The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 170: A well-deserved Slap

The words landed like daggers. Lucy’s face paled, then flushed a furious red, her mouth opening — but no words came.

Mara tilted her head, voice soft as silk and twice as dangerous.

"That’s the difference between you and me, Lucy. I was loved. And you? You’re just used."

"How dare you!" Lucy shrieked, raising her hand to strike — but Mara caught it midair, her grip like iron. Without hesitation, Mara’s other hand cracked across Lucy’s face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Each slap was harder than the last, the sharp sound slicing through the room like a whip.

Before Lucy could even register the sting, Mara’s fingers tangled in her hair, yanking her head back so hard Lucy let out a gasp of pain.

"You crazy bitch!" Lucy spat, squirming, clawing at Mara’s wrists. "Get off me—"

But Mara wasn’t hearing her. Not tonight. Not after everything.

"You dared," Mara seethed, eyes wild, her voice shaking with a year’s worth of fury. "You dared to take my son away from me!"

She slammed Lucy back against the floor, straddling her, fists gripping thick locks of blonde hair.

"You burned my world to ash. Watched me crawl through hell. And you smiled, you smiled through it all," Mara roared, punctuating her words with another vicious slap.

Outside, Caleb and the guards were pounding on the door, voices frantic.

"Open it!" Caleb barked, shoving at the door, his voice muffled through the heavy wood. "Get it open now!"

But inside, Mara didn’t care. The world could be ending beyond those walls and it wouldn’t have mattered. All that existed was the woman beneath her.

"You stole from me." Mara’s voice dropped to a ragged whisper, tears hot in her eyes as her grip tightened. "You took what I would’ve died for. You don’t get to walk away from that."

Lucy thrashed beneath her, her smug mask crumbling for the first time.

"Get off me! Get the fuck off me!" she shrieked.

"Say his name," Mara demanded, her face inches from Lucy’s. "Say my baby’s name!"

Lucy shook her head violently, but Mara yanked her hair again, pulling a ragged scream from her throat.

"Say it!"

And outside the door rattled, hinges straining, chaos erupting on the other side.

Time slowed. This was the reckoning, and it was Mara’s revenge.

—

Rafael stood by the car, his heart pounding like a war drum in his chest. The cool night air did nothing to ease the sweat on his brow, nor the storm raging in his head. In his arms, little Andrew slept, oblivious to the chaos his tiny existence had wrought.

And Rafael, for the first time in his reckless, fearless life, didn’t know what the hell to do.

Leave the baby alone in the car? No. Mara would never forgive him if something happened. Run back into that hellhole and risk losing both of them? He couldn’t.

"Shit... what do I do?" he muttered, glancing around desperately, praying for a miracle.

And then, like fate cracked open a door just wide enough, headlights cut through the darkness. Two figures emerged from the glow, and for a moment Rafael’s stomach twisted. Ethan. And Steph.

Not exactly the cavalry he’d have picked, but damn if they weren’t the perfect answer right now.

"Thank God," Rafael breathed as they approached.

"Where is she?!" Ethan demanded, his voice sharp, eyes already scanning the mansion like he could see her through the walls.

"Take your son," Rafael said without hesitation, holding out the still-sleeping Andrew. "I have to go back for Mara."

"You left her? Inside? Alone?!" Ethan snapped, fury bleeding through every word as he carefully took the baby from Rafael’s arms and handed him to Stefan.

"I didn’t have a choice, alright!" Rafael barked back, guilt and worry thick in his voice. "I couldn’t get her out in time, the doors locked behind me. If they lay a finger on her, I swear to God I’ll burn that place to the ground."

Steph, now cradling Andrew like some kind of reluctant babysitter

"Oh wow," Ethan bit out, his eyes cold and furious. "Real shining example of love you got there, leaving her alone with the wolf."

Rafael spun on him, teeth gritted, eyes wild. "Don’t you dare start with me, dude. I’ve had it with you. And now is so not the time."

"Yeah?" Ethan snapped, stepping closer. "Then when is the time, huh? After she’s dead?"

Before Rafael could lunge at him, Steph cut in, cradling a now wide-awake and fussy Andrew. "Jesus, you two are unbelievable. Can you put your heads together for once, save Mara, and kill yourselves afterward? The world will throw a goddamn party."

Both men froze, breathing hard, guilt and adrenaline churning like a storm.

"The doors are locked, genius," Rafael growled, running a hand through his hair. "I hacked them before, but now the alarms are on. No way in."

Ethan scanned the perimeter, eyes locking on the sleek, high walls of the estate.

