Chapter Three

My hands shook as I climbed the stairs. The vase felt heavy and useless. What was Victoria doing in my house? How did she get in?

I pushed open the bedroom door. She stood by my dresser, looking through my jewelry box like she owned the place. She'd changed out of the red dress into jeans and a sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

She looked almost normal. Almost human.

"Get out," I said. My voice was stronger than I felt.

Victoria turned slowly. She held up my diamond necklace, the one Flinn gave me on our first anniversary. "This is beautiful. But fake, you know. Just like everything else he gave you."

"Put it down."

She dropped it carelessly on the dresser. "Relax. I'm not here to steal your jewelry. Though honestly, most of it isn't worth stealing."

"How did you get in here?"

She held up a key. "Flinn gave it to me six months ago. I come here sometimes when you're out. I like to see how the other half lives." She smiled. "The sad half."

Rage burned through my fear. "You have no right to be here."

"I have every right. This house, this life, it should have been mine." Victoria walked toward me. "Do you know how long I've known Flinn? Twelve years. We went to business school together. We built our first company together. We were supposed to get married."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" She laughed. "Of course not. Flinn is good at keeping secrets. We were engaged. Then you came along with your big innocent eyes and your sweet small-town act. He fell for it like an idiot."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" She pulled out her phone and showed me a photo. A younger Flinn with his arm around a younger Victoria. Both smiling. Both wearing rings.

"He broke it off for you," Victoria continued. "Said he wanted something pure and real. Something uncomplicated." Her eyes turned cold. "But people like us, we're not made for pure and real. We're made for power and success. And eventually, he remembered that."

"So you seduced him back."

"I didn't have to seduce him." She put her phone away. "I just had to wait. Wait for him to get bored with playing house. Wait for him to miss the excitement. Wait for him to remember who he really is."

Each word was a knife in my heart. But I wouldn't let her see me bleed.

"If he loves you so much, why hasn't he divorced me?" I asked.

Something flickered in her expression. Doubt? Anger?

"He will. Soon." But she didn't sound certain. "He's just waiting for the right time. For the right business deal to close."

"Or maybe he doesn't love you at all," I said. "Maybe you're just convenient. Easy. Available."

Victoria's face turned red. "You stupid little girl. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" I stepped closer. "You sneak around in the dark. You wait for his calls. You take whatever scraps of time he gives you. That's not love. That's desperation."

Her hand flew up to slap me, but I caught her wrist. Years of feeling weak and helpless boiled over into strength I didn't know I had.

"Get. Out. Of. My. House." I pushed her toward the door.

Victoria jerked her arm free. "This won't be your house much longer. When Flinn divorces you, you'll have nothing. No money. No home. No future. You signed a prenup, remember?"

I had. I'd been so in love, so trusting. I'd signed whatever Flinn's lawyers put in front of me.

"I'm not scared of you," I lied.

"You should be." Victoria's smile returned. "Because I always get what I want. And I want your life." She walked to the door, then paused. "By the way, Flinn and I are going to Singapore next week. For two weeks. He's telling you it's business. But we're staying in a private villa. On the beach. Very romantic."

She left, her footsteps echoing down the stairs. A moment later, I heard the front door close.

I sank onto the bed, shaking. The room spun around me. Everything Victoria said played over and over in my head.

They were engaged. He broke it off for me. He went back to her.

My phone buzzed. The new secure phone Sebastian had delivered an hour ago.

"Are you okay? My security team alerted me that someone entered your house."

I stared at the message. Sebastian had security watching me? That should have scared me. Instead, it made me feel safer.

I typed back: "Victoria was here. She has a key. She told me everything."

His response came immediately. "I'm coming over."

"No. Flinn might come home."

"I don't care."

"I do. We have to be smart, remember?"

A long pause. Then: "Tomorrow. Lunch. I'm sending a car at noon. We need to talk about what she said."

"Okay."

I got ready for bed like a robot. Shower. Pajamas. Face cream. All the normal things. But nothing felt normal anymore.

I lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. This bed had never felt so big and empty.

Around two in the morning, I heard Flinn come home. His footsteps were quiet as he moved through the house. The bedroom door opened softly.

I kept my eyes closed, pretending to sleep.

He stood there for a long moment. I could feel him watching me. Then he sighed and walked to the bathroom.

