Chapter 2

Morning light filtered through our bedroom curtains as I checked my bank account on my phone. Three separate accounts, all in my name only. Cameron had insisted I maintain my 'independence' when we married—a gesture I once found thoughtful but now recognized as convenient. He could keep his finances private while I dutifully reported every transaction.

Today, that would change.

I'd spent the week since discovering their affair meticulously planning each step. The body double service had already identified a potential match—an actress named Vanessa Price whose measurements, facial structure, and voice were remarkably similar to mine. All she needed was money. A lot of it.

And I needed funds that couldn't be traced back to me once I disappeared.

I heard Cameron's shower running—the perfect time. I composed my face into a mask of distress before knocking on the bathroom door.

"Cameron? I need to talk to you." My voice cracked perfectly.

He cracked the glass door open, steam billowing around his silhouette. "What is it? I'm running late."

"It's my cousin Melissa." I twisted my hands together, the picture of anxiety. "She's in the hospital. Emergency surgery for an aneurysm. Her insurance won't cover it all, and the family is trying to help..."

Cameron's expression flickered between annoyance and obligation. "How much?"

"The bill is $120,000." I pulled up the forged medical invoice on my phone—created with painstaking attention to detail during the sleepless nights since discovering his betrayal.

He barely glanced at it. "Fine. I'll wire it this morning. Just forward me the account details."

No questions about a cousin I'd barely mentioned before. No offer to visit her in the hospital. Just the money, the easiest way to make my problem disappear so he could get back to his day—back to planning his next rendezvous with Isabella.

"Thank you," I whispered, injecting genuine gratitude into my voice. After all, he was funding my escape.

Three days later, I sat across from Cameron at our dining table, my laptop open to a spreadsheet I'd carefully prepared.

"It's the annual deposit into the Whitmore family trust," I explained, pointing to the highlighted figure. "$250,000. My father's expecting it by Friday."

Cameron swirled his whiskey, barely looking at the numbers. "I thought your father handled that."

"He usually does, but he's in London for that merger." I kept my voice even, matter-of-fact. "He asked me to manage it this year."

Another lie. My father hadn't spoken directly to me in months, preferring to communicate through Isabella. The irony wasn't lost on me—the man funding my sister's affair with my husband was now unwittingly funding my escape from both of them.

"Whatever," Cameron muttered, typing in his banking password. "Just don't let him think this means I'm attending that godawful summer gala of his."

I watched as he authorized the transfer, my pulse steady. Half would go to my father's trust as expected—maintaining the illusion. The other half would disappear into Vanessa Price's escrow account.

One week later, the final piece fell into place. I'd created a detailed prospectus for a fictional tech startup—leveraging everything I'd learned from years of listening to Cameron's business calls.

"My college roommate's brother is the founder," I explained, sliding the folder across his desk. "They're looking for angel investors before their Series A. Minimum buy-in is $300,000."

Cameron flipped through the pages with more interest than he'd shown in anything I'd said in months. I'd hit the right note—a potential connection to the next big thing.

"The tech looks promising," he mused, scanning the fabricated financials. "But why bring this to me? You've never shown interest in my investments before."

I smiled, channeling the perfect blend of admiration and deference he expected. "I thought you might see something I missed. You always do."

His ego properly stroked, Cameron pulled out his phone, barely looking up as he authorized the transfer. "Tell them I want a meeting with the founder next month."

"Of course," I promised, knowing neither of us would be here next month.

As I walked away, I felt his eyes on me—perhaps noticing something different in my posture, my confidence. For a moment, I feared he'd realized something was wrong.

But then his phone buzzed with a text. From the way his face changed—that slight flush, that secretive smile—I knew exactly who it was from.

Isabella. My sister. My replacement.

Soon, she could have him. And I would have my freedom—bought and paid for with his own money.

I touched the locket at my throat, feeling the USB drive inside. Evidence. Leverage. Insurance.

Seven hundred thousand dollars. The price of my new life.

And Cameron had paid it without a second thought.