Chapter 1

"Nicole Callahan, you called the police on Cece?" Mason Tavernier's voice rang out before he even made it through the door.

He hurled his car keys at the entryway wall, gouging a dent in the plaster.

I didn't so much as blink. "Her two hours were up."

"That's my assistant!" Mason jabbed a finger in my face and roared like a madman. "She just got the professor's recommendation letter! Do you have any idea what you've done? This will ruin her! Nicole, how can you be so vicious?"

"The value of what she stole exceeds 4,000,000 dollars." I turned to face him, my expression calm. "Have you ever read Article 264 of the Criminal Law?"

Mason snatched the wine decanter off the coffee table and hurled it to the floor.

The 24,000-dollar crystal vessel shattered at my feet. Red wine spread across my slippers like blood.

His face twisted with anger. "You have hundreds of pieces of jewelry. What's the harm in giving Cece one bracelet?

"Her advisor is the committee chair. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to… She's a kid from a small town. It's not easy for her to get a foothold in this city. I just wanted to help her.

"Nicole, when did you become so cold-blooded?"

I snorted. "Help her? Anyone who didn't know better would think she was your mistress. Plenty of college kids come from small towns every year. Every one of them has it hard.

"If you've got such a big heart, why not sell off the Tavernier Group and start a foundation? You can dedicate it to helping every kid who ever came out of a small town."

"Nicole, you're being completely unreasonable." Mason had no answer. His face flushed with humiliated anger.

"This day last year." I ignored him and pulled up a photo on my phone. "Our third wedding anniversary. I waited five hours for you at the Lakeview restaurant while you were off cheering on your Cecelia Swanson."

Mason's cold smile froze on his lips. "Nicole, you're jealous over something like that? That was the day of Cecelia's patent defense. I went to support her. It was just our anniversary. We can celebrate it every year."

His words left me speechless with anger. I swiped to the next photo. A Cartier blue box sat beside a celebration cake.

"For her patent celebration, you baked the cake yourself and picked out a bag. For my birthday, you gave me an expired supermarket coupon. Mason, tell me something. Am I your wife, or is Cecelia?"

"You actually need that bag?" Mason tipped his head back, his face full of impatience. "Nicole, you're 30 years old. Are you really going to squabble with a young girl?"

I smiled. "I'm not squabbling."

I sent her straight to prison instead.

"Nicole!" Mason's nostrils flared as he drew one ragged breath after another. He snatched up his car keys. "I don't want to argue with you right now. I'm going to get her out. My lawyer will talk to you tomorrow."

"Let me remind you of something." I turned the business card from my contact at the police station between my fingers. "If she isn't out before sunrise, I'll be reconsidering whether our marriage needs to continue."