. The computer screens flashed with lines of blood-red code. A message appeared:
“WELCOME BACK, ISABELLA. I’VE COME TO RECLAIM WHAT BELONGS TO ME.”
The alarm blared. The security system at the children’s apartment was disconnected.
“Leo! Max!” Madeline screamed, about to rush to the door, but Isabella held her back.
“It’s a trap! He wants you to leave your position to activate the corporation’s data self-destruct protocol!” Isabella yelled, her eyes blazing. “Madeline, look at me! You have five minutes to use the code-breaking skills I taught you to save the system. I’ll go pick up the children myself.”
3. The Twist: The Hunter is Hunted Again
While Isabella charged toward the stairwell with her gun, Madeline sat down at her keyboard. Her fingers moved like lightning. She didn’t try to push back the attack. Instead, she flung open the backdoor she had secretly installed since taking over Ethan’s company.
“You want in, Julian? Then I’ll invite you right into the data center,” Madeline gritted her teeth.
She lured Julian’s entire virus into a non-existent “virtual drive.” Once the virus was fully infiltrated, Madeline activated Reverse Tracking.
The screen displayed the attacker’s actual location. He wasn’t in London, nor in Switzerland. He was right there… in the building’s basement.
And even more surprisingly, the infrared camera detected that Julian wasn’t alone. He was standing next to Ethan—the man who had just escaped from prison with his help.
4. The Confrontation in the Basement
As Isabella reached the apartment and ensured the children were safe, she received a signal from Madeline through her headset: “They’re in basement B4. Ethan is armed.”
Isabella didn’t wait for the special forces. She rushed down. Under the dim lights of the parking lot, Ethan and Julian stood in front of the central control panel.
“Beautiful Isabella,” Julian smiled, his pale, recently released face looking even more menacing. “You’ve taught this idiot’s ex-wife too much.”
Ethan held his gun, his hands trembling: “Madeline stole everything from me! I’ll kill both of her children!”
“You can’t do it, Ethan,” Madeline emerged from behind an armored vehicle, holding a tablet. “I transferred your location to the police two minutes ago. And Julian… that virus you’re so proud of? It just sent your entire blacklist to the Department of Justice.”
5. The End: A Permanent Sentence
Police sirens blared, surrounding the entire tower. Julian looked at his phone screen, seeing the underground financial empire he had just built wiped out in the blink of an eye by Madeline.
“There’s no pardon this time, Julian,” Isabella said coldly as the SWAT team stormed in.
Ethan and Julian were subdued on the spot. Before being dragged away, Ethan looked at Madeline with eyes full of remorse and fear. But Madeline remained silent. She had no more tears for him.
As dawn broke, Isabella and Madeline stood on the building’s balcony, looking down at the waking city of Chicago.
“You did well, Madeline,” Isabella placed her hand on her partner’s shoulder. “You’re no longer anyone’s shadow.”
“We’ve protected our family,” Madeline smiled, the most serene smile since that fateful Christmas night.
Thorne Global was more than just a corporation. It is proof that when wounded women rise up together, they not only rise from the ashes, but can also determine their own destiny. those who once thought themselves lords.
