Chapter 4
I walked into my estate an hour later.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
The wire Marcus had taped to my chest was cold against my skin.
A tiny camera was hidden in the button of my shirt.
I knew three of Marcus’s men were in the trees outside.
Two more were in the attic.
But as I stepped into the foyer, I still felt like I was walking into a trap.
Olivia appeared at the top of the stairs.
She was wearing the red silk dress I’d bought her for our anniversary.
Her blonde hair was perfectly curled.
She smiled that smile that used to make my knees weak.
Now it made my skin crawl.
“There you are,” she purred, gliding down the stairs.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
I kissed her back.
I had to.
I had to make her believe I had no idea.
“I missed you,” she said, running a finger down my chest.
“Missed you too,” I lied.
I followed her into the kitchen.
She’d made dinner.
Steak, my favorite.
A bottle of red wine was open on the table.
I sat down.
She poured me a glass.
I didn’t drink it.
I’d seen enough crime movies to know better.
“Long day at work?” she asked, cutting her steak.
“Something like that,” I said.
I watched her.
Every move.
Every smile.
Every blink.
I was looking for a crack.
A sign of guilt.
There was nothing.
She was perfect.
Too perfect.
I decided to test her.
“Funny thing,” I said, swirling the wine in my glass. “Tom showed up at the office today. Said he never called in sick. Said someone kidnapped him last night.”
Olivia’s hand didn’t falter.
She took a bite of steak and chewed slowly.
“That’s terrible,” she said, concerned. “Did he call the police?”
“Not yet,” I said. “He was too shaken. He said the men who took him asked about me. About my schedule. About my life insurance.”
I watched her face closely.
For half a second, her eyes flickered.
Just a flash.
But I saw it.
“That’s awful,” she said, reaching across the table to touch my hand. “You should let Marcus handle it. He’ll keep you safe.”
I nodded.
I pulled my hand back slowly.
“Another funny thing,” I said. “A little girl came to see me today. Lila Marlow, from down the street. She said she saw two men push Tom into a van. She said one of them was the driver who showed up at the house this morning.”
Olivia’s smile didn’t waver.
But her knuckles turned white around her fork.
“Kids see things,” she said lightly. “Their imaginations run wild. You can’t believe everything a nine-year-old says.”
I leaned forward.
I looked her dead in the eye.
“Then why did you send me that text?” I asked.
The room went dead silent.
Olivia stared at me.
For a long moment, she didn’t say anything.
Then her smile dropped.
It vanished like someone had wiped it off her face.
She leaned back in her chair.
And she laughed.
It was a cold, sharp sound.
Nothing like the laugh I knew.
“Took you long enough,” she said.
My blood ran cold.
“You really are pathetic, you know that?” she continued. “Twelve years. And you never once wondered why a girl like me would marry a boring nerd like you. It was always about the money, Ethan. Always.”
I sat perfectly still.
The wire was recording every word.
“Three million wasn’t enough?” I asked.
She scoffed.
“Please. That was just spending money. The fifty million from the insurance? That was the payout. I was gonna be set for life. Me and Rick.”
Rick.
The fake driver.
Her lover.
It all made sense now.
The late nights at the “spa.”
The secret phone calls.
The new jewelry she couldn’t explain.
“You were gonna kill me,” I said.
It wasn’t a question.
“Of course I was,” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You were boring. You were clingy. And you had all the money. Why would I stay married to you when I could be rich and free?”
She stood up and walked around the table.
She leaned down, her face inches from mine.
“You should’ve gotten in the car today,” she whispered. “It would’ve been quick. Painless. Now? I’m gonna make you suffer. And that little brat Lila? I’m gonna make her watch.”
Before I could move, the kitchen door burst open.
Marcus and two police officers ran in, guns drawn.
“Olivia Carter,” one of them shouted. “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and embezzlement.”
Olivia’s face went white.
She looked at me.
Realization hit her.
“You set me up,” she snarled.
I stood up.
I looked down at the woman I’d once loved more than anything.
“You set yourself up,” I said.
The officers cuffed her.
They read her her rights as they dragged her out.
She screamed and kicked the whole way.
I didn’t watch them take her.
I walked out onto the back porch.
The cold air hit my face.
I breathed in deep.
May you like
It was over.
Or so I thought.
