Rise To Power: Death To My Billionaire Husband

Chapter 27: Pulling You Down

Eleanor’s voice was lined with hesitation and fake nostalgia.

"She’s relatively new to this lifestyle. She was my neighbor’s daughter, back in the day. Her parents were good to us. Kind and generous people."

She glanced away, as if reaching into the past for innocence that never quite existed.

"Linda practically grew up with David and Charlotte. I always considered her... like a daughter. So when I heard that David had given her an opportunity for a better future at his company, I was genuinely happy for her. I thought, maybe this would be her chance to build something good."

She looked up, eyes soft, searching Anita’s face for a crack of sympathy.

"That’s why I asked her to join me for lunch. I haven’t seen her in years. And she just returned to the country. Please, for my sake, forgive her disrespect. She didn’t mean to. She’s just too used to seeing everyone as family, especially you—her big brother’s wife."

Give this woman a holy book and watch her spin God’s words into silk noose around people’s necks.

Did she really think Anita was that naive?

Did she truly believe Anita had no clue who and what David’s "neighbors" were, or what they looked like? Did Eleanor forget the very stories she once told Anita herself –over tea and tears– about how every single person in their old neighborhood treated them with contempt?

Did Eleanor think she’d forgotten? Or was she betting Anita had finally learned to swallow betrayal with grace?

Years ago, Eleanor had wept with shame while confessing how neighbor wives would cross the street to avoid her like plagues, how the children bullied Charlotte and David, both at home and back at school, how even their so-called neighbors would pick fights over shared corridors, spilled trash at her doorstep, or imagined insults.

And how their husbands would come everyday with sticks, banging on her door and yelling the house down for their money, and then came the loan sharks, who threatened to sell off Charlotte to recover the money her husband owned.

Neighbors barely tolerated them, just because her husband ran away with their savings.

Apparently, Mr. Blackwood was a "businessman" who convinced people in the neighborhood to invest in a get-rich-quick scheme, and then vanished overnight with millions, leaving debts, lies, and a reputation so rotten the stench followed Eleanor and her children for years.

Anita remembered that part well. Not because Eleanor said it too loud, but because paying the debt made David drunk on happiness and alcohol, initiate their first kiss and vowed to fight for their love. He even gave Anita his virginity that night.

And now, here Eleanor stood, in pearls Anita had chosen for her, spinning fairy tales about the golden girl next door.

Anita’s eyes flicked to the table, to the so-called neighbor with watery eyes, probably waiting for what? An apology? A recognition? A signed divorce?

Anita inhaled slowly, tasting the bitterness of the past Eleanor had so artfully rewritten.

"You don’t need to explain, Mother," she said quietly, her voice calm but cutting as she locked eyes with the woman’s expression. "She already came into my home at night, and my husband introduced her as his muse. Now I see why."

Eleanor’s face paled. "He said what?"

She was flabbergasted. How could David take his mistress home?! Why was he playing a blatant game of dare with a scary woman like Anita?

Why?

David told her they were going to play this smartly. They couldn’t let Anita get a whiff of what was going on. David also said he wasn’t divorcing Anita. All he wanted was a child from Linda, who’d eventually be adopted by Anita after its birth — and a fairly good time with Linda until he got tired of her.

Her son wasn’t in a serious relationship with Linda. He didn’t want her for a wife. He just wanted to have fun, get a child, since Anita was barren, and then talk Anita into adopting a kid in the future.

Simple!

So, how the hell had it all gone off-script?

Meanwhile, Linda didn’t bother getting involved, afraid David would hate her for it. But she hoped Mrs. Blackwood could make matters worse, if possible, say the wrong words that would hasten David and Anita’s divorce.

While the older woman was fidgeting under Anita’s gaze, racking her mind for an intelligent reason behind her son’s stupid act, Anita’s lips rose subtly. She’d deliberately stirred the pot of lies and tested how deep their collaboration went, but as it seemed, David wasn’t telling his mother everything. In other words, she could push her own schemes through the cracks.

"He said she’s the company’s new muse." Anita clarified, saving the woman from a heart attack, though her tone was far from kind.

Eleanor blinked, struggling to compose herself, but let out an awkward laugh to hide her unease. "Ah... muse. Of course. That must have been a misunderstanding. You know David, he’s always poetic with his words. Always exaggerating things that don’t need flair."

Anita nodded calmly. "Alright, Mother, let me not take any more of your time." She leaned forward and hugged her mother-in-law like all was well – with a cheek to cheek kiss, warm enough to deceive, firm enough to remind.

Pulling away from the hug, she brushed past her mother-in-law, heels clicking sharply on the neatly polished floor. The sound echoed in the silent VIP section like a countdown.

Just as she walked through the entrance, Madam Blackwood shot a death glare at Linda. "How could you be so stupid?!" she shouted. "Do you think she’s naive?! Do you know who she is?! How dare you provoke her with your flimsy little unpolished scheme when you’ve already been to her house and presented yourself to her on a platter?"

Eleanor was outraged.

She didn’t care that her son was a billionaire now. Until he said they didn’t need Anita anymore, until she and her children could assert their authority without needing to be behind Anita’s shadow, then Anita mustn’t not be angered. And must be kept in the dark.

Linda remained stilled, clearly taken aback by the woman’s outburst. She’d not expected the cheerful woman who’d been full of praises for her to suddenly lash out at her.

Her head lowered, but her eyes were covered with frost. This was all Anita’s fault. She thought.

"That woman," Eleanor suddenly spoke again, as if trying to force Linda to see who Anita was. "She’s a fortress. Unbreakable, unyielding. And you, you marched right into her domain, wearing your foolish innocence like armor. Do you think she won’t see through you? That she won’t tear you apart for the audacity? If you want to die, don’t pull my son down with you."

"Nobody is pulling anyone down, Mother."