Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rain beat down on Mona as she stumbled away from the Caldwell mansion. Her ruined dress clung to her skin, wine and rain mixing together in pink streams down her legs. The cold cut through her, but it was nothing compared to the pain tearing at her heart.

She had nowhere to go. No home. No money. Not even a phone to call for help. But there had to be someone who would take her in, just for tonight. Someone who would believe her side of the story.

With shaking hands, Mona fumbled with her small purse, the only thing they'd let her keep. Inside was nothing but her driver's license and a few coins. Just enough for a payphone.

She spotted one at the corner gas station, a relic from another time. Her bare feet stung as she made her way across the rough pavement, each step sending pain shooting up her legs.

The phone booth smelled of cigarettes and old rain, but it offered shelter from the downpour. Mona's fingers trembled as she dropped in the coins and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered, bright and cheerful.

"Jen?" Mona's voice cracked. "It's me, Mona."

A pause. "Mona? What's wrong? You sound terrible."

Jennifer Kent had been Mona's closest friend in this town. They'd had lunch every week for the past three years. Surely Jen would help her.

"Something awful happened," Mona said, tears choking her words. "Samuel... he threw me out. They said I stole from them, but I didn't, Jen. I swear I didn't."

Another long pause. "Oh my God, I heard something was happening at the party, but I didn't know it was this."

"Please," Mona begged. "I need a place to stay tonight. Just tonight. I have nothing, no clothes, no money. They took everything."

"Stay with me?" Jen's voice had changed, grown colder. "Mona, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? Why not?"

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened, but... Samuel already called me."

Mona's heart dropped. "What?"

"He said you'd try to contact me. He told me what you did, Mona. Stealing from Emily? From your own husband? How could you?"

"I didn't steal anything!" Mona cried. "They're lying!"

"Why would they lie?" Jen asked, her voice hardening. "The Caldwells have always been good to me. And honestly, Mona, I always wondered what Samuel saw in you anyway."

The words hit Mona like a slap. "I thought we were friends."

Jen laughed, the sound cutting through the phone line. "Friends? Mona, I only spent time with you because you were Samuel's wife. Being friends with you got me invited to Caldwell events. Did you really think someone like me would be friends with someone like you otherwise?"

The phone slipped in Mona's wet hand. "I don't understand..."

"Let me make it simple," Jen said coldly. "Don't call me again. I'm having dinner with the Caldwells next week, and I'm not going to risk my social position for a thief."

The line went dead.

Mona stared at the phone, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. Jen had been her shopping partner, her lunch date, the person she'd confided in about her struggles with Emily. They'd shared secrets, or so Mona had thought.

It had all been fake.

With shaking fingers, Mona dialed another number.

"Hello?" A man's voice this time.

"David? It's Mona. Mona Caldwell."

"Mona?" David Thompson sounded surprised. "Why are you calling so late?"

David and his wife Rebecca had been dinner guests at her and Samuel's home countless times. David worked with Samuel at the Caldwell's company. Surely he would help.

"I'm in trouble," Mona said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Samuel and I... we're over. They've thrown me out with nothing. I need help."

A long silence. Then, "I think you've called the wrong person."

"What? David, please. Just let me talk to Rebecca. Maybe I could stay on your couch...."

"That's not possible," David cut her off. "Look, I don't want to get involved in this. Samuel is my boss, and frankly, after what you did..."

"I didn't do anything!" Mona cried.

"That's not what Samuel says. And I believe him. You always seemed... off to me. Too quiet. Like you were hiding something."

"David, please...."

"Don't call here again. And don't call anyone else from the company. We all know what you did."

The line went dead again.

Mona's legs gave out. She slid down the wall of the phone booth, her body shaking with sobs. How had Samuel reached everyone so quickly? Had he planned this? Had he been telling lies about her for weeks, preparing for this moment?

She tried three more calls. Each one worse than the last.

"Mona who? Oh, Samuel's wife? Ex-wife? Sorry, don't know her." Click.

"How dare you call me? After what you did to poor Emily's jewelry? Disgusting." Click.

"I always knew there was something wrong with you. Stay away from me and my family." Click.

By the fifth call, Mona couldn't speak through her tears. The woman on the other end listened to her sobbing for a moment, then said quietly, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. The Caldwells... they run this town. I can't risk it," before hanging up.

The rain continued to pour as Mona huddled in the phone booth. Every person she had thought was her friend had turned their back on her. Every relationship she'd built over five years had been revealed as a lie, built on nothing but her connection to the Caldwell name.

She had no one.

A memory flashed through her mind – her first dinner party as Samuel's wife. Emily had spent the entire evening undermining her, correcting her table manners, mocking her dress.

"She's still learning," Emily had told the guests with a cold smile. "We don't expect miracles from someone with her... background."

The guests had laughed, all except one. Rebecca Thompson had touched Mona's hand gently under the table. "Don't worry," she'd whispered. "It gets easier."

What a lie that had been. It had never gotten easier. And now even Rebecca had abandoned her.

Mona looked down at her hands, once soft and well-kept, now rough from years of harsh cleaning products that Emily had forced her to use without gloves. "They're too expensive to waste on you," she'd said.

Her wedding ring was gone, torn from her finger at the party. Five years of marriage stripped away in a single night. Five years of trying to be perfect, of swallowing insults, of hoping that someday they would accept her.

All for nothing.

The payphone rang suddenly, startling her from her thoughts. She hesitated, then answered.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mona?" A woman's voice, unfamiliar.

"Yes," Mona whispered, hope rising despite everything. "Who is this?"

"This is Patricia, Rebecca Thompson's sister. Rebecca called me. She couldn't talk to you directly, David was listening, but she wanted me to tell you that Samuel has been calling everyone. He's saying terrible things, Mona. He told everyone you've been stealing for months, that you've been planning to leave him, that you even tried to seduce David."

Mona gasped. "None of that is true!"

"I know," Patricia said softly. "Rebecca doesn't believe it either. But she can't help you. None of them can. The Caldwells would destroy them."

"Then why are you calling me?" Mona asked, her voice hollow.

"Rebecca asked me to warn you. Stay away from your old friends. It's not safe. Samuel is determined to ruin you completely."

Fresh tears rolled down Mona's cheeks. "But why? What did I ever do to them?"

Patricia was quiet for a moment. "I don't know. But Rebecca said to tell you one more thing. She said, 'Remember the key.'"

"The key?" Mona whispered, her hand instinctively going to her throat where her father's necklace used to hang. The tiny gold key pendant, the last gift from her father. "But Emily took it from me years ago."

"I don't know what it means," Patricia said. "I'm sorry, that's all I know. I have to go. And Mona... be careful. The Caldwells aren't done with you yet."

The line went dead once more.

Mona wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from cold and fear. Samuel wasn't just content to throw her out – he was determined to destroy her completely. No friends, no reputation, no future. Why? What could she possibly have that he still wanted?

The rain had finally stopped, but Mona stayed huddled in the phone booth, her mind drifting back to before. Before the Caldwells. Before Samuel.

She remembered the house she grew up in, filled with warmth and love. The garden where her mother grew roses. Her father's study with its walls of books.

"Princess," her father would call her. "My clever little princess."

Her father, James Smith, had built his company from nothing. "Hard work and honesty," he always said. "That's the foundation of true success." He'd wanted her to take over someday.

But then they died. The car accident that took both her parents had left her alone at eighteen, heir to a company worth millions. And then came Samuel, handsome and charming, promising to help her through her grief.

"You don't have to do this alone," he'd said.

But he hadn't helped her. He'd taken everything – her company, her money, and eventually, her dignity.

The key. What had Rebecca meant? The necklace was long gone, thrown away or locked in Emily's jewelry box. But why mention it now?

Mona stood on shaking legs, peering out at the wet streets. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Every friend had revealed themselves as anything but. She was truly alone.

A car drove past, its headlights briefly illuminating her tear-stained face. In the glass reflection, she barely recognized herself. The woman staring back was hollow, broken, but somehow still standing.

Her father's voice tried to whisper from the past: "You're smarter than any of them, princess."

Her mother's words attempted to echo: "We bend, but we don't break."

But those voices seemed to belong to another life, another girl. A girl who hadn't been broken over and over again. Those voices faded away, drowned out by Emily's cruel laughter, Lora's mocking smile, Samuel's cold indifference.

Mona slumped against the wall of the phone booth, sliding down until she hit the dirty floor. Even her parents' memories couldn't reach her now. The final rejection from everyone she thought cared about her had extinguished the last flicker of light inside.

Samuel had taken everything. Her money. Her home. Her friends. Her dignity. Even her will to fight.

"You win," she whispered, the words dissolving into the night. No one was listening anyway.

She huddled on the floor of the phone booth, her body shaking with silent sobs. She had nothing but the ruined dress on her back and nowhere to go. The night stretched before her, cold and endless.

For the first time, Mona wondered if it wouldn't be easier to just close her eyes and let the exhaustion take her. What was the point of fighting anymore? Everyone who had ever loved her was gone. Everyone she had trusted had betrayed her.

She was completely, utterly alone.

Her body felt heavy, too heavy to move. The cold seeped into her bones, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Maybe if she just stayed here, just closed her eyes...

"I'm sorry, Dad," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Mom. I tried. I wasn't strong enough."

Darkness closed in around her as Mona Smith, once heir to millions, once beloved daughter, once hopeful bride, curled into herself and surrendered to the emptiness.