The shower ran for twenty minutes. When he came out, he smelled like soap and expensive shampoo. He slipped into bed beside me, careful not to touch me.

We lay there in the dark, inches apart but miles away.

"I know you're awake," he said quietly.

I didn't answer.

"Kelsey." His hand touched my shoulder. "We need to talk."

"About what?" I kept my eyes closed. "About your meeting? About Victoria? About the key you gave her to our house?"

Silence. Heavy and thick.

"She told you."

"She showed me." I opened my eyes and turned to face him. "Were you engaged to her?"

In the moonlight, his face looked tired. Older. "Yes. A long time ago."

"How long?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"It matters to me!" I sat up. "You married me while you were still in love with her?"

"I wasn't in love with her. I was in love with you." His jaw tightened. "I AM in love with you."

"Liar." The word came out broken. "If you loved me, you wouldn't be sleeping with her."

"I'm not—" He stopped. "It's complicated."

"That's what cheaters always say. It's complicated. It didn't mean anything. You don't understand." I laughed, but it sounded like crying. "I understand perfectly. You got bored with me. Your perfect little wife who gave up everything for you."

Flinn grabbed my arms. "That's not true."

"Then what is true? Tell me the truth for once!"

"The truth?" His eyes blazed. "The truth is that Victoria knows things about my business. Illegal things. She has evidence that could destroy me. She said she'd go to the authorities unless I gave her what she wanted."

My blood went cold. "And what she wanted was you?"

"Yes." He let go of me. "Six months ago, she came to my office with files. Documents. Proof of deals I made when I was younger and stupider. She said she'd make it all disappear if I came back to her."

"So you're being blackmailed?" I didn't know whether to believe him.

"I'm protecting us. Protecting you. If those documents come out, I lose everything. We lose everything."

"We?" I shook my head. "There is no we, Flinn. There hasn't been for a long time."

"Kelsey—"

"No." I climbed out of bed. "I'm sleeping in the guest room. Don't follow me."

"Please, let me explain—"

"You had three years to explain. Three years to tell me the truth. Instead, you let me think I was crazy. That I was imagining things." I walked to the door. "I'm done pretending everything is fine."

"Where were you tonight?" His voice stopped me. "After the party. Where did you go?"

I turned back. "Why? Are you worried I have secrets too?"

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Do you?"

"Maybe I do." I smiled coldly. "Maybe I have my own meetings. My own late nights. My own someone who actually wants me."

It was a lie. Well, half a lie. But the look on Flinn's face made it worth it.

"Who?" he demanded.

"Does it matter? You have Victoria. Maybe I deserve someone too."

I left before he could respond. I locked the guest room door and leaned against it, my heart racing.

My phone buzzed. The secure one.

"I heard raised voices. Say the word and I'll be there in five minutes."

Sebastian. Still watching. Still waiting.

I typed: "I'm okay. See you tomorrow."

His reply made my heart skip: "Sleep well, princess. Tomorrow we make our first move."

I climbed into the guest bed, but sleep didn't come. Instead, I lay awake thinking about revenge. About secrets. About the dangerous game I was about to play.

Somewhere in the house, I heard something crash. Then Flinn's voice, angry and low, talking on the phone.

I got up and crept to the door, pressing my ear against it.

"...don't care what you want, Victoria. You got your meeting. That's all you're getting tonight." A pause. "No. I told you, I'm trying to fix this. Give me time." Another pause. "If you go to the authorities, you'll destroy yourself too. Those documents implicate both of us."

My hands clenched into fists.

"Fine. Singapore. Two weeks. But after that, we're done. I'll pay you whatever you want, but this ends." His voice dropped lower. "Because despite everything, I do love my wife. And I'm going to find a way to fix what I've broken."

The phone call ended. Footsteps moved away.

I stood frozen. None of this made sense. Was Flinn telling the truth about the blackmail? Did he really love me? Or was this just another lie?

My secure phone buzzed again.

"My team recorded that phone call. Very interesting. He's deeper in trouble than I thought. This is perfect for us."

I stared at the message. Sebastian was recording everything. Watching everything. Building his case.

Tomorrow, I will meet him. Tomorrow, we will plan Flinn's destruction.

But tonight, lying alone in the dark, I couldn't help wondering, What had I become?

And more importantly, Did I even care anymore?