When my husband fell seriously ill, I finally had a reason to step into his office after seven years of marriage. All I wanted was to ask for his sick leave. Instead, the receptionist froze, eyes widening as she studied my face. “The man you’re talking about… he owns this company. Our boss and his wife arrive and leave together every day. Unless… you’re not his wife.” In that second, my world cracked open.

The video showed Genevieve laughing on a yacht, her hair blowing in the sea breeze. Beside her was a man I recognized from the business pages—Marcus Thorne, one of Steven’s competitors. Tan, muscular, holding a drink with the easy entitlement of someone used to owning entire coastlines.

The reporter’s disembodied voice asked from behind the camera, “Miss Bell, any comment on your relationship with Apex Tech CEO, Steven Condan?”

Genevieve lowered her sunglasses and looked straight into the camera.

“Steven?” she said, with a light laugh. “Oh, that was barely a fling. Honestly, I didn’t know he was married. He lied to me, too. I’m just a victim in all this.”

The video cut to her kissing Marcus.

Steven stared at the screen as if he’d just been shot.

“She told me she was going to visit her mother,” he muttered. “She said she needed time to think. She took—she took all the cash I had in the safe.”

I felt a flicker of pity, an old reflex. I crushed it ruthlessly.

“She did exactly what you taught her to do,” I said. “Take the money and run.”

He flinched, just slightly.

The legal battle lasted six months.