Rise Of The Wasted Shadow Wife

Chapter 17

Chapter 17.

The hallway of the law office was filled with an almost palpable tension. The sound of hurried footsteps mixed with whispers and quick instructions from the media crew trying to sneak past the security guards. Cameras were pointed at every crack in the door, as if hoping to capture a piece of drama that could be sold on the evening news. It was no ordinary day at the Paris courthouse; everyone knew that something big was about to happen.

In one of the closed consultation rooms, Axel Anthony stood stiffly. The dark blue suit he wore looked perfect on his body, but it couldn't hide the grim face and eyes shrouded in confusion. He stared at the woman in front of him with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

Laura Smith sat quietly across the table. There was no fear on her face, no hesitation. Her gaze was sharp, as clear as a mirror reflecting the shadows of the past. With slow but sure movements, she opened the brown folder she was carrying and placed it on the table. She looked Axel right in the eye, as if challenging him to deny something that was impossible to deny.

"I've had enough of this game," Axel said, his tone low but containing embers. "Who are you really?"

Laura took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, then answered in a voice that almost sounded calm but biting.

"I'm the person you once killed... legally."

Axel's face changed. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened, and his jaw hardened.

Laura continued without hesitation, "I'm Alessia Samantha. Your wife. Or perhaps more accurately, your shadow wife."

---

That morning, the Parisian sky was gray, as if it shared the tension that enveloped the city. The courthouse was packed with journalists, cameramen and reporters from various media outlets. They vied with each other to get the best spot, awaiting the arrival of two big names that shook the world of law and business. Axel Anthony and Laura Smith.

The atmosphere in the courtroom almost froze when the door opened and Laura walked in. She wore a simple black suit, her hair in a neat bun, her face calm. She walks towards the judge's desk with steady steps, without glancing at Axel who sits at the back with his lawyer.

In her hand is a thick file that has been months in the making. With a confident gesture, she handed the file to the judge.

Axel observed her from a distance. His eyes couldn't look away, but his body stiffened. He knew this moment would come. However, seeing it in person, facing the fact that the woman he left behind was now standing as his opponent in the courtroom, felt like being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

His lawyer leaned in, whispering in a worried tone, "This isn't just a defamation suit. If all this is proven, you could lose everything. Even your freedom."

Axel swallowed. His hand received a copy of the lawsuit from the officer. As he read the first page, his eyes narrowed, trying to digest every word written there. But it wasn't the content of the document that made the biggest impression. It was the cold, sharp, and very different aura of the woman before him from the Alessia he used to know.

---

It's nighttime when Axel returns home, but fatigue can't get rid of his thoughts. He enters the study without turning on the lights, accompanied only by the dim glow of the desk lamp. In front of him lay the lawsuit file, which he still hadn't fully digested.

His hand trembled as he opened the fourth page, where it was clearly written:

Plaintiff: Laura Smith aka Alessia Samantha.

Time seemed to stop.

Axel stood still. The paper slowly slipped from his fingers and fell scattered on the marble floor. He didn't immediately bend down to pick it up. Instead, he stood clutching the side of the table, trying to catch his breath.

The name hit her chest harder than she expected. Alessia. The name that seven years ago she buried deep with all the lies and selfish decisions she made. The name that should have died with the past. But now it was back, and it didn't come alone, it brought hurt, truth, and the threat of destruction.

Axel kicked his chair in frustration, then slammed the folder against the wall. "There's no way... he can't come back with this much power," he muttered, more to himself.

But silently, he knew: the past was never really dead. He was just waiting for the right moment to demand justice.

---

Meanwhile, in a minimalist apartment in the center of Paris, Laura sat with Nadine. The television was on in front of them, showing a live broadcast of the most popular news program in France.

Bright red text appeared at the bottom of the screen:

BREAKING NEWS: Anthony Group CEO Sued by Woman Claiming to Be Ex-Wife in Unlawful Marriage.

Nadine smiled slightly, took a bite of the biscuit in her hand, then turned to Laura. "You know, I'm not even sure they can believe this is real," she muttered. "It's too dramatic for the real world."

Laura didn't answer. She just stared at the screen with focused eyes. In front of her, Axel's face appeared, caught on camera as he entered the courthouse. That face was no longer as calm as before. The look in his eyes was full of stress.

Laura's cell phone vibrated. Dozens of emails came in from journalists, law firms, women's rights activists and documentary film producers. Everyone wanted to know more about who 'Laura Smith' really was.

Laura declined all the offers for now.

"Not yet," she says quietly. "Let the world speak. I will speak when they are ready to hear the truth, not just gossip."

---

Three days passed since the first hearing. Axel shut himself off from the outside world. His house was silent, with only the ticking of the clock and the wind blowing through the large open windows. All interview invitations were declined. All business projects were suspended. Even the dinners he usually attended were canceled.

She sat in her office, accompanied by her lawyer. On the table are lawsuit files, news screenshots, and old documents she thought she had destroyed.

"I never intended to hurt her," he said quietly. "Alessia... she's too innocent. I just wanted to protect my position. If the marriage was recorded, my reputation would be ruined. I thought that way, I could stay with her and keep everything intact."

But the lawyer just looked at her flatly.

Meanwhile, Laura sat at her desk, going through the evidence Nadine had collected one by one. On her laptop screen, Axel's voice came through clearly: confessions about forged documents, pressure on the notary, and money flowing to the silenced parties.

Every sentence on the tape sounded like a nail in the coffin of Axel's career.

---

That night, a national television investigative program aired live. The camera panned to an interviewee sitting elegantly in a chair in the center of the studio: Nadine Laurent.

She looked different than usual. Her hair was in a neat bun, and her face was no longer covered in shadows. She looked directly into the camera, then opened her mouth with a steady, piercing voice.

"I am Nadine Laurent, the legal wife of Axel Anthony."

Instantly the studio went silent. Even the TV presenter held his breath.

"I was locked up at home for years. Not allowed to leave the house. Not allowed to speak. Axel called it a sanctuary. But actually, it was a prison. A golden cage without a key."

He then showed his marriage documents, medical reports from the mental hospital where he was detained, and CCTV evidence from the house where he was 'imprisoned'.

Her eyes then looked into the camera, sharp and full of courage.

"I'm not standing here just for me. I stand with Alessia. Because we know, there are many other women out there who have been forced into silence. But today, our voices can no longer be silenced."