MARRIED FOR REVENGE, LOVED FOR LIFE

CHAPTER 3 - CRACKS IN THE FAÇADE

Morning sunlight spilled across Lina’s room, but it offered no comfort. She sat on the edge of her bed, straightening the blouse she dreaded wearing.

Today was another day at Carter Global Enterprises,her father’s empire. A corporation that stretched across finance,real estate and emerging tech.A name that carried weight in rooms Lina had never truly been allowed to belong in.

And yet,she worked there like an outsider.

Assistant Coordinator. Corporate Affairs.

A title that sounded respectable until one looked closer.

She organized documents,prepared reports.She sat in meetings where her voice was not required.

A spectator in her own inheritance.

Sophie,her step-sister was Chief Operations Officer—confident,polished and effortlessly commanding respect that Lina had never received.

Her gaze drifted to the mirror.

Long dark brown hair fell neatly over her shoulders.Her features were soft,almost delicate—eyes that once carried hesitation now held something quieter.

Not confidence.

Not yet.

But awareness.

And awareness changed everything.

Behind her reflection lingered something else.

Memory of cold water and shattered windshield.The moment she realized too late that everything around her had been built on lies.

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"Not this time"

She stood,slipping into her blazer,straightening it with quiet precision.

If she had to walk into a battlefield every day…

She would at least wear armor.

Lina brushed her hair,adjusted her blazer and reminded herself to carry composure like armor.

Her mother had died months after giving birth due to postpartum hemorrhage complications,leaving Lina in a household where protection was promised but never delivered. Her father remarried Sophie’s mother,supposedly to safeguard her yet every year,every event,every glance reinforced that Lina was merely tolerated.

_ _ _

Downstairs,the house moved in its usual rhythm.

Staff members passed silently.Breakfast was already arranged.The air carried that same polished stillness with everything in place,nothing out of order.

Yet Lina had learned something important.

Order did not mean peace.

It meant control.

She stepped into the dining area quietly.

Daniel sat at the head of the table,scanning something on his tablet.He did not look up immediately.

Margaret was not present,but her influence filled the room like an unspoken rule.

Sophie sat across from him,already dressed for work,her posture relaxed yet composed.

“Good morning” ,Lina said.

Daniel nodded faintly,his attention barely shifting.

Sophie smiled.

“You’re leaving early today?”

“Normal time”,Lina replied.

Sophie tilted her head slightly,studying her in that familiar way.

“You’ve been…quieter lately”,she said.

Lina reached for a glass of water.

“I’ve been working”.

Sophie smiled again but this time,there was something curious in her eyes.

As though Lina had just said something unexpected.

Daniel finally spoke.

“There’s a review session later this week”,he said without looking up.“You’ll attend”.

Lina paused.

That was new.

She glanced at him.

“I will?”

“Yes”.

No explanation,no elaboration.Just instruction.

Sophie’s gaze flickered briefly toward Daniel,then back to Lina.

Interesting.Very interesting.

Lina nodded slowly.

“Understood”.

_ _ _

At Carter Global Enterprises

The building rose like glass and steel against the skyline.

As Lina stepped inside, the familiar weight settled over her shoulders.

Employees greeted her politely but she noticed it now.

The difference.

The way conversations softened around her.

The way attention shifted when Sophie entered minutes later,heels against marble.

Confidence in every step.

People didn’t just greet Sophie.They adjusted to her.

“Good morning,Miss Carter”, someone said quickly.

“Morning”, Sophie replied,barely looking.

Lina watched quietly.

Same last name.Different world.

Her cubicle sat where it always had,near the far end,tucked behind larger offices and glass partitions,out of sight.

She set her bag down and began reviewing the Carter Foundation report.

Numbers.

Allocations.

Charity distributions.

At first glance,everything about the report looked normal.

But Lina’s eyes slowed over one section.

A minor transfer of an insignificant amount that could have been easily overlooked.

Yet something about the routing…felt off.Her fingers hovered over the screen.

Three subsidiaries were involved. There was no direct connection.

Why structure it that way?

Her chest tightened slightly.

She felt something faint, uncertain but familiar.

Before she could look deeper…

“Lina”.

She looked up.

Sophie stood beside her desk.

“The report”.

Lina handed it over.

Sophie flipped through it quickly,then paused.

“You missed a formatting inconsistency here”.

Her finger tapped lightly.

It was minor and almost irrelevant.

“I’ll correct it”,Lina said.

Sophie closed the file and handed it back.

