Chapter 3 Help Me

My hands turned cold as I stared at the phone.

The message preview read: 'Did it work? Why did I not see you inside?'

I should not have opened someone else's phone, but the words involved my husband and my own home. I pressed Samuel's fingerprint from the service form he had left on the table, and the screen unlocked.

Three messages sat at the top of the conversation.

[Did it work? Why did I not see you inside?]

[After this is done, I will pay you five thousand dollars. Then stay away from my house.]

[My wife has been lonely and emotional lately. Keep approaching her, create a scene that looks improper, and make sure there is something I can use as evidence.]

I read the messages again and again, unable to breathe.

Mark had hired Samuel not simply to maintain the yard, but to create the appearance that I was behaving improperly with another man. He wanted evidence. He wanted a reason to blame me.

A few minutes later, Samuel returned to retrieve his phone. When he saw it in my hand, his face changed.

I looked at him coldly. 'Why did my husband pay you?'

Samuel hesitated, then gave a crooked smile. 'If you already saw the messages, why ask me?'

'Because I want the whole story.'

He shrugged. 'Your husband told me to get close to you. He said you were emotionally unstable and might make a mistake if someone gave you attention. He wanted me to make it look convincing enough for a divorce case.'

My chest tightened. 'Why would he do this?'

Samuel said, 'He did not tell me. Clients usually do not explain their reasons.'

I took out my phone, transferred ten thousand dollars to him, and said, 'Now you are working for me. Tell me anything else you know.'

Samuel's eyes widened at the amount. His attitude changed at once.

'Fine. Your husband was very specific. He said if the first attempt failed, he might invite me back as a guest and create a bigger scene with family witnesses. He also said he had been preparing for divorce for a while.'

The word divorce struck me like a slap.

Mark had been distant for six months. He guarded his phone, worked late, and came home smelling of unfamiliar perfume. I had avoided suspicion because I wanted to trust him.

Now that trust looked like foolishness.

I photographed every message on Samuel's phone and saved copies in several places. I also asked Samuel to send me his payment records with Mark. Then I gave him additional money and warned him not to tell Mark I knew anything.

Samuel agreed quickly. 'Do not worry. I like money more than trouble.'

After he left, I sat alone in the living room for a long time.

Mark was not simply cold. He was planning to push me out of our marriage with nothing.

If he wanted a fight, I would give him one. But I would not fight with tears. I would fight with evidence.