Rise To Power: Death To My Billionaire Husband

Chapter 21: Turning The Tables

"Someone switched out my exam paper last semester and I almost failed. And when I reported it... the professor said I was making it up."

Anita picked up a napkin, quietly wiping the knife over it and setting it aside as she listened without interrupting.

"But they didn’t stop there." Lilly continue, her fingers tightening around the hem of her hospital gown. She was not supposed to be admitted, but when Anita brought her to the hospital last night, it was discovered that she was physically assaulted and needed proper care.

"What else did they do to you?"

"They framed me for examination malpractice," Lilly whispered, her voice cracking at the edges. "They planted a micro earpiece in my collar in the just concluded examination. I didn’t even know it was there until the invigilator pulled me aside and accused me in front of everyone."

Anita’s jaw clenched. Her hands curled into fists over her knees, and for the first time, she wished Charlotte were in the room—so she could look her dead in the eye and ask why.

Lilly laughed bitterly. "I kept saying I didn’t do it. That I’d never cheat. But no one believed me. I was suspended for two weeks. My scholarship was frozen. And while I was trying to appeal the decision, someone hacked into my school portal and changed my grades to all F’s."

Anita looked at her then, really looked at her.... At the girl who had done nothing but existed. Who had dared to walk in a hallway, smile at a boy, and breathe in the same air as the school’s golden queen. A queen turned thorn she raised.

"And Charlotte was behind it?" Anita asked, already knowing the answer.

Lilly hesitated. "Maybe not all of it directly, but... her clique brags about the things they’ve done. They laugh about it in the cafeteria. I’ve heard them. And Charlotte just watches. Sometimes she smiles. Sometimes she doesn’t even bother pretending to care."

Anita nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "And last night...?"

Lilly frowned. "Last night, they came to my work place. It’s a club..." her voice trailed off.

"It’s okay. I don’t judge."

She nodded, her fingers clenching her dress. To be honest, Lilly didn’t know why she was opening up to a stranger, but something about this woman —her calm, her green eyes, the quiet rage barely restrained beneath her soothing voice— made Lilly feel safe for the first time in months.

"They came drunk," she continued, voice fragile. "Charlotte wasn’t there at first but she joined later. They asked for me specifically. I tried to stay in the back, but the manager said we couldn’t turn away paying VIPs."

Anita’s nostrils flared, but she kept her posture composed. "What did they do?"

"They forced me to grind on one of their male friend, while taking videos." She bit her lips, "I promise, I’m just a waitress. I swear. I only work weekends to raise money for my mom’s surgery," Lilly whispered, tears streaming down her face as her voice cracked further under the weight of humiliation. "But they... they cornered me. Laughed. Said it was a dare. Said if I didn’t, they’d make someone rape me and send the video to my mom."

Anita’s hands trembled. She felt a suffocating feeling in her chest and needed to breathe, so she rose from her seat and walked to the window. Her hands gripped the cold windowsill, knuckles white, as she struggled to steady the storm building inside her.

Her jaw clenched. Her breath came in slow, deliberate pulls, like if she didn’t focus, she’d scream loud enough to bring the building down.

"They said I thought I was better than them. That I needed to be ’put in my place.’ One of them grabbed me by the hair and pushed me onto that guy’s lap. I tried to get away, but they beat me up and forced alcohol down my throat." Lilly’s voice trembled, weeping as she poured her heart out to a stranger she didn’t know. "They filmed it and said Kingsley would finally hate me if he saw how dirty I was. So, when I got the chance, I ran...and they chased me until...until..."

She broke down, sobbing so miserably. Anita’s eyes stung with tears for some reasons she couldn’t quite place her fingers on.

But she knew two things: one, she didn’t like that a girl who reminded her of her mother was forced to go through that.

Two, Charlotte has abused the privileges far too much.

When she finally spoke, her voice was low. Dangerous. Controlled.

"Do you want to press charges? I can help you."

Lilly flinched. Was she a lawyer? Lilly was tempted to say yes, but considering the people who stood behind Charlotte, she couldn’t get on their bad side. Especially her Sister-in-law. She heard when Charlotte said that even if she died, her sister-in-law would take care of it.

She shook her head. "Even if I did... who would believe me? They’d say I’m doing it for attention. Or to ruin Charlotte’s reputation. It’s what they always say. And her sister-in-law—"

"She may not be as blind or indulging as you think she is." Anita turned around, locking eyes with Lilly. "Anita White is not immune to disgust."

Lilly’s breath caught.

Anita didn’t elaborate.

She didn’t have to.

There was a beat of silence... then two... as the realization crashed over Lilly like a wave. Her eyes widened, her lips parting in horror.

There couldn’t be such a coincidence. This woman introduced herself as Anita White earlier. And now....!?

The hospital room felt suddenly too small.

"You..." she whispered, her voice barely a breath. Her mind reeled, scrambling to connect the dots — the name, the poised rage, the way she spoke Charlotte’s name like a wound. "You’re her..."

Anita didn’t blink. "You don’t have to be afraid of me."

But Lilly had already pulled her knees up to her chest, shaken to her core. Not because she feared Anita... no, that wasn’t it. It was because for the first time, she didn’t know what this meant.

Because Charlotte had said...

’What are you scared of? If she dies or something bad happens, my sister-in-law will take care of it. She’s an expert at covering my tracks.’ She smirked, ’None of us is going to jail.’

No.

Lilly’s heart thudded wildly in her chest, yet she forced herself to ask. "And you... you’re not going to hurt me?"

Anita’s lips curled faintly but not into a smile, but something quieter. Sadder. "No, Lilly. Perhaps, I’m a monster, but..."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, low and gentle like a lullaby carrying the weight of buried grief. "...not the kind who hurts the broken."

Lilly’s chest heaved, a sound between a sob and a gasp catching in her throat. Her arms tightened around her knees, but the edge of panic eased just enough for clarity to trickle in.

Anita stepped away from the window and walked slowly toward the bed, each step as deliberate as her gaze. She didn’t sit. Didn’t reach out. She merely stood there—like a shadow between worlds. Between vengeance and mercy.

"I’m not here because of Charlotte," Anita continued, her voice calm. "I’m here because of you. Because no one should suffer like that and be told to survive in silence."

"But you’re..." Lilly shook her head, trying to reconcile the woman before her with the rumors, the whispers, the power she was said to have. "You’re supposed to protect her."

"I did." Anita’s eyes hardened. "For far too long."

She finally crouched to Lilly’s eye level, her tone like iron wrapped in velvet. "But even loyalty has its limits. Especially when it starts to rot."

Lilly thought that Anita was turning against Charlotte because the girl had become a monster, not knowing she had her own unresolved enmity with that ungrateful brat and her family.

A beat passed.

Then another.

And then Lilly whispered, "What are you going to do?"

Anita looked at her—not with pity, but calmly.

"I’m going to clean house," she said simply.

A chill crept down Lilly’s spine. Not from fear, but from the raw certainty in Anita’s voice. The kind that didn’t need bloodshed to be terrifying.

Anita straightened her back like the untouchable matriarch of a crumbling empire... regal, composed, and already mourning the mess she was about to make.

She walked towards the chair, grabbed her bag and fished out a card. "Call me if you’re interested in turning the tables."