Chapter 2

By the time I went back inside, the table was a mess of dirty dishes and everyone was gone.

Then the door swung open.

Lucien stood in the doorway, frowning. "Estella, the dining room's a disaster. Why haven't you cleaned it up?"

Seraphina stood behind him with her hands on her hips. "You're doing it on purpose. You're mad because you saw us having dinner with Mom, right?"

Severin appeared at the end of the hall and glanced over, cool and detached.

"It's one dinner. What's with the attitude? Don't forget your responsibilities in this house."

"What responsibilities?" I asked flatly. "From now on, if you want to eat, cook for yourself. Do your own chores. I'm done waiting on you."

Severin's frown deepened. "Don't be ridiculous, Estella. You're my wife. Isn't taking care of this family your job?"

Lucien snorted. "Estella, it's not like you have a job. Why are you making such a big deal out of a few chores? Mom comes back, and suddenly you're throwing a tantrum. Who's that supposed to impress?"

Seraphina nodded. "Mom's pretty and sweet. You can't do anything right. How could you ever compare?"

I looked at the two kids I'd raised for ten years and said calmly, "I'm not competing with anyone.

"She's so wonderful. Let her take care of you. That's all you need."

Then I turned, went back to the master bedroom, and shut the door.

Through the door, I heard Lucien say in a low voice, "Has she lost her mind or something?"

Starting the next day, I really did stop doing everything.

The breakfast dishes piled up on the table, and Lucien and Seraphina's takeout boxes littered the living room.

Two days in, Seraphina came storming upstairs and pounded on my door.

"Estella, the laundry room is overflowing. Are you blind?"

"You can do it yourself."

She glared at me, her eyes red with anger.

"You're doing this on purpose!"

"Yes. So what?"

She stomped off.

The school called to say the twins hadn't turned in their homework.

I didn't pick up, so they tried Severin.

He came home early that day, saw the takeout boxes scattered around the living room, and struggled to keep his temper.

"Is this how a mother behaves?"

"Valerie is their biological mother," I said evenly. "Ask her."

My calm only made Severin angrier. He laughed, and there was nothing warm in it.

"You'd better mean that, Estella."

That night, I scrolled through my contacts, found a number saved without a name, and sent a text.

"I want a divorce."

The reply came almost instantly. "You finally see it. I always said you didn't belong there. Severin doesn't deserve you."

I stared at the words for a long time. Then another message came in. "When?"

"Seven days from now."

I put the phone down and was about to go to sleep when Severin's right-hand man barged into the bedroom and ordered me to go to the study.

Valerie and the kids were waiting inside.

Severin looked me over coldly. His expression was harder than I'd ever seen it.

He turned his tablet toward me. "Two nights ago, you went into my study."

I stared at him, startled. "What? No. What happened?"

Severin studied me for a long time before he finally spoke.

"Our shipment at the docks was hijacked. They knew exactly when each ship would arrive and what it was carrying. The leak had to have come from inside, Estella."

My blood ran cold. I steadied my trembling hands and asked, "You think it was me?"

Severin didn't answer. He just pulled up a video. "See for yourself."

It was footage from a hallway security camera.

In the grainy video, a woman pushed open the door and entered the study.

Her build, her hair, even the way she walked. It all looked like me.

"That's not me," I said flatly. "I was in my room all night."

I fought back my tears.

Even though I'd already decided to leave, their coldness still hurt.

Valerie suddenly spoke up, soft and sweet. "Two nights ago, I got up for a glass of water and saw someone heading down the hall toward your study. But I didn't say anything because I thought I might be mistaken."

"I saw it too," Lucien said suddenly. "I couldn't sleep that night. I heard something in the hall, so I opened my door and looked."

He paused, his eyes sliding over me. "I saw Estella come out of the study holding an envelope and our family signet ring."

Seraphina nodded along, her voice barely audible. "I saw her too... She was wearing that gray robe."

The guilt was written all over Seraphina's face. I clenched my teeth and swallowed the lump in my throat. "Seraphina, I don't even own a gray robe."

For a moment, nobody said anything.

Lucien hesitated, looking embarrassed, then said firmly, "Maybe she mixed up the color. Either way, we saw what we saw."

"Lucien." I stared at him. "Look at me and say that again."

He clenched his jaw but could only bring himself to stare at my shoulder.

"I saw you."

He finally raised his eyes.

He held my gaze for one second before he cracked and looked away.

Severin had been standing behind his desk the whole time, staring down at an opened letter.

After a long silence, he looked up. His gaze swept over me from head to toe, cold and assessing.

"The Savelli family does not tolerate betrayal.

"For the sake of our ten years of marriage, I won't kill you. But you will pay for this."

He walked up to me and lowered his voice so only I could hear. "Even the kids are accusing you, Estella. You've really let me down."

"I didn't do it!" I looked at Severin. "You need to find out what really happened!"

He stared at me for three seconds. "We don't have time. The other families are laughing at us. This has to be dealt with now."

Then he turned to his bodyguards. "Take her to the dungeon. Let her think about what she's done."

"What?! The dungeon? No, Severin, you know..." The moment I heard the word "dungeon," I began to struggle with everything I had.

The bodyguards grabbed me by both arms.

As they dragged me out of the study, Severin stood with his back to me, one hand braced on the edge of the desk, the other clenched into a fist.