Chapter 1
Trace Fletcher, my husband, said that if I had money as a housewife, I'd just end up getting scammed, so he went ahead and took control of all my money.
I wanted to buy a 2,500-dollar direct flight home for our daughter, who was studying abroad, but Trace blew up.
Trace snapped, "Do you think 2,500 dollars just falls from the sky? You can't just ask for it and expect to get it."
"You could take a slow train home just as well. I bust my ass making this money. It's not for you and our daughter to blow it!"
The country Caitlin had to transfer through was notorious for its terrible security, and she was tragically killed there.
Just as I received the death notice from the embassy, Lexie Johnston, Trace's childhood friend, posted a selfie in front of a villa.
She captioned it: [Thanks to someone for chartering a private jet to bring me home. He's such a CEO. Even his cheapest gift is a mansion!]
That villa in the city center was worth 25 million dollars.
I didn't cry or make a scene. I just left a comment: [From now on, both he and his money are yours.]
Right after I posted that comment, the embassy called me to come to the hospital and claim Caitlin's body.
My hands were shaking as I pulled back the white sheet covering Caitlin's face. I nearly passed out.
Her sweet little face was covered in crisscrossing wounds, her pelvis was broken, and her hands were twisted in a grotesque position on the table.
I leaned against the hospital door, gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"What your daughter endured before she died..." the doctor started, his voice heavy.
I yanked at my hair, overwhelmed by grief.
"Please... just stop," I sobbed.
The coroner let out a heavy sigh.
"Don't worry. Interpol is already investigating," the coroner said.
I nodded numbly and began to take care of Caitlin's final arrangements.
Ten minutes later, my phone started buzzing.
It was Trace calling, someone I should know better than anyone, but right now, he felt like a total stranger.
Damn, why did it hurt so much? Anger and frustration just piled up inside me, making it hard to breathe.
Before I could even say a word, Trace's impatient voice came through the phone.
"Are you crazy? What kind of comment did you leave on Lexie's social feed?" he snapped.
"We have so many mutual friends. Do you know how awkward you made things for Lexie with everyone watching?"
"We've known each other since we were kids. It's not safe for her to fly back alone from Luminland. I just chartered a jet for her, it's not like I bought her a plane. Who are you trying to be snarky for?"
"Come back right now and apologize to Lexie, or Caitlin's allowance for next semester gets cut in half!"
Listening to Trace rant non-stop, lecturing me like he was always right, I couldn't stop shaking all over.
Lexie was twenty-eight, and he was still acting like she couldn't handle herself out there.
But when it came to his own daughter Caitlin, who was only ten, he didn't bat an eye at sending her off to cross half of Luminland alone on some slow train.
Trace packed Caitlin off to Luminland when she was just a kid, saying it was all for some elite education so she could take over the company one day.
To toughen her up, Trace only ever gave her just enough money to keep her from starving.
I tried sneaking Caitlin some extra cash behind his back, but Trace found out and cleaned out all my accounts, saying I'd just get scammed because I was a housewife.
In the end, I couldn't even scrape together enough for a direct flight home for Caitlin.
To stop me from booking Caitlin a ticket, Trace broke my credit card, confiscated my phone, and locked me in the house for three whole days.
After three days, the housekeeper finally unlocked the door, and I rushed to find my phone the second I got out.
My inbox was blown up with messages from Caitlin.
At first, Caitlin texted me that she'd gotten on the train safe and sound, and kept sending updates as she made her way through the transfer country.
She said she got lost at the station in the transfer country and didn't know what to do at all.
Then she told me there were some strange men watching her, and she was freaking out.
By the end, Caitlin's voice was shaking, on the verge of tears, as she said those men had snatched her.
She cried out in despair, her voice trembling with fear.
"Mom, Dad, did you leave me? Why aren't you answering me?" Caitlin sobbed.
"I'm really scared... Please, come save me..." Caitlin pleaded.
My heart felt like it was being torn apart, and I just couldn't bring myself to listen anymore.
Trapped at home, unable to do anything, while my daughter was enduring inhuman torment in a foreign land. And Trace? What was he up to?
He was busy chartering a private jet for Lexie, setting up a lavish welcome party, and dropping millions on a mansion for her.
Yeah, he was just so busy.
What right did he have to question me now?
My voice cracked with fury, barely holding it together.
"Apologize my ass!" I snapped.
There was a long pause on the other end, and then Trace finally lost it, his voice breaking with anger.
"Phoebe, do you really think I'm being too generous with you?" Trace spat.
"You pissed me off today. Caitlin's allowance is getting slashed to a third.
"If she goes hungry next semester, I'll make sure she knows it's all your fault!"
Heartbreak hung in the air.
He hadn't loved me in ages, and the way he used to care about Caitlin was long gone too.
But he still knew exactly how to keep us under his thumb, even though we were just two people he'd stopped loving.
I burst out laughing and crying at the same time, my voice sounding downright hysterical and creepy.