"We climb," he said. "Yeah, good luck with that," Rafael huffed. "Those walls are smoother than your excuses."

And then headlights. Tires crunching gravel.

The Shephard brothers pulled up like a storm cloud, all tension, tight jaws, and worry in their eyes. No one spoke. They didn’t need to. They’d heard. And when it came to Mara, no one stayed on the sidelines.

"She’s inside?" Steve asked, already moving, rage in every step.

"There’s no plan," Stanford muttered. "We go in, we burn it down if we have to."

"Damn right," Stanley agreed.

Meanwhile, Steph bounced Andrew on his hip, trying and failing to quiet the baby’s soft whimpers. The brothers charging toward the villa like hellhounds let loose.

Time slowed. Breath caught. The night smelled like blood and smoke and the sharp edge of reckoning. And somewhere in that house, Mara was already making war.

___

The door slammed open, crashing against the wall with a deafening bang. Caleb stormed in, his face a twisted mask of fury and shock.

"Stafania!" he barked, charging toward them.

But Mara didn’t flinch. Didn’t even look his way. Her fist connected with Lucy’s face again, a fresh trickle of blood painting Lucy’s lip. The guards hesitated at the doorway, unsure whether to intervene, their eyes darting between Caleb and the two women tangled on the floor.

"Get her off me!" Lucy screamed, her voice raw, her nails clawing at the air.

Caleb grabbed Mara by the waist, hauling her up off Lucy, but Mara wasn’t done. She kicked, scratched, landing a hit across Caleb’s jaw that made him grunt.

"Let go of me! I swear to God, I’ll kill her!" Mara roared, trying to wrench free.

Caleb’s arms tightened around her, holding her back while Lucy scrambled to the corner of the room, a sobbing, bloodied mess. The guards lingered at the threshold, their confusion written plain on their faces.

Because it wasn’t clear who Caleb was protecting. Was it the woman he called his lover? Or the one whose heart never stopped bleeding for?

Caleb’s jaw clenched. He didn’t look at Lucy. Not once. His eyes were locked on Mara.

"Stop, Stef. Stop." His voice wasn’t angry now, it was desperate.

Mara froze for half a second, her chest heaving, tears glistening in her eyes.

"She took my son," she whispered, voice breaking, and in that moment, every man in that room knew. Knew it wasn’t about jealousy, or rage, or revenge. It was grief. Pure, primal, unbearable grief.

Caleb’s arms slackened. The fight had drained from him, too. And the guards... didn’t move. Because they didn’t know whose side they were supposed to be on.

"You crazy bitch! Your son is dead, do you hear me? DEAD!" Lucy shrieked, her voice hoarse, eyes wild with spite and terror.

But those words... they only fueled the fire in Mara’s blood. She lunged again, years of pent-up rage and those combat classes she’d taken in the dark corners of her grief finally paying off. Caleb barely managed to hold her back.

"Lucy, shut up! Stop making it worse!" Caleb snapped, his bruised face glistening with sweat.

"Worse? WORSE?" Lucy spat blood, glaring at him. "You pathetic fool, you were supposed to be on my side. But the moment you saw her, you froze! Like some lovesick idiot."

The guards stood at the doorway, awkward, watching the scene unfold like spectators at a doomed play. None of them moved, because Caleb hadn’t given the order.

"I’ll make you pay, Lucy," Mara snarled, her voice low, venomous. "You took my son, and now you’ll see what it feels like to lose everything."

She turned for the door.

"Are you seriously gonna let her walk away?!" Lucy screamed, pointing at Mara like a madwoman. "Seize her now! Do it, or I swear you’ll never see me or our son again!"

But the room stayed still. The guards were unmoving. Caleb too.

And then Mara laughed, a dark, humorless sound that made the hair on everyone’s neck stand on end. She stopped halfway, turned, her face gleaming with a terrifying calm.

"Oh, Caleb." She shook her head slowly. "You really let her lie to you like that? You thought Andrew was yours? Poor thing. I thought you were smarter than that. Guess chasing a cheap release clouded what little sense you had left."

Lucy paled, eyes darting to Caleb, to the guards, back to Mara.

"Andrew is mine. Mine. Get that into your delusional, rotting head. And the only prison I’m sending you to is the one where you’ll be haunted by the ghost of everything you stole."

Caleb’s face darkened at that, the realization slicing through him like a blade. He clenched his jaw, his fists curling at his sides.

When it comes to Mara and Lucy.... We all know who he’ll choose.

And without waiting for a response, she walked out, and no one stopped her. Because the war was over. And Mara had just won the first battle.