Chapter 3

I didn't fall apart. Falling apart wouldn't do any good. Crying wouldn't change anything.

My mom used to say, "No matter what, a woman should never lose."

I wouldn't lose. I would make Dominic pay for this.

I started making plans, keeping my cool. Step one was to gather evidence. I already had all the records from that phone. But that wasn't enough. I needed more.

I reached out to a lawyer. A friend recommended me Ella Whitman. Ella specialized in divorce cases.

After she finished going through the documents I'd put together, she looked up at me. "Mrs. Walsh, your case—"

She paused for a moment. "Honestly, I've been practicing law for fifteen years, and I've handled plenty of cases involving affairs. But I've never come across someone like your husband before.

"For ten years, starting three months after you got married. He transferred 277.2 thousand, bought a house worth over 1.3 million, and the mistress is about to have his baby."

She shook her head. "This isn't just cheating. It's like he set up a whole second family."

I didn't say anything.

Ella pressed on, "How do you want to handle this?"

"I want a divorce," I said. "I want to take back what's rightfully mine. His money belongs to both of us. I want to get back every penny he gave her."

Ella nodded. "Got it," she replied. "But you'll need more evidence. For example, you have a photo of the property title, but you don't have the purchase agreement.

"As for the car, you need to figure out exactly what make and model it is, and whose name is on the registration. And if the baby is actually born, you'll need a DNA test to prove paternity.

"All of these are your ammunition in court."

I nodded.

"And another thing," Ella said, fixing her gaze on me. "You need to track down the woman."

"I know her name is Ava Prescott," I replied. "Her address is on the property title."

Ella smiled, "You're way calmer than I thought you'd be. The first reaction of most women, when they find out their husband is cheating, is to lose it, make a scene, or go after the mistress to settle scores.

"But that's just plain stupid. Keep your cool, collect proof, lawyer up, and fight it out in court. That's the right way to play this."

I said, "I can't afford to fall apart. I'm going to make him pay for this."

Ella stood up. "Alright," she said. "Let's get started."

Step two was to look into Ava.

I drove over to the neighborhood. It was in the eastern part of the city, a high-end residential area.

We lived in an old apartment complex, a two-bedroom place, about 800 square feet.

This building was a fancy high-rise, 1280 square feet, with sleek, modern finishes.

I stood outside, craning my neck to look up. She was in Room 1602 on the sixteenth floor. Soft pink curtains hung in the window. The place looked soft, feminine, almost dreamy.

I didn't go up. I waited downstairs. Two hours went by as I waited.

By three o'clock, a figure finally emerged from the building.

A woman stepped out. She had long hair and was wearing a white dress. Her baby bump was clearly visible. She matched the photos perfectly. It was Ava.

She headed straight for a white Audi Q5, slipped inside, and pulled away. I made a note of the license plate.

Back home, I ran a search. It turned out that the car belonged to Ava. It was bought in April 2021. The out-the-door price was 140 thousand dollars.

I checked our family's bank account. In March 2021, Dominic transferred 60 thousand dollars, claiming it was for an investment.

In April 2021, he spent 70 thousand dollars on his credit card, saying it was to help a colleague out.

I believed him at the time. It turned out that it was for her car.

I kept digging. I managed to get my hands on the purchase agreement for that house.

Ella helped me out. She had some connections.

The house was purchased in May 2019. The total price was about 1.4 million dollars. The down payment was 400 thousand dollars, paid through cash and wire transfers. The mortgage was around one million.

The borrower was Dominic. The guarantor was Ava. The monthly mortgage payment was about 6,600 dollars. He was paying nearly 6,600 dollars every month for that place for her. Meanwhile, our mortgage was just 2,600 dollars a month.

I always thought paying 2,600 a month was already a lot. Every month, I had to watch every penny.

It turned out that he was shelling out nearly 6,600 dollars a month for her place. No wonder we could never save anything.

No wonder he kept saying, "Just wait. We'll get a bigger place once we've saved up enough."

We were never going to get that bigger place. Because all his money was going to her.

I put all the information together and sent it to Ella.

She replied, "That's enough. Mrs. Walsh, you're ready to confront him."

I said, "Not yet."

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for the perfect chance."

Step three was to find the perfect moment. I was going to expose him in front of everyone.

This wasn't just some private fight behind closed doors. It was going to happen right in front of his parents, his relatives, and everyone he knew. I wanted everyone to see him for what he really was.

That was why I was holding back. Next weekend was when it all went down. It was his mom's sixtieth birthday. Everyone in the family would show up. No one was getting out of this.