Chapter one

After three years of marriage, I decided to visit my husband at his company unannounced. I wasn’t going to call.

It was going to be a surprise, and I was more than excited.

I couldn’t remember the last time I did something spontaneous. I almost fell flat on my face as I tried to slip on my shoes and put on my diamond earrings at the same time.

I hurried to Lingscorps, my scarf carefully tied to hide every strand. My husband wasn’t a fan of blonde hair. As I reached the entrance, the doorman at the gate didn’t offer a polite nod. He frowned at me.

“Mr. Adam’s wife is inside with him as we speak,” he said, his voice flat.

Who am I then?

I paused, clutching my bag tighter for no real reason. “I’m sorry, what? Anyway, listen, I don’t have time for whatever ‘I’m good at my job’ show you’re putting on here. I’m here to see my husband, and you’re going to let me in,” I snapped.

The doorman didn’t move. He took out his phone and made a quick call. After saying “yes” a couple of times, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and stepped closer, invading my personal space.

“I just spoke to my colleague, and he says the boss is still inside his office with his wife and doesn’t want to be disturbed. Now, I don’t know what drugs you’re on, but you have to leave before I throw you out.”

I backed away slowly, the words stinging more than the threat.

It felt like dynamite had been lit in my head.

Adam and I had been married for three years. I’d been here before. Three times, to be exact.

We hadn’t made our wedding public. Adam said he was protecting me from his enemies and my father’s. But surely some of the staff knew?

As I thought about it, the realization hit me.

He had never introduced me to anyone here. Not once.

“Rebecca, hi! Long time!”

I turned to see a tiny woman in professional attire making her way toward me. After a moment of racking my brain, I still couldn’t place her.

“You sat with me once when you came here with Mr. Adam. Don’t you remember?”

Anna. Adam’s secretary.

I remembered now. I’d spent an hour in her cubicle once when Adam was having a meeting that went on for hours.

“Are you here to help Mrs. Adam?” Anna asked, pushing her glasses further up her nose. “I heard she just got back, and Mr. Adam is planning to go public with her soon.”

So the doorman wasn’t just being rude.

“So, a woman is in his office right now?” My voice came out hoarse. There was an invisible lump stuck in my throat.

“Not just any woman....his wife,” Anna whispered, her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Aren’t you his cousin? How come you don’t know?”

Cousin.

His cousin!

The shock pressed in on me, stealing my breath.

Before I could even process the word, my feet moved. I marched back toward the entrance. The doorman moved to block me again, but Anna yelled at him.

“Move! She’s the boss’s cousin!”

The guard hesitated, looking between us. “Then why did she say she was Mrs. Adam?” he muttered, eventually stepping aside.

I reached the heavy doors of Adam’s office. My hand trembled as it touched the handle, but I stopped when I heard muffled voices from inside.

“You had to bring it up again, Adam,” a woman’s voice rang out. Sharp, cold, and familiar. “I’m tired of sharing you with that spoilt brat. When will you grow the balls to tell her father that you’re tired of being married to the dumb Barbie he calls a daughter?”

I felt cold.

I’d recognize that voice even if I were drunk.

Elena Davis.

My best friend since high school. The picture of perfection, with porcelain skin and a brilliant mind. I was the godmother to her daughter, who was also my namesake.

“Can you just calm down? You’ll ruin everything over something as petty as jealousy!” another voice snapped.

Elliot Greene. My cousin. The black sheep of my family.

“Stop yelling at my wife, Elliot,” Adam’s voice cut in, low and commanding.

I gripped the doorknob so tightly it hurt.

Not a mistake. Not a rumor. Not even a mistress.

His wife.

“We need her,” Adam continued, his voice persuasive. “If I leave her now, her father won’t pass the company to me. Our firm only makes a profit because people know I’m his son-in-law. When the old man dies, I’ll be the owner. I’ll merge the companies. Hopefully, my uncle will agree to partner with us then. We’ll be billionaires.”

My breathing stopped.

“That’s why we maintain the lie. Do you think I want to be with that dumb, flat-assed bitch? I’m stuck with her for us, Elena. Who wouldn’t want to flaunt a beauty like you instead?”

The sudden urge to burst in and bash their heads in was swallowed by numbness.

Three years.

Every sacrifice I’d made. Giving up my favorite color because he called pink childish. Hiding my blonde hair. Skipping the spa. Cutting off my social circle to be the dutiful wife he wanted.

It was all a joke, I wasn’t his wife.

I was his tool.

My hand drifted to my stomach. The most painful part of it all.

I had given him my kidney when he lost his. He came out of the theatre with a new kidney, but I got out with a severe uterine infection and scarring. The doctor had told me I will never be able to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term.

The greatest sacrifice I had ever made, for a man who only saw me as a tool.

The tears fell in torrents.

After a couple of minutes, I turned and walked away.

By the time I flagged a cab and reached my father’s house, there was no sign of tears on my face.

The betrayal had only killed the part of me they all knew.

I found my father in his study, buried under a mountain of documents. He looked up and smiled, unsurprised that I walked in without knocking.

I don’t knock.

“I want to take over the company when you retire,” I said calmly. “I want you to teach me everything. I’m ready to learn.”

My father chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Out with it, little dove. What did that husband of yours forget to buy? Or rather, what would you like me to buy this time?”

“I’m dead serious, Dad. I want to learn the ropes. I want to be the one you hand the assets to. Not Adam or Elliot. Me.”

His smile faded. “I’d die before Elliot gets his hands on my company. And your husband is more than capable. You’re a woman, Rebecca. You should focus on being a good wife and giving me grandchildren before I die.”

“Dad, please. Trust me on this. You’re the one who always taught me to reach for the skies. I’ve been a spoilt brat for too long, and I’m sorry for not taking the business seriously. But I’m ready now. And I want the company this time. Not trips or jewelry.”

“Does your husband know you’re here?”

“No. And don’t tell him. Not yet.”

“Little dove, are you having problems with your husband? Is that what this is all about?”

I shook my head. “No, Dad, I promise. This isn’t some bratty tantrum. Please trust me.”

“I trust you, but this is the company we’re talking about. The family’s legacy. Our blood and sweat.”

“Then let a Greene handle it,” I said firmly. “I know I was okay with you handing it to Adam because I’m a woman, but not anymore. I want to do this. And I know, with your help, I can.”

Silence stretched between us.

“Rebecca…”

“Please, Dad.”

He studied me for a long moment before he nodded.

That was all I needed.

As I left, I pulled out my phone and dialed Kate. She was a fellow spoilt brat like me, but she had a direct line to the only person who knew everyone’s skeletons. Her Aunt, Matilda.

“Where are you?” I asked as soon as she picked up.

“Aunt Matilda’s. She’s throwing one of her lecture parties. Please come save me.”

“I’m on my way,” I said.

Years ago, I would have avoided Aunt Matilda like the plague. She was the queen of gossip. The woman who knew every scandal before any blog ever got wind of it.

If Adam and Elena had a life I didn’t know about, Aunt Matilda and her friends would definitely spill the tea and show receipts.

I wanted to turn Adam’s world upside down.

But first, I needed to know exactly where the cracks were.