Chapter 6

As soon as my words landed, the basement fell into a deathly silence.

Alex stopped typing, staring at me with wide eyes, disbelief written all over his face.

Victor's hand froze mid-air, coffee cup suspended as he stared.

For the first time, the usual teasing and calculating glint in his eyes faded away. It was replaced by a complex blend of shock and intrigue.

On the screen, David's cries stopped dead. His face turned white as a sheet, way worse than he looked at the crime scene last night.

He stared at me, eyes wide with disbelief, like he was seeing me for the first time.

"H-How do you know?" His voice trembled so much that it was barely coherent.

Yeah, how would I ever know?

This was the secret he kept hidden in the deepest part of his heart. He thought I'd never find out.

For the past three years, he had always acted like the perfect husband around me.

He was gentle, thoughtful, and always made sure the family came first.

He told me he only had one ex, and they split up amicably.

But by pure chance, I heard a completely different version of the story from one of his college classmates.

It was a story about emotional abuse, psychological manipulation, and a young life lost.

At the time, the story sent a chill down my spine, but I chose to lie to myself.

I convinced myself it was gossip. I kept telling myself David could never do something like that. Now, I realized I was so ridiculously naive.

If a man could betray his wife, there was really nothing he wouldn't do.

I locked eyes with Victor, meeting his searching gaze head-on. "I'm sure he put the question in. Because that's the secret he's terrified someone will ever find out.

"He thought only he and that girl took it to the grave. He thought I'd never find out. So he'd make the answer to that question his password, the one code nobody could ever crack.

"And that answer? It's got to be something about that girl."

My logic was razor-sharp, my tone icy and detached.

It felt like I was dissecting a case that had nothing to do with me.

Victor set down his coffee cup. He stood up and walked over to me. "Are you sure? I told you we only get one shot at this. If you get it wrong, all of the money will disappear. I will kill David and you, too."

His words were soft, but the force behind them was undeniable. There was no room for protest.

I held his gaze without backing down. "I'm sure. And I know what the answer is."

Victor stared at me, trying to catch the slightest hint of hesitation on my face. But I showed him nothing.

Inside, all that was left was a bone-deep chill and a deathly calm.

"The answer is her birthday," I said. "David once mentioned it to me, offhand. He said it was the birthday of someone who meant a lot to him.

"Now that I think about it, that 'friend' was the girl he pushed to her death. And that date? It's exactly the same as my mom's birthday. That's why it's etched in my mind."

David probably never dreamed that the cage he used to trap me was exactly what I knew best.

He gambled everything on his ex's secret, never realizing fate had already put the answer right in my hands.

Victor fell silent. He was weighing everything and deciding what to do.

This was a massive gamble. The stakes was nearly a hundred million in laundered cash, and both our lives hanging in the balance.

After a long, heavy silence, Victor finally spoke. "Alex, get the video verification ready."

Alex looked uneasy, doubt flickering across his face. "Boss, this is way too risky. If we mess up..."

"Do as she says," Victor interrupted him. There was zero room for negotiation.

He settled back onto the sofa, his gaze fixed squarely on me. Victor looked at me like he was watching a gladiator about to enter the ring.

They brought me in front of the camera, and I took a deep breath.

Alex typed in the last command on the keyboard. A countdown popped up on the screen. "3, 2, 1."

A cold, emotionless synthetic voice echoed through the room. "First question, what's the name of the chef at the restaurant where you had your first date?"

This question was on the list David provided. But I didn't answer right away.

I needed to stall for time, make the system think I was really struggling to remember.

I pretended to think for a few seconds. "Martin."

"Answer correct," it said.

"Second question, what was the first gift you got for your first wedding anniversary?" it asked.

That one was on the list, too.

"I gave him a watch," I said.

"That's right," the voice replied.

My heart was racing. It all came down to the last question. This was make or break.

"Third question," The electronic voice paused for a moment.

My palms were slick with cold sweat.

"What do you think matters most in love?" it continued.

Everyone was stunned by the question.

This question wasn't on David's list at all. This was an open-ended, subjective question. There wasn't a standard answer for it.

David was completely thrown off. He was frantically shaking his head on the screen. "No, that's not the question. Something's wrong with the system."

Alex's face instantly drained of all color. "Boss, it's a trap. David set up a logic trap. There's no way to tell if a subjective question is right or wrong. The system will automatically fail the authentication."

Victor's expression was stormy. His eyes were like knives, landing squarely on me.

It was over. That was the only thought running through everyone's mind.

There were ten seconds left.

I stared at the camera, at that red countdown that held my fate in its grasp. My mind was racing.

A logic trap? No. David was not that smart. He was selfish and full of himself.

He must have set the answer he personally believed was the only right one.

Then what, in his mind, was the most important thing in love? Loyalty? Trust? No, those were things he expected from others. But when it came to himself...

A sudden realization struck me. I remembered the girl he pushed to her death, and how he treated me like a tool, like a scapegoat. I thought of those eleven innocent souls.

Suddenly, it hit me. I stared straight into the camera, making sure every word landed. "It's control."

Time seemed to freeze at the very last second. The basement was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone held their breath.

Three seconds passed and, on the screen, the words "Access Granted" slowly appeared in glowing green.