Chapter 3

My blood turned to ice as the unmistakable sounds of intimacy echoed from my bedroom—my bedroom—where Ryan and I had shared countless nights. Chloe's hand clamped over my mouth before I could make a sound, her eyes wide with a mixture of vindication and horror.

'That's her,' I mouthed silently, recognizing Victoria Chen's husky laugh. The same laugh I'd heard at company parties, always a little too close to Ryan's ear.

Chloe pointed toward the bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. I shook my head violently, but she was already pulling me forward. We crept closer, my heart hammering so loudly I was certain they would hear it.

'We should check the closet for his laptop,' Chloe whispered, her breath warm against my ear. 'That's where he always keeps it.'

I nodded numbly, following her lead as we slipped into the bedroom. The sight before me nearly brought me to my knees—Victoria Chen, my boyfriend's boss, lounging on my side of the bed, wearing nothing but one of Ryan's dress shirts. Ryan stood by the window in his boxers, pouring two glasses of wine. My grandmother's purple wine glasses.

We ducked into the walk-in closet just as Ryan turned around. Through the slats in the door, I could see everything. My clothes had been shoved to one side, making room for Victoria's designer pieces that now hung where mine used to be.

'To my soon-to-be COO,' Victoria purred, accepting the glass from Ryan. The light caught on her perfectly manicured nails as she clinked her glass against his.

Ryan's face lit up with smug satisfaction. 'I still can't believe Thompson approved the promotion so quickly.'

'It helps when the HR Director owes you a favor,' Victoria replied, her voice dripping with self-satisfaction. 'Besides, you've more than earned it after that presentation you gave to the board last week.'

My stomach clenched. That presentation—I'd stayed up three nights in a row helping Ryan prepare for it, researching data points, designing slides, rehearsing with him until he had every word perfect.

'It was nothing,' Ryan said with false modesty. 'Just had to make sure I outshined the competition.'

Victoria laughed, a cold sound that made my skin crawl. 'You mean Madison's little team? Please. That naive marketing girl wouldn't know real ambition if it slapped her in the face.'

I felt Chloe tense beside me, her hand finding mine in the darkness of the closet and squeezing hard.

'Madison was never going to advance,' Ryan agreed, his voice casual, as if he were discussing the weather and not destroying seven years of trust. 'Too concerned with ethics and team building. This industry eats people like her alive.'

Victoria rose from the bed, moving to the dresser where a framed photo of Ryan and me still stood—a remnant he hadn't bothered to remove. She picked it up, studying it with narrowed eyes.

'You kept this?' Her voice had a dangerous edge.

Ryan shrugged. 'Haven't had time to clear everything out. Besides, it's not like she's coming back. I made sure of that.'

Victoria set the frame down, face-down on the dresser. 'Good. Because I don't share what's mine.'

While their attention was diverted, Chloe nudged me and pointed to the desk in the corner where Ryan's laptop sat, its charging light blinking steadily. She mouthed 'now or never' and began to inch toward it.

My heart nearly stopped as I watched her silently cross the room, keeping to the shadows. Victoria and Ryan were too engrossed in each other to notice as Chloe carefully unplugged the laptop and slid it under her arm.

A soft meow from the doorway made us all freeze. Oliver stood there, his amber eyes fixed on me, tail swishing slowly back and forth.

*I found you, Mama,* his voice echoed in my head.

Ryan turned toward the sound. 'What the hell? Is that—'

I didn't hesitate. I lunged from the closet, scooped Oliver into my arms, and bolted for the door, Chloe right behind me with the laptop clutched to her chest.

'Madison?' Ryan's shocked voice followed us as we fled through the apartment and out the front door.

We didn't stop running until we were three blocks away, gasping for breath beside Chloe's car. Oliver purred in my arms, seemingly pleased with himself.

'Holy shit,' Chloe wheezed, clutching the laptop like a trophy. 'We actually did it.'

Back at my new studio apartment, we huddled around the kitchen table as Chloe booted up Ryan's laptop. The password was pathetically easy—my birthday, of all things.

'Bastard couldn't even be bothered to change it,' I muttered as the screen came to life.

What we found made my blood boil and my heart shatter simultaneously. Dozens of emails between Ryan and Victoria, dating back months. Calendar invites labeled as "Strategy Sessions" that perfectly aligned with my late shifts at work. And worst of all, a folder of photos—intimate photos—taken in our bed. My bed.

Oliver jumped onto the table, his paw batting at the screen as if to say 'I told you so.'

'You were right,' I whispered to him, tears streaming down my face. 'You were right about everything.'

Chloe's expression hardened as she scrolled through the evidence of betrayal. 'This isn't just an affair, Maddie. Look at these emails—they've been planning his promotion for months, and they're deliberately blocking your team's proposals.'

I stared at the screen, at the words that confirmed not just personal betrayal but professional sabotage. Seven years of my life, my career, my heart—all sacrificed for a man who had been undermining me all along.

'What are you going to do?' Chloe asked softly.

I stroked Oliver's fur, feeling a cold, unfamiliar calm settle over me. 'I'm going to burn his world to the ground,' I said quietly. 'Starting with that promotion.'