THE BILLIONAIRE'S VENGEFUL WIFE RETURNS-Chapter 261: LOCKED UP 2

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"See? I told you all Father would never abandon Mother. He loves her too much," Claudia boasted, her shoulders raised high with confidence.

She had seen the way Frank had looked the day they left, the pain, the heartbreak. He was probably acting out now because Elisa had left him. If she gave him even the slightest bit of attention, he would come crawling back, just like always.

"After everything, Mother, you should reconsider getting back with him. After all, he’s been good to you all this while," Claudia added, her voice laced with expectation.

Elisa’s expression darkened instantly.

"That would be over my dead body," she spat. "He would have to get rid of that stupid daughter of his first."

The very thought of Harlow made her blood boil. That wretched girl had dared to humiliate her.

Did Harlow really think she could come between her and Frank? That she could magically erase the love Frank had for her?

Foolish girl.

Elisa had told people time and time again, Frank was her puppet. He always had been. He would do anything for her, anything to win her back. He bent to her will.

Maybe this whole arrest ordeal was just his twisted way of getting her attention. If that was his game, then fine. He had succeeded. Because now, she was seriously reconsidering taking him back.

She was still lost in her fantasy when the voice of a familiar man filled the air.

"I know there are rumors spreading," Frank’s voice echoed through the television speakers. Elisa’s head snapped up. "I’ve received endless calls from business associates, friends, and family, asking if everything going on is true."

He exhaled deeply before continuing, his tone resolute.

"Yes, it is true. I have cut all ties with my ex-wife and her daughter."

Elisa and Claudia paled.

"What?" Claudia breathed, her fingers tightening into fists.

No. This had to be some kind of trick. Frank loved them too much to cut all ties. The Frank they knew would have done anything to have them back.

Maybe this was just an act, a desperate attempt to get their attention and make them apologize. Yes, that had to be it.

Elisa smirked.

Poor Frank. Always playing games.

But as she listened, the smirk slowly faded from her lips.

"It is unfortunate," Frank continued, his voice filled with controlled pain, "that after spending more than two decades with someone, you wake up one morning to realize your life has been a lie. That you have been living in a fantasy world. That you were used."

Elisa’s stomach twisted.

"What’s going on?" Claudia muttered, staring at the man on the screen as if she no longer recognized him.

This wasn’t the Frank she knew.

Was Harlow manipulating him?

Frank’s next words sent a chill down their spines.

"The recent events in my life have truly made the devil reveal itself. My wife tried to steal from me. She forced me to sign over all my properties to her after demanding a divorce."

Elisa’s breath caught in her throat.

He smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "I made Elisa who she is today. I gave her everything. And in the end, I was stabbed in the back."

The room seemed to close in on Elisa.

No.

No, no, no.

"Taking from others unlawfully is fraud. My daughter and I have become victims in our own home, kicked out, stolen from."

Claudia turned to her mother, panic in her eyes. "Mother, what the hell is he talking about? He’s supposed to defend you!"

Frank continued as if he hadn’t just shattered their world.

"I have never once cheated. Everyone knows I was a faithful husband and a generous giver. But I fell in love with the wrong person. I fell in love with a devil."

Elisa ran her hands through her hair, her entire body trembling.

This was not the speech she had expected from Frank.

He was supposed to be apologizing. Begging her to come back.

Not this.

Frank’s expression hardened. "But I’ll leave judgment to God and my lawyers."

Then the screen cut to black.

Silence engulfed the room.

The news anchor let out a slow breath before shaking her head.

"So that is what Frank Blackwood had to say. I am speechless. All I can say is... is marriage the new way to con people?"

"ARGHHH!"

Elisa screamed, gripping her hair and pulling at it in frustration. Everything was falling apart.

Everything.

Her plans, her power, her future—it was all crumbling before her eyes.

If Frank was accusing her of fraud, she would go to prison. A long, long time in prison.

She couldn’t let that happen.

She wouldn’t let that happen.

"You have to help me, Bodhi," Elisa turned to the man beside her, desperation seeping into her voice. "Use whatever resources you have to get me out of here. I cannot stay here!"

For the first time, a flicker of fear danced in her eyes.

For the first time, she saw a future she could not control.

Bodhi’s expression remained unreadable as he studied her. Then, he gave a slight nod.

"You have nothing to worry about. I’ll speak to your lawyers. We’ll find a way out of this," he assured her.

Claudia took her mother’s trembling hands in her own, squeezing them tightly.

"Mother, we’ll fix this. We’re in this together," she whispered.

But inside, Claudia was breaking.

She had her own demons to deal with. The loan sharks. The growing fear that they would take her child—or worse, take *her* life.

She bit her lip, suppressing the panic rising in her chest.

In the blink of an eye, their world had turned upside down. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

It felt like she was paying for everything she had done to Harlow in the past.

No matter what she did, somehow, Harlow always escaped.

Sometimes, Claudia wondered, was Harlow reborn, just like she was?

She had tested her once. The Harlow she knew loved Alex more than anything. If she was truly the same Harlow, she never would have been indifferent when Claudia confessed to killing him.

So why?

Why did it feel like the universe was shifting in Harlow’s favor while she was being dragged to hell?

"Do whatever you can, Bodhi. Get us out of this mess," Elisa ordered, her voice laced with steel.

"I will," Bodhi promised, turning to leave.

But outside, the world was already watching.

Frank’s confession had only added fuel to the fire.

If people had hesitated before, now they unleashed their full wrath. Elisa and Claudia became the villains of the nation. Their names were cursed in every household.

And for the first time...

Elisa realized there was no escape.