Chapter one: The Betrayal

The restaurant was almost empty when I walked in. I had planned to surprise my husband. It was our wedding anniversary, and I had spent the entire afternoon choosing his favorite suit and buying the watch he had been admiring for months. I smiled as I entered the private room he had reserved.

Then I stopped. My husband wasn't alone. A woman was sitting beside him, her hand resting comfortably on his chest.

VIVIAN MOORE

My biggest enemy.

For a few seconds, I couldn't breathe. My husband quickly stood up.

"You're here." His voice sounded nervous.

I stared at Vivian, then at the glass of wine between them. "So you two are together?"

Neither of them answered. That silence told me everything. I placed the gift box on the table.

"I came here to surprise you."

My husband looked away.

Vivian only smiled, That smile made something inside me break, I turned and walked out without saying another word. I didn't cry until I got home.

That night, while my husband was still out, I opened his laptop.I wasn't looking for anything, I only wanted to know how long the affair had been going on.

I found messages.

Hundreds of them. Then I found the bank transfers. Money had been sent to Vivian almost every week.

Large amounts. Far more than I could imagine.

My hands trembled as I opened the records.

There were transfers from our joint account. Transfers from my personal investment account. Even money from one of my properties. He had been stealing from me.

For how long, I didn't know. Then I saw one message from Vivian.

"Once she's gone, everything will finally belong to us."

My heart stopped.

Gone?

I read the message again, Before I could look further, I heard the front door open.

My husband was home. I quickly closed the laptop and wiped my tears.

He walked into the room. "Why are you still awake?"

I looked at the man I had loved for years. For the first time, I wondered if I had ever truly known him.

"I want a divorce."

His expression changed.

"What's that?"

"You heard me."

He stared at me for several seconds before laughing. "You think I'll just let you walk away?"

I said nothing.

He stepped closer. And for the first time, I saw something frightening in his eyes, Not love nor sadness.

That was when I realized the truth my husband wasn't afraid of losing me. He was afraid of losing something, but what could that be?.

He didn't say another word. He simply walked past me and went upstairs. I stood there, watching him disappear, my heart pounding, I had expected anger. Maybe even sadness. I hadn't expected that cold look in his eyes.

That night, I barely slept. By morning, I had already made up my mind. I would divorce him. I spent the next few days gathering every document connected to my properties, accounts, and investments. I moved what I could and contacted my lawyer without telling him.

But my husband noticed the change. He became unusually attentive.He brought me flowers and apologized.

He promised that Vivian meant nothing to him.

I almost laughed.

How could someone who had been secretly sending her my money say that with a straight face?

Then one evening, he came home with divorce papers.

He placed them on the table. "If you want a divorce so badly, sign these."

I looked at the papers, Something felt wrong.

"Why are you agreeing so easily?"

He smiled. "Because I love you."

A lie.

I signed and went straight to my room. But before I could celebrate, my lawyer called.

There was a problem.

“Please come to my office as soon as possible.” His voice was serious.

I sat up in bed. “What happened?”

“There’s something you need to see.”

I dressed quickly and left the house before my husband will notice. When I arrived, my lawyer placed several documents in front of me.

I stared at them in confusion.

“What are these?”

“Property transfers.” My stomach tightened.

“Your husband has been moving assets into different names. Some of them are already connected to some one named, Vivian.”

I felt my blood run cold.

“How much?”

He gave me a number. I couldn't speak, It was a huge part of my inheritance.

“He's been preparing for this for a long time,” my lawyer continued. “You need to be careful.”

I picked up the documents with trembling hands.

That was when my phone rang.

My husband.

I answered.

“Where are you?” he asked

“At my lawyer's office.”

There was silence. Then his voice became cold. “Come home, we need to talk."

"We have nothing left to talk about." I ended the call. My lawyer looked at me " you shouldn't go home alone."

"I'll be fine."

I gathered the documents and left my lawyer's office that night I drove home slowly, my mind filled with questions. The road was busy, and the sky was already dark. I stopped at a traffic light and glanced at my phone.

There was a message from my husband. I stared at it for a moment before putting my phone away. The light turned green. I continued driving. A few minutes later, I noticed a car behind me. It had been following me for several minutes.

I changed lanes. It changed lanes too. My heart began to beat faster. I looked into the rearview mirror again.

The car was getting closer.

Then suddenly—

CRASH!

The impact sent my car spinning across the road. My head slammed against the steering wheel. Glass shattered around me. I tried to move, but pain shot through my body.

Smoke filled the car. People were shouting outside. I struggled to open my eyes. Through the broken windshield, I saw the other car speeding away. I tried to remember its license plate. But everything around me was becoming blurry.

My hand reached for my phone but I couldn't feel my fingers.

Then I heard someone shouting that an ambulance was coming. My eyes slowly closed. And the last thought that crossed my mind was my husband.

I wondered if he knew.

I wondered if he would even care.

Then everything went black.