In that moment, my heart finally died.

I called Vivian Cole directly.

"Draw up a divorce agreement for me. The sooner, the better."

On the other end of the line, Vivian frowned. "You're the one who got him his job. You bought the house, the car, all of it. If you divorce him now, you're the one getting screwed."

My voice was flat. "He'll be walking away with nothing."

Before my parents passed, they left me a sizable inheritance and a network of connections. More than enough to support me and my paralyzed brother.

Even if I never married again, I'd be just fine.

When I first met Zachery, he was gentle and attentive, and I thought it was real love. I didn't care that he was broke, that his career was going nowhere. I even pulled strings to get him a position as an art professor at the university.

Everything he had, I gave him.

But now he couldn't see where he stood, and he'd broken my heart beyond repair.

So naturally, I could take it all back.

After I hung up, I lay on the hospital bed with my eyes closed, resting.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and Zachery walked in.

"Ellie, are you still upset?"

His voice was cautious, tiptoeing. "Gertrude's parents will be here in ten minutes. The university knows about the incident too. They want us to settle this."

"Just do it for me. Make this go away, okay?"

I let out a cold laugh.

Of course. From start to finish, the only thing he cared about was himself.

How badly I'd been hurt never even crossed his mind.

"And if I refuse?"

His expression darkened the instant the words left my mouth.

He leaned in close, dropping his voice low. "Don't forget, the caretaker looking after your brother works for me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would you?"

"After all, he's the person you care about most."

I knocked the water cup off the nightstand.

My eyes locked onto Zachery, unblinking.

He was threatening me with my brother.

For the first time, I realized I had never truly known this man I'd spent five years with.

"Zachery, if you lay a single finger on my brother, I will make your life a living hell."

The look in my eyes startled him. He softened immediately. "I was just talking, Ellie. As long as you cooperate, things can go back to the way they were."

I tugged at the corner of my mouth but said nothing.

Back to the way they were?

Zachery was dreaming.

Ten minutes later, the Shepherd family arrived.

They brought a crate of mangoes. The one thing I was severely allergic to.

"Mrs. Barnes, our Gertie knows she was wrong. You're such a gracious woman, surely you won't hold it against a young girl."

"This is just a little something from us. Please, try one?"

The words had barely landed when Gertrude reached out to peel a mango for me, the excitement in her eyes impossible to hide.

So they knew about my allergy. They'd brought them on purpose to torment me.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough! I'm allergic to mangoes. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Gertrude hit me with her car first, and now you're trying to trigger an allergic reaction. I'm not letting either of these slide."

The moment I said it, Gertrude's eyes turned red and watery.

"Mrs. Barnes, I don't know what you're talking about. Professor Barnes told us to buy the mangoes. He said they were your favorite."

My heart sank. I turned to look at Zachery.

He knew full well I was allergic.

Gertrude was lying.

I waited for him to expose her, to call out the lie.

But after a beat, Zachery raised an eyebrow.

Then, as if he'd made up his mind, he spoke. "It was my mistake. I told them wrong. Ellie, if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't make things hard for Gertie."

He disappointed me again.

I stopped looking at him.

My gaze shifted to Gertrude, half-hidden behind his back.

The girl's eyes were brimming with provocation and triumph.

A thought slammed into me out of nowhere.

Why was Zachery so protective of Gertrude? Was it really just about saving face and his career?

Then he leaned in close, his voice low and pleading. "Ellie, the university needs a group photo for their records. Just bear with it one more time, okay? I know you're upset. Don't worry, I'll—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Sure."

Every last shred of emotion had drained out of me. All I wanted now was the truth about what Zachery and Gertrude really were to each other.

He exhaled in relief. "See? My wife's always looking out for me."

During the photo, Gertrude deliberately pressed herself close to Zachery. She even hooked her pinky around his when she thought no one was looking. The two of them, getting their thrill right under my nose, convinced I wouldn't notice.

But I said nothing.

Instead, I urged Zachery to see them out. "I can't get out of bed. Go walk them downstairs, would you?"

A flicker of hidden delight crossed his eyes.

I didn't miss it.

It stung like a needle through my chest.

Once they left, I called over the young nursing aide. I paid her to follow Zachery and the others.

It didn't take long. She sent me a video.

The footage showed a quiet corner on the ground floor of the hospital. Gertrude threw herself into Zachery's arms, her voice thick with petulance.

"Zachery, we had a deal. You were supposed to hit that old hag with the car, then drug her so she'd never wake up. Now she's conscious and making our lives miserable. Are you going soft on me?"

Zachery stroked her hair, soothing her. "Relax. Why would I go soft? I've been slipping something into her meal trays every day. Tomorrow's the last dose. Once she's out for good, we can finally be together in the open. And every cent she has will be ours."

They stood there wrapped around each other, laying out their vicious plan as casually as a dinner reservation. Then Gertrude pulled a hotel keycