Chapter 2

The plane landed at the airport. The sky over Barriston was a clear, brilliant blue.

I ignored the branch staff who came to pick me up, hailed a cab myself, and headed straight to the hotel.

After checking in, I bolted the door, shutting the world out. I threw myself onto the soft bed and slept for a full twelve hours.

When I woke up, the city lights were starting to come on outside. There was no anger, no sadness, just a sense of lightness I'd never felt before.

I pulled out the phone with the SIM card removed from my suitcase. I popped in a local SIM card and connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi.

Then, I opened the social media app I'd logged out of. Using a backup account, I looked up and accessed Richard's company's public page. The comments section under the latest post was blowing up.

[Hey, did you hear Mr. Monroe and his secretary are hooking up? The photos are everywhere.]

[That's not even the craziest part. Word is, Ms. Evans dropped the pics in the exec group chat and then disappeared.]

[No way. Is that for real? Ms. Evans is such a badass.]

[Insider info: This morning, Richard looked like he was about to explode. The whole PR team got called in for an emergency meeting.]

[What about Emily? Is she still working there?]

[Hell no. Word is, Richard slapped her right then and there and kicked her out. Now she's causing a fuss, demanding compensation.]

I scrolled through the comments, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

Just as I expected, Richard cared deeply about maintaining an impeccable public image. This mattered all the more now, as he stood on the verge of a promotion to group vice president.

He could handle having a lover, but he'd never put up with one who aired his dirty laundry and threatened his future.

Emily rushed things and acted foolishly. She thought a single photo would force me out, but she had no clue that it was the first blow I dealt to both her and Richard.

Just then, my personal phone buzzed. It was my bestie, Sophia Miller.

She said, "Oh my, you finally turned your phone on. How's Barriston treating you?"

"It's alright," I replied.

"Damn, you're something else. You know things are blowing up back home, right?"

"Yeah, I've seen some of it."

"Seen some? Richard's running around like a madman trying to find you.

"And your mother-in-law stormed your parents' house this afternoon with a bunch of relatives, yelling that you're shameless and ruining the family name, demanding that your parents hand you over."

My gaze turned icy. "What did my parents say?"

Sophia replied, "Come on, you know how tough your folks are. They called the cops right away. Your mother-in-law got a verbal warning from the police and slunk off, totally humiliated.

"Before she left, she threatened to freeze all your assets so you'd be broke and have to beg her for mercy."

"Is that so?" I chuckled.

That was just so typical of my mother-in-law. She worshipped money and Richard the most.

Sophia picked up on the smile in my voice and dropped hers to a whisper. "Grace Evans, seriously, were you already prepared for all this?"

"What do you think?" I replied.

"I knew it. The moment you had me help register that overseas consulting company three years ago, I knew something was up. Did you already know Richard was cheating on you?" Sophia pressed.

"No," I replied coolly. "I knew exactly what kind of person he was from the day we got married."

Sophia went quiet on the other end. After a long pause, she finally said, "So all these seven years..."

"I was waiting for the right moment," I replied. "A moment when he'd climbed high enough, so that when he fell, it would be spectacular. And now, that moment has come."

After hanging up, I checked my inbox. A dozen or so unread emails were sitting there. Most of them were from Richard.

They started out shocked and furious, then quickly spiraled into demands and insults.

[Grace, are you out of your mind?]

[What the hell are you trying to do?]

[You think running off to another country means I can't find you? You're dead meat.]

I scrolled through them one by one, my face giving nothing away.

Then I finally opened the last email. It had been sent just half an hour ago. [I don't care how you do it. Get your ass back here right now. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with the consequences yourself.]

There was a screenshot attached below. It was a notice saying all my bank cards had been frozen.

Gotta hand it to him, he moved fast. Shame, but he was already too late.

I closed my inbox and dialed Olivia. "Olivia, he finally acted."

Olivia sounded as cool as ever on the line. "Figured as much. You good over there?"

"All good."

"Okay. I've already sent the divorce agreement and all relevant evidence to Richard's personal email and every board member at his company, on your behalf, via encrypted email."

I raised an eyebrow. "That fast?"

"You paid enough for this level of efficiency," Olivia replied. "Now it's their turn to deal with it. But I bet they'll soon realize this is way more than just a divorce case."

"You bet." I walked over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the night view of Barriston. "This is just the beginning."