Five years had passed since Raven disappeared from the country.
Five years since Bella stood behind the door and watched the woman she once claimed to love being thrown into the street.
Five years since Raven signed the divorce papers.
And three years since Bella and Jeff got married.
At the beginning, everyone thought they were happy.
They weren't.
Their marriage had become a quiet disaster behind expensive doors.
Bella had recently discovered she was pregnant .
At first, she thought the baby would change everything.
She thought Jeff would become more responsible.
She was wrong.
Jeff had become worse.
"Where were you?"
Bella stood in the living room, her arms folded over her growing stomach.
Jeff walked through the door without looking at her.
"Out."
"Out where?"
He sighed.
"Bella, I'm tired."
"You've been coming home at three in the morning for weeks."
"So?"
Bella stared at him.
"Are you seeing someone?"
Jeff laughed.
"You're pregnant, not a detective."
Her expression fell.
That answer was enough.
"You are."
Jeff walked past her.
"Don't start."
"Who is she?"
"Does it matter?"
Bella's eyes filled with tears.
"You promised me."
Jeff turned around.
"I promised you nothing."
Bella looked at the wedding ring on her finger.
She remembered when she believed marrying Jeff would give her everything.
Money.
Security.
Power.
Instead, she had inherited a husband who couldn't stay faithful for more than a few weeks.
Jeff had been cheating on her with multiple women.
And Bella knew it.
Everyone seemed to know it.
Everyone except the version of Bella who still hoped he would change.
Jeff's gambling had become another problem.
At first, it was small.
A few private games.
A few bets.
Then the amounts became larger.
Much larger.
He started losing properties.
Investments.
Company shares.
Money that wasn't even his.
And every time Bella confronted him, he promised he would stop.
He never did.
One night, Jeff sat at a private gambling table, staring at the cards in front of him.
"You're going to lose everything," one of the men warned.
Jeff smirked.
"I know what I'm doing."
He didn't.
Another bet.
Another loss.
Another property gone.
He slammed his hand against the table.
"Again."
The dealer hesitated.
"Mr. Hale—"
"I said again."
What Jeff didn't know was that Raven had been watching.
From a distance.
Quietly.
Patiently.
After Raven returned to Chicago, she had begun tracing every property that once belonged to her mother.
Some were complicated.
Some were tied up in legal disputes.
But others were surprisingly easy to recover.
Jeff was desperate for cash.
He had been selling assets to cover gambling debts.
And Raven had been waiting.
One property at a time.
She bought them through different companies.
Different names.
Different accounts.
Jeff never realized who was buying them.
He simply saw money.
And he needed it.
Badly.
At Apex Raven Global, Jane placed another folder on Raven's desk.
"Another property has been acquired."
Raven opened it.
"Which one?"
"The Hawthorne estate."
Raven looked at the documents.
Her mother's property.
One of the last pieces of her mother's legacy that Jeff still controlled.
"Who sold it?"
"Jeff."
Raven's eyes hardened.
"Of course."
Jane hesitated.
"He's losing money rapidly."
"How much?"
"Enough that he's started selling anything he can."
Raven closed the folder.
"Keep buying."
Jane nodded.
"All of them?"
"All of them."
Raven leaned back.
"I want everything my mother left behind."
"And Jeff?"
Raven's expression became cold.
"Let him sell."
Back at the Hale residence, Bella sat alone.
Her hand rested over her stomach.
She could hear Jeff downstairs, arguing with someone on the phone.
"Give me another week."
A pause.
"I'll pay you."
Another pause.
"I said I'll pay you!"
Bella closed her eyes.
She was tired.
Tired of the lies.
Tired of the women.
Tired of the gambling.
Tired of living in a house that no longer felt like a home.
And somewhere deep inside her, a terrible thought began forming.
Perhaps the worst thing that had happened to her wasn't losing Raven.
Perhaps it was choosing Jeff.
That night, Jeff returned home furious.
Bella looked at him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"You lost again."
He glared at her.
"Stay out of my business."
"Your gambling is destroying everything."
"You're not going to lecture me."
"I am your wife!"
Jeff laughed bitterly.
"Wife?"
He looked around the expensive house.
"You know what this marriage has given me?"
Bella stared at him.
"Nothing."
The word cut deeper than he intended.
Bella's hand moved protectively over her stomach.
Jeff walked away.
She remained standinthere.
Tears silently falling down her face.
Neither of them knew that the woman they had betrayed was slowly reclaiming everything they had stolen from her.
And soon—
Jeff would discover that the mysterious buyer who had been taking his properties one by one...