“Details matter”,she said softly.

Then she walked away.

Lina watched her go.

It was never about the report.

It was about reminding her where she stood.

Throughout the day,Lina absorbed office politics with quiet observation: the comparisons and sly remarks reminded her of her lower standing.

By the time she clocked out,a sense of weariness had settled over her.

She would watch,she would learn and she would no longer be the invisible daughter of Carter Global Enterprises.

_ _ _

Ryan had asked her to dinner,presenting it as a kind of celebration for their engagement. Lina agreed,partly out of habit,partly because she wanted to escape the suffocating office walls. She had hoped it might be a brief relief,a moment of shared laughter.

The restaurant was dim,intimate,every table a private stage.

Ryan smiled the moment she arrived.

“Lina”,he said,standing to pull out her chair.

She sat,watching him carefully.

There was a time when this would have made her feel chosen.

Now she noticed the details.

“How was work?” he asked.

“Busy”, she replied.

He nodded,reaching for his glass.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about our future”.

There it was.

Lina said nothing.

He leaned forward slightly.

“There’s an opportunity.A real one this time. If I get in early, it could change everything”.

Her fingers rested lightly against the table.

“What kind of opportunity?”

“A business expansion”, he said smoothly. “Partnership model.High returns”.

“And you need?” she asked quietly.

He met her gaze.

“Support”.

Of course.

Lina held his eyes.

“How much?”

He named the amount.

Her stomach tightened.Not because of the money.

Because she remembered.

Bitter memories flashed.

In her previous life, she had sacrificed,given money to Ryan which he spent on trying to impress Sophie.

“What’s the structure?” Lina asked.

Ryan’s expression shifted slightly.

“You don’t trust me?” he asked.

“I’m asking for details”, she said.

“I thought we were building something together”. His tone had hardened.

“We are”, Lina replied calmly. “That’s why details matter”.

Silence stretched between them.

Then suddenly…

Ryan leaned back,exhaling,his expression softening again.

“Forget it”,he said with a small laugh.”I didn’t mean to make it sound serious”.

His hand reached for hers.

“I’ll figure it out”.

She withdrew her hand slowly.

“I don’t have the money right now”, she said.

“Of course,I understand.Don’t worry,darling. Let’s just enjoy dinner”.

Lina stood.

“I should go”.

He didn’t stop her.Didn’t follow.Didn’t insist.

And somehow…that told her everything she needed to know.

_ _ _

Back at the Carter residence,the house was quiet.

Lina walked through the hallway slowly,her mind still replaying the evening.

She passed the study…and paused.

The door was slightly open.She could hear voices from inside.

Her father’s and someone else’s.

“…it’s time”, the man was saying. “You can’t delay this decision any longer”.

Daniel’s voice followed,lower.

“She’s not ready”.

“She doesn’t need to be ready”, the man replied.“She just needs to be… positioned”.

Lina didn’t move.

“You’ve kept her on the sidelines long enough”, the man continued. “Bring her in. Give her access.Let her handle minor oversight”.

Daniel was quiet.

Then—

“And if she asks questions?”

There was a pause and then a quiet chuckle.

“She won’t know which questions to ask”.

Silence followed.

Lina stepped back slowly,her heart beating steadily.

Suddenly,things were beginning to make sense.

The invitation.

The meeting.

They weren’t trusting her.

They were placing her somewhere.

For a reason.

She couldn't understand the conversation fully so she just decided to allow events play out by themselves.

Back in her room,Lina leaned against the windowsill,staring at the city lights.

The earlier messages haunted her:

“If you truly remember what happened that night… then you already know your accident was not an accident”.

“Stop trusting Sophie”.

Only one name came to mind.Her stepmother. Why would she want Lina dead? And why now,after all these years of silent hostility?

The question gnawed at her. For years,Lina had been cautious, overlooked,belittled,never fully embraced as part of the family.

Sophie’s manipulations,Margaret’s careful oversight,the casual dismissal of her worth—they all pointed to something deeper. But to what end?

Lina pressed her forehead against the cool glass,breathing slowly.

Observation,strategy,patience,these would be her weapons.

She had survived the past;she would not be powerless in the present.

Yet as the city lights twinkled below, she realized the truth:someone was watching, someone was waiting.

And if her stepmother had wanted her dead before,the question remained

Why?

For now, Lina had answers she didn’t yet understand, and instincts she couldn’t ignore. She just doesn't only need to survive anymore,she needs answers.