The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 107: Fire and Flames

Philip dragged Mara by the arm up the rusting stairs, one hand gripping her bound wrists, the other clutching a pistol.

"You think they’ll save you?" he sneered. "They’ll watch you die,"

Mara said nothing.

Her eyes scanned the second-floor ledge. The open drop. The men below.

Her brothers.

Her husband.

And then Ethan caught her eye. Just for a breath.

He pressed two fingers to his lips, then opened his palm in a slow, gentle wave.

Her breath caught.

A memory came flooding back candlelight, laughter, wedding lace, the old movie they’d watched the night they became one. A woman on the ledge of a skyscraper, leaping for love. Ethan’s voice whispering, "If you jump, I’ll catch you. Always."

Mara’s lips parted.

"I believe you," she whispered. The flash ends, and even when things were no longer the same again she knew if Ethan didn’t her brothers would.

Then she jumped. Her brothers were in shock but were ready to catch her no matter what, their hearts drumming in their chests.

Philip’s shout tore through the air like a whip.

"STEFANIA!"

But it was too late.

She was already in freefall arms outstretched, her hair fanning behind her like wings.

Time slowed.

And then arms. So many arms.

Stefan. Stanley. Stanford. Steve.

And Ethan.

They caught her like she was made of light and legend, wrapping her in the kind of love that turns bloodlines into kingdoms.

She was safe.

Philip stared down in disbelief.

And then... he froze.

Because behind him a shadow moved.

He turned.

And saw her.

Valerie.

The wife he buried. The woman he betrayed. The fire refused to die.

Her eyes were molten with fury, her hands steady, a gun trained on his heart.

"You always underestimated me," she said softly disarming him. "Just like you underestimated them."

Philip’s mouth opened. A thousand excuses. A thousand lies.

But she didn’t want to hear any of them, she had waited for this for so long, finally, she would have her revenge, shooting him would be too easy. Ethan was in shock when he saw the face of Valerie, his sister the one he thought had died 10 years ago. Valerie stabbed him in both legs as Philip bled on the floor

Back downstairs, Vera had fallen to her knees, pain washing over her like a tidal wave.

Her shoulder burned.

A strange, ancient burn. Valerie turned her head—just for a second—just in time to see it.

The mark.

The same one burned into her skin when she was young. When she was chosen. When she was cursed.

Her eyes widened.

"No..."

She dropped to her knees rushing to Vera.

The girl looked up, eyes glassy, lips trembling.

"Mom?" Valerie touched her face.

"My baby." they both hug, everyone was in for a surprise, they didn’t see that one coming.

Victor lay dying in a corner. Philip sat frozen in the shadow of his past. Vera and Valerie, are reunited by fate and fire. The Shepherd brothers stood tall around their sister.

And Mara?

Mara stood with her wrists still tied, her body aching, but her spirit unbroken. A queen among warriors.

The warehouse was still, but not silent.

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer with every heartbeat. The flashing red and blue lights painted the cracked walls like warpaint.

Victor was cuffed and barely conscious, bleeding out under the watch of Stanford and Stanley, who stood like twin reapers—silent and satisfied.

Philip... was on his knees, his face pale, sweat dripping from his brow as Valerie stood over him, gun still trained on his chest. She didn’t speak.

She didn’t need to.

Her presence alone was judgment.

Steve wrapped his arms around Mara, kissing her temple, whispering "You’re safe" over and over like a prayer. He didn’t care that her wrists were still tied or that her face was bruised. She was alive. That was all that mattered.

Ethan wished he could hug Mara but he couldn’t he turned and saw Valerie.

His sister.

Alive.

It hit him like a tidal wave. The woman they’d mourned. The woman who vanished.

"Val..." he whispered, disbelief thick in his voice. "It’s really you?"

She looked at him and her hardened face cracked. Just a little. Just enough.

"Ethan..."

He ran to her and embraced her like a lost child. They stood there, tangled in the past and the present, while tears carved paths down their faces.

"I thought you were dead."

"I was... until tonight."

And then another shift.

Valerie pulled Vera gently into the embrace. And the three of them stood together. Mother. Daughter. Uncle. Blood reuniting across broken timelines.

Vera didn’t know whether to cry or scream. She leaned into Valerie, breathing her in. She remembered her scent. Somehow. Like lavender and war.

All her life, she’d felt like she was burning from the inside out.

Now... she understood why.

She came from fire.

And fire doesn’t die.

It rises.

Outside, a sleek black car rolled up just as the police began swarming the warehouse. Rafael stepped out in full CEO-gone-avenger mode behind him was a police officer his jaw locked, a silver badge clipped to his jacket.

Special Clearance. The kind that meant he was the law tonight.

He walked past the crowd, barely glancing at the chaos, until he reached Mara and Steve. He was glad she was okay.

"Stef," Rafael muttered. "Can’t leave you alone for a second, huh?"

Mara gave him a weak smile. "You’re late."

"I brought the cavalry," he said, tilting his head toward the officers behind him. "And an espresso machine in the car. Do you need anything?" just to ease the tense and horror environment.

Stefan grunted. "A reset button will be perfect."

Rafael looked around, his eyes falling on Victor being carried away, and Philip being shoved into a squad car by Valerie herself, head high, gun still holstered.

"I’d say you just got one."

Darkness outside.

Literally.

The last sliver of gold stretched across the dark horizon as the team emerged from the warehouse one by one.

Stefan, quiet and shaken, but alive. Stanley, bruised and grinning, battle-bonded.

Stanford, already replaying the footage in his head, planning the next move. Mara, leaning into Steve, finally allowing herself to breathe. And behind them, the new trio: Valerie, Vera, and Ethan—blood reunited. Three souls, stitched together by fate and fire.

And somewhere, deep in the silence after the sirens fade, revenge gives way to something rarer.

Healing.

A FEW WEEKS LATER – PEACE, FINALLY

The Sheperd mansion was quiet.

Not eerily quiet—just... peaceful. The kind of hush that settles after a storm, when the walls are no longer listening for gunfire, and hearts are no longer bracing for betrayal.

Mara sat on the back porch, wrapped in a thick sweater, her tea steaming in her hands. She watched the garden Stefan had planted just weeks ago begin to bloom in spite of everything. Wildflowers, unruly and unapologetically bright, dancing in the breeze.

Stefan came out, barefoot, hair a mess, sleep still in his eyes. He didn’t say anything just sat beside her and hugged her.

Steve tossed a football to Stefan as they used to as kids sloppy, loud, and full of laughter. Their nanny grilled something that smelled divine. Stanford and Stanley were arguing over who got more press attention after the takedown of Philip Shepherd. (Spoiler: it was Steve.)

Mara watched them all, heart full.

She had thought she’d never get back to this place this soft Chapter, this moment of laughter after the war. But here it was.

Maybe not perfect.

But real. Healing. Rafael has been calling to check on her, she loves the attention he gives her and her babies are doing well too she only wonders how Ethan is doing and how Vera aka Goldie is doing in the Anderson mansion. It all just felt like some twisted fate. One thing was certain Bella would be happy to have her daughter back.