Chapter 2

I walked into the living room.

Lucas was playing with his toys. "Mom, where did Dad go?"

"He is on a business trip." I crouched down and patted his head. "Do you miss your dad?"

"No, Dad is always away from home." Lucas was only three, but he'd gotten used to Justin not being around. "Mom, can we visit Grandma today?"

"Sure." I picked Lucas up, grabbed my phone, and messaged my bestie, Anna Carter, on WhatsApp. [Can you do me a favor?]

Anna: [What's it?]

[Can you help me look into someone? Sophia Reed, 25 years old, works at Justin's company.]

Anna replied quickly: [Is he cheating on you?]

[Yes.]

[Got any proof?]

[I have some, but it's not enough.]

[What do you need me to do?]

[Check out Sophia's background, her socials, and what she has been up to lately.]

[No problem.]

I set my phone aside and headed out with Lucas.

*****

At my parents' place, my mom was busy in the kitchen. "Claire, what brings you here?"

"Justin is on a business trip, so I brought Lucas over to stay for a few days," I replied.

"He is traveling for work again? Wasn't he away last month?"

"His office has been keeping him busy."

My mom glanced at me but didn't press further.

I handed Lucas over to my dad, headed to the bedroom, and shot my mom a look. "Mom, I want to transfer my 65,000 dollars to your account."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I think it's safer with you."

My mom stared at me. "Claire, is something wrong between you and Justin?"

"I think he is cheating." I lowered my voice. "But I don't have hard evidence yet. Gotta protect my money first."

My mom's face darkened. "Justin is a bastard."

"Keep it quiet, Mom. I'll deal with him, but I need to do it slowly."

"Are you thinking about divorce?"

"Yeah, but I need proof first. Otherwise, Lucas and I will end up with nothing."

My mom squeezed my hand. "Claire, you've suffered so much."

"I'm not suffering. I only regret it."

I regretted buying into Justin's pitch five years ago, when he told me to stay home, take care of the child, and let him provide for us.

I kicked myself for quitting my job to be a housewife, looking after my kid all the time, and losing all my financial independence.

It stung that after we got married, his promise to support me morphed into me living off his money.

But there was no point in dwelling on it now. I needed to take back what was mine.

That night, I sat on my parents' balcony and pulled up Justin's credit card statement.

There were 32 transactions from Borenia.

Two round-trip tickets totaled 4,000 dollars.

Seven nights in a honeymoon suite cost 20,000 dollars.

Couples' spa for two was 3,500 dollars.

Five seafood dinners for two cost 5,000 dollars.

A lady's bag was bought for 11,000 dollars.

A necklace was bought for 13,000 dollars.

And there were some smaller charges, bringing the total to over 40,000 dollars.

I did the math again and again. It was about 40,000 dollars.

Last year, when my dad was hospitalized for a heart stent surgery, I turned to Justin for 15,000 dollars.

He said, "The company has been tight on cash recently. I can only give you 1,500 dollars for now. We'll talk about the rest at the end of the year."

I groveled at his feet to beg him, and he transferred 1,500 dollars to me. Then he said, "Your dad has a pension. Stop always asking me for money."

I remembered standing in the hospital hallway, staring at that 1,500 dollars on my phone, wanting to smash it to pieces.

Later, I took out every last cent I'd saved before getting married to cover my dad's surgery.

That amounted to 50,000 dollars, eight years of my savings.

When Justin found out, he remarked, "You're such a good daughter."

And that was all he said.

Now, he was blowing 40,000 dollars on his mistress in seven days.

That was about 6,000 dollars a day.

I took a deep breath and kept scrolling through the bill.