Chapter 3

I did some digging on Romy. Very thorough digging.

Her hometown was a small town in the neighboring city.

She got into college in 2019, and that was when Kayce started financially supporting her.

During the summer vacation of 2020, she interned at Kayce's company.

I was the one who suggested it.

In 2021, Kayce bought the department at Emerald Bay.

That same year, I was six months pregnant and returned a 267-dollar pregnancy pillow.

I wrote out the timeline on a piece of paper, line by line.

[2019: Kayce started supporting Romy.

[2020: Romy interned at Kayce's company.

[2021: Kayce bought that apartment.

[2022: Kayce began making regular monthly transfers of $6,000 to Romy.

[2023: Kayce began frequently purchasing luxury items.

[2024: Kayce splurged on a $132,700 designer bag.]

Five years.

This wasn't a few months.

This wasn't some stupid mistake that happened once.

It had been five years.

Nancy was six years old this year.

Kayce had already started seeing Romy before I got pregnant with Nancy.

So, when Nancy was born, Romy was already around.

The day I gave birth to Nancy, I was in labor for 14 hours. But Kayce wasn't there.

He said he was on a business trip.

The nurse asked me, "Where's your family?"

I said, "He's on a business trip."

I signed the surgery consent form on my own.

My mom hurried from my hometown, but by the time she got to the hospital, Nancy was already there.

My mom burst into tears.

She asked, "How did you manage all this alone?"

I said, "It was okay. Things went pretty smoothly."

It wasn't smooth at all.

But I didn't want my mom to worry.

Now, there was something I needed to ask Kayce. On the day I gave birth, was he really on Riverside Avenue, Emerald Bay Building 7, Apartment 1203?

Was he with her?

I never asked him, however.

Because I didn't need his answer anymore.

I looked up his credit card activity for that day.

There was one transaction on March 8, 2024. It was the day Nancy came into the world.

The transaction was at Petal & Stem Florist, a flower shop near Emerald Bay.

The amount was 433 dollars.

He bought her flowers while I was in the delivery room, all by myself.

I put my phone down.

I sat there for a very long time.

Then I picked up my pen and wrote the last line on that paper. [Let's get started.]

I spent three days taking care of a few things.

First, I called my lawyer.

Nia Taylor was an old college friend of mine, and she specialized in divorce cases.

I showed her everything I'd collected: bank statements, property info, shopping records, and photos.

She flipped through it all for half an hour.

Then she finally looked up at me. "You want a divorce?"

"Yes," I said.

"You realize all that money counts as marital assets, right? You can reclaim anything he sent to someone else."

"I know."

"That Emerald Bay apartment was bought while you were married. Even if the deed's in his name, half of it's yours."

"I know."

"What are you asking for?"

"I want every bit that's rightfully mine. Not a cent less."

Nia looked at me. "Anything else?"

"I want him out with nothing to his name."

Nia smiled, "Alright. Your evidence is solid. But you should really get more proof of his affair with Romy. The more evidence, the better."

"I already have some."

"What kind?"

"Their messages. He never deletes them. He thinks I'd never look."

Nia shook her head. "He's way too sure of himself."

"No, he just doesn't care."

Next, I did a deep dive into Romy's background. I really went all out. And then I uncovered something big.

Romy was married. She tied the knot in 2022.

Her husband's name was John Miller, and he worked as a construction supervisor in another city. He was hardly ever home.

So, while Romy was living off my husband's money and staying in the apartment he bought, she also had her own legal husband.

I tracked down John's contact info. But I didn't contact him immediately.

I saved it for now. That was my second card to play.

The third thing I did was start quietly moving Nancy's stuff over to my mom's place. Just a little each time, so it wouldn't raise any suspicions. Her clothes, her schoolbooks, and that old bunny toy.

Nancy asked, "Mom, why are you sending my bunny to Grandma's house?"

I replied, "Grandma misses you. Let's leave it there for now, and when we go visit her this weekend, you can take it with you to sleep."

She believed me.

A six-year-old child would believe anything, like me.

No, she had more sense than I ever did.

She was only six. I was thirty-two, but still naive enough to believe.

The fourth move was the most crucial step.

I made contact with John.

When he picked up, his voice sounded worn out. "Hello, who is this?"

"Hi, I'm... a friend of Romy. There's something important I'd like to discuss with you face-to-face," I said.

He paused for a few seconds. "What's this about?"

"It's about Romy. It's too complicated to talk about over the phone. Can we meet in person?"

He went quiet again. Then he said, "When and where?"

I told him the time and place. Then I hung up.

My move was set.