Chapter 2
I didn't go home.
That so-called home was nothing more than a gilded cage Simon used for appearances.
Instead, I checked into an executive suite at the most upscale hotel downtown.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows, most of the city's night view spread out below.
I slipped off my heels and walked barefoot across the soft carpet.
My phone was vibrating nonstop on the coffee table.
I didn't need to look to know who was calling.
I let it ring and went into the bathroom, filling the tub with hot water.
By the time I came out wrapped in a bathrobe, the phone had finally gone quiet.
Twenty-three missed calls.
Fifteen from Simon's mother, Mary West.
Eight from my mother, Katherine Quinn.
I was drying my hair when the phone rang again.
This time, it was Mary.
I swiped to answer, turned on the speaker, and tossed the phone onto the couch.
"Joanna! So you've grown a spine, have you? Are you out of your mind?"
Mary's sharp, well-maintained voice cut through the speaker.
I picked up the hotel's complimentary wine and poured myself a glass.
"Mary, I'm not crazy."
My tone was calm.
"It's Mrs. West to you. I don't have a scheming daughter-in-law like you.
"Do you know what people are saying about the West family right now?
"They're saying you, Joanna, used us to get ahead and then stabbed Simon in the back at the height of his success."
I swirled the wine in my glass.
"They've got it wrong.
"I'm not stabbing him. I'm taking back what's mine."
"Yours? What do you even have? When you married into the West family, what did you bring with you?"
Her voice was full of contempt.
"Don't forget who pulled you out of that rundown place back then.
"It was the West family that gave you everything you have now."
I let out a soft laugh.
"Mary, if I remember correctly, you and Mr. West came to my door and asked me to marry Simon.
"An astrologer said my chart was a perfect match for his and that only I could turn his luck around."
Silence fell on the other end.
She clearly hadn't expected me to bring that up.
"You! So what!"
She snapped, embarrassed and angry.
"You've enjoyed five years of wealth and privilege. That's a fact.
"And now, just as Simon makes the wealth rankings, you file for divorce and take your share of the assets. What are you really after?
"You're nothing but an ungrateful ingrate."
I took a sip of wine.
"You're right, Mary. I'm after money. So I took it and left. Doesn't that work out for everyone?"
She choked on my words.
She was used to me being quiet and accommodating, and she couldn't handle me pushing back.
"You're impossible!
"Joanna, don't think a bit of money makes you anything.
"Without Simon, you're nothing.
"Just wait, you'll regret this. One day, you'll come back crying and begging us."
The same lines.
Exactly what Simon had said.
Mother and son, so alike in their confidence.
"Okay." I answered evenly.
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
"You wouldn't dare!"
Mary shrieked.
I ended the call.
The silence was immediate.
I walked over to the window and watched the steady stream of headlights below.
My phone lit up again.
This time it was my mom, Katherine.
I sighed, but answered.
"Joanna," she said, her voice thick with tears.
"Mary just called me and tore into me. Is it true? Did you really divorce Simon?"
"Yeah."
"You foolish child, how could you do something like this?"
Her voice was full of anguish.
"You had such a good life. Why would you throw it away?
"Did Simon treat you badly? In a marriage, you just have to put up with things, and it passes."
"Mom, he treated me well."
That was the truth.
Aside from the coldness and neglect, Simon had never denied me anything materially.
"Then why? Everyone envies you for marrying so well. Why can't you appreciate what you have?"
I fell silent.
How could I explain it to her?
That I had seen the disaster about to hit the West family?
That if I didn't leave now, I would end up with nothing and buried in debt?
She wouldn't believe me.
No one would.
"Mom, I'm tired."
It was the only answer I could give.
"I don't want to keep living like this, always watching someone else's mood."
"Joanna," she started, trying to persuade me again.
"I've made up my mind. Please don't try to change it. I'll come see you in a few days."
I hung up.
I set my phone to silent and tossed it aside.
I needed some quiet.
It didn't last long.
Half an hour later, the hotel doorbell rang.
Sharp and impatient, like someone had come looking for a fight.
I knew it right away. The West family's second wave had arrived.