Chapter 1

At the promotion party of my husband, Christopher Grant, I sent him straight to hell.

With the room packed with guests, including big shots from both the military and government, I turned on the projector.

"Thank you all for coming. Before we celebrate my husband's promotion, I'd like to share a little something to liven things up." My voice was as gentle as ever.

Christopher stood on stage, dressed in a crisp new military uniform, the stars on his shoulders shining brightly, making him look handsome.

He smiled at me, his eyes full of fondness and a bit of showing off, as if to say, "See? This is my wife. She may cut a poor figure in polite society, yet she's completely loyal to me."

But in the next instant, his smile froze.

On the screen, everyone saw Christopher caught in bed with another woman, both naked.

I said, my voice low but echoing through the hall, "Christopher, Congrats. You're finished."

The whole room went dead silent.

Then, gasps and murmurs of shock filled the air.

Christopher's face went from bright red to very pale in a split second. The shock and disbelief in his eyes were so intense that it felt like he wanted to cut me to pieces.

"Natalie, are you out of your mind?" he roared, lunging at me, desperate to shut off the projector.

But it was already too late.

The audio was downright obscene, and the woman in the video was none other than Vivian White, the mayor's precious daughter.

I gripped the mic and, sidestepping Christopher's desperate reach, swept my gaze across the crowd. "Did everyone get a good look?

"This is the so-called Colonel Grant you all thought was destined for greatness, a male escort who climbed the ladder by selling himself to the highest bidder."

"Shut up." Christopher's mother stormed over, shrieking, her hand raised to slap me.

I took a step back, and her slap cut through empty air.

"I'm not done yet," I said into the mic, my smile blazing brighter. "The real show's getting started."

I pressed the next button on the remote.

The screen switched from the steamy scene to a dimly lit office.

Christopher was bowing and scraping in front of a fat middle-aged man, handing over a thick envelope. "Mr. Lewis, I'm really counting on you for this evaluation."

"Relax, Christopher. Whatever you need, I've got your back," Mateo Lewis replied.

The audio was crystal clear.

The footage kept rolling, one damning piece of evidence after another about Christopher's bribes, exploding across the hall.

The shock was written all over everyone's faces.

If cheating was a lapse in morals, bribery and corruption were the kind of crimes that would wipe out his whole career in the military.

Christopher froze in place, staring at me. Gone was the anger, replaced by pure terror in his eyes.

"Natalie, y-you..." he stammered, his lips quivering, words stuck in his throat.

"What?" I tilted my head, playing innocent. "I exposed everything you've done for everyone to see.

"Oh, and by the way, I've already sent backup files to the court‑martial. Christopher, you just got your colonel's rank, and it's about to be stripped away."

I watched as he crumbled, everything he'd ever been proud of falling apart right in front of me.

Three years of swallowing my anger and three years of pretending to be someone I wasn't finally paid off.

I tuned out the chaos, the angry shouts from Christopher's family, and Vivian's shrieks.

I dropped the mic, and with everyone staring at me in shock, I walked off the stage one step at a time, leaving behind the suffocating cage I'd once called home.

Before I walked out, I turned back, locking eyes with Christopher's desperate gaze.

I mouthed the words silently. "For my dad."

Then I turned and walked out for good.

This was only the beginning.

Christopher owed the Sinclair family. I would make him pay it back a thousand times over for the rest of his life.