Chapter 5

***The Green Monster***

Marco stares at the spreadsheet. Numbers bleed red. All of them.

His hand shakes. He clicks refresh. The numbers don't change. Still red. Still dying.

Three deals. Three massive deals Sandra negotiated. All falling apart. Clients backing out. Contracts dissolving. Money disappearing.

The company his grandfather built. Crumbling.

Sandra walks in. Designer heels clicking. Red dress. Red lipstick. Red everywhere.

"Have you seen the Lawson account?" Marco doesn't look up.

"What about it?"

"They pulled out. Said the terms you negotiated were unacceptable."

Silence. Heavy.

"They signed the contract." Sandra's voice is tight.

"They found a loophole. Your loophole." Marco finally looks at her. "You gave them an out."

"That's not my fault."

"You wrote the contract." Marco stands. Walks to the window. "The Patterson deal is also falling through. And the Chen acquisition. Both deals you handled."

"So now everything is my fault?"

"I'm saying the numbers don't lie." Marco turns. "Lucia never made mistakes like this."

Sandra's face goes white. Then red. "What?"

"When Lucia helped with the business. Before I stopped her. She brought in deals. Good deals. Made the company flourish."

"Lucia was useless."

"Lucia closed the Davidson account. The Meyer contract. The whole Richardson partnership." Marco's voice gets harder. "Revenue doubled when she was involved."

"That was luck."

"That was skill." Marco walks closer. "She understood people. Negotiation. She never left loopholes. Never made errors."

"Are you seriously comparing me to her?" Sandra's voice rises.

"Yes. And you're losing."

The air freezes.

Marco's phone buzzes. Notification. He ignores it.

It buzzes again. And again.

"What the hell." He grabs it. Unlocks it.

His screen fills with alerts. News. Social media. Messages.

All about Lucia.

The headline screams at him.

"The Phoenix Woman: Lucia Monroe's Meteoric Rise."

Lucia's face fills the screen. Professional. Perfect. Powerful.

Nothing like the broken woman who left his house.

"Is that." Sandra's voice chokes. "Is that her?"

Marco scrolls. Reads. Each word a knife.

LUXÉA. Skincare company. Taking the market by storm. Featured in Vogue. Forbes.

Forbes.

"She's nothing." Sandra snatches the phone. "She's just lucky."

But her voice shakes.

Marco walks to his desk. Sits. His legs won't hold him.

"She built a company. In just a few months."

"It's probably failing."

"Forbes doesn't lie." Marco's voice is hollow.

Sandra scrolls. More articles. More photos. Lucia at events. Being interviewed. Shaking hands with important people.

People Marco tried to impress. Failed to impress.

"This is impossible." Sandra throws the phone. "We destroyed her. She should be in a gutter somewhere."

Marco picks up the phone. Opens TV app. Searches business news.

There. A segment. He plays it.

Lucia appears. Sitting in a studio. Across from a famous host.

"So Lucia, LUXÉA has seen incredible growth. What's your secret?"

Lucia's laugh is soft. Musical.

"No secret. Just authentic products made with care. Women deserve quality."

"And you certainly value yourself. The confidence you exude is inspiring."

Confidence. Lucia. The words Marco never put together.

"I learned that you can't wait for others to see your worth. You have to see it yourself first."

The host nods. "Wise words."

Lucia smiles. That smile Marco hasn't seen in years.

"It's not just skincare. It's self respect. Self love. That's what makes you glow."

Self love. Self respect. The things he destroyed.

Sandra makes a strangled noise. "Turn it off."

Marco doesn't. Keeps watching. Transfixed. Jealous.

"She's playing a part." Sandra's voice is desperate. "This isn't real."

"She looks pretty real to me."

"She's nothing. Just lucky."

"She built it herself." Marco reads from the article. "Started from zero. Developed her own formulas. Did everything."

Zero. Because they took everything.

And she built an empire anyway.

The segment ends. Marco closes the app. Stares at his desk. At the red numbers. At the dying company.

"This doesn't change anything." Sandra paces. "She's still pathetic."

"She doesn't look pathetic."

"Looks don't mean anything."

"They mean everything in business." Marco looks at her. "And her business is thriving while mine dies."

"Because of bad luck."

"Because of bad deals. Your bad deals." He stands. "Lucia never lost a client. Never made errors. She knew what she was doing."

"Stop comparing me to her."

"Why? You compared yourself to her constantly. Said you were better. Smarter. More successful." Marco's voice is hard. Cold. "But the truth is Lucia was better than you. At business. At everything."

Sandra's face twists. Ugly. "You're only saying that because you're desperate."

"I'm saying it because it's true." Marco picks up a file. Old reports. From when Lucia worked with him. "Look at these numbers. Profit margins. Client retention. Growth percentages. All from when she was involved."

He throws the file at Sandra. Papers scatter.

"Now look at your numbers. Losses. Cancellations. Failed negotiations." Marco's voice rises. "You destroyed in months what she built in years."

"She was boring. Safe. No vision."

"She was careful. Strategic. Brilliant." Marco sits. Defeated. "And I pushed her out because you convinced me she was worthless. But you were the worthless one."

Silence. Crushing.

Sandra stares at the papers. Her reflection in the window. Distorted.

"I can't believe this." Her voice shakes. "I destroyed her. I sent those men. They shot her. She should be dead."

Marco's head snaps up. "You what?"

"Nothing." Sandra turns away.

"You sent men after her?" His voice is barely a whisper. "Sandra. What did you do?"

"What I had to do." She spins back. Face twisted. "She needed to disappear. To stop being a problem."

"You tried to kill her."

"I tried to end it." Sandra walks to the window. "But apparently even that didn't work."

Marco feels sick. Bile rises.

"You're insane."

"I'm practical." Sandra's voice is flat. "She was in the way. Now she's back. In the way again. Proving she's better than me. Better than us."

"Stay away from her."

"Why?" Sandra turns. Smiles. Cruel. "Afraid I'll succeed this time?"

"I mean it Sandra. Leave her alone."

"Or what?" She laughs. "You have nothing Marco. Your company is dying. Your reputation is garbage. And it's all because you chose me over her. The wrong choice."

The words cut deep. True deep.

"You need me." Sandra picks up her purse.

"I don't need a murderer."

"You need someone who does what's necessary." Sandra walks to the door. "And right now what's necessary is making sure Lucia stops rising."

"Sandra."

She pauses. Hand on the doorknob.

"If she won't fail on her own." Her voice drops. Ice cold. "I'll make her."

The door closes. Click.

Marco sits alone. Surrounded by red numbers. Failed deals. Crumbling dreams.

On his phone Lucia still smiles. Confident. Glowing. Victorious.

The woman he underestimated. Pushed away. Destroyed.

The woman who was always better than Sandra. Always smarter. Always stronger.

And he chose wrong.

Now she's rising while he falls.

And Sandra is planning. Plotting.

The war isn't over.

It's just beginning.