Chapter 1

         Chapter 1

Danielle's POV:

From where I stood near the long glass windows overlooking the ocean, I could see

the last rays of the California sun melting into the horizon while a string quartet

played something low and romantic.

It was perfect! Every detail was exactly the way I’d imagined it.

I brushed an invisible speck from my champagne-colored gown and exhaled slowly.

Tonight wasn’t just our third wedding anniversary. Tonight, I was going to change

everything between Barry and me.

For years, I had hidden who I really was. To the world and to my own husband I was

Danielle Jules, the quiet, supportive wife of a rising businessman.

In reality, I was Madam Ellele… the name whispered in boardrooms, the investor

who could make or break a company with a single call. And I had been his biggest

investor. The very reason his struggling start-up didn’t collapse two years ago.

And he never knew.

Not because I didn’t trust him, but because trust was dangerous in my world. My late

father had been a billionaire before enemies tore him apart. They accused him of

working with the mafia, dragged our family name through the mud, and left me with

a “slush fund” so tangled in dirty politics that exposing it could have landed me in

prison, or worse.

I told myself hiding my identity from Barry was protection for him and for me.

But tonight, that changed.

We’d toast to our anniversary, and then I’d tell him everything about my father, the

slush fund and about the fact that his mysterious benefactor had been sitting across from him at breakfast every morning for the past three years.

Sighing, I checked my phone.

8:02 p.m.

Barry was late.

I’d expected him to be running on “Barry time” — a few minutes behind, because he

always liked to “make an entrance” — but this wasn’t a casual dinner at home.

This was our night.

I tried calling him again. The phone rang until it clicked to voicemail.

“Barry, it’s me.” I began. “The dinner has started, please call me back.” I lowered my

voice so the nearby staff wouldn’t hear the tight edge creeping in. “Please.”

Hanging up, I smiled faintly at a passing waiter and pretended everything was fine.

Inside, irritation was starting to spark.

Maybe he’d gotten caught up at the office. Fine. But he could answer his damn

phone.

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen and my patience snapped.

I pulled my clutch closer. If he wanted to play this game, fine! I’d go get him myself,

drag him out of his precious meetings and plant him right in front of the oysters

Rockefeller I’d ordered.

But just as I stepped out into the hallway, my phone buzzed with a new message.

Unknown Number: Come to Suite 17 in the very same resort you planned your

anniversary dinner if you want to know what your husband’s been busy with these

past few days. CODE: 2378.I stopped dead.

This had to be some pathetic scam or a joke. Still… Suite 17 was on the other side

of the resort. And the timing tonight, of all nights, felt like a deliberate punch to the

gut.

I told myself to delete it and ignore it. But a dozen small moments from the last few

weeks flashed in my mind. Thoughts of Barry answering calls in the other room,

working late without results to show, pulling away when I touched him in bed, and

laughing at a text he wouldn’t let me see, filled my mind.

I should have gone straight to his office. Instead, I found myself heading for the

elevator.

When I reached the top floor, the corridor smelled faintly of expensive cologne and

gardenias. Suite numbers ticked upward until I stopped in front of 17. For a moment,

I just stood there, staring at the keypad with my hand hovering over the buttons.

“Danielle, don’t do this.” I whispered to myself. “Walk away.”

But my fingers moved anyway.

2… 3… 7… 8.

The light turned green then I pushed the door open. At first, I couldn’t process what I

was seeing.

A blonde haired and naked woman was straddling someone on the bed, her back to

me, her nails digging into his shoulders. The air was heavy with perfume and sweat,

and the slick sound of their genitals rubbing together sliced into my disbelief.

I shrieked subtly, but it was loud enough for her to hear.

She froze then turned her head slowly toward me, and when her gaze met mine, her

lips parted in a shrill scream.

“Danielle?!”

My eyes widened.

Victoria Churchill?

Of all the people, her? The woman he used to pine over in college before she left

him for someone richer. The woman who’d suddenly reappeared in his life,

supposedly “just friends.”

She scrambled for a blanket, clutching it to her chest. Beneath her, the man pushed

her aside, and there he was—my husband.

Barry James.

His face went pale.

“Danielle, wait…”

“Wait?” My voice shook, partly from rage, partly from the betrayal slicing me open.

“This is what you’ve been doing instead of showing up for our anniversary?”

“It’s not…” He slid off the bed, yanking the sheet around his waist. “It’s not what it

looks like..”

“Oh, so you weren’t just inside your ex when I walked in? You weren’t about to make

me sit through a dinner while you…” I broke off, my voice rising dangerously.

Victoria stepped closer, her expression an infuriating mix of pity and triumph.

“Danielle, I think you should calm down..”

“Calm down?” I laughed. “You’re naked in my husband’s bed, and you think I should

calm down?”Barry held up his hands like I was some wild animal he needed to tame. “Baby,

please let me explain…”

“Explain? Oh, please, Barry, go ahead. Explain how you’re somehow the victim

here.” Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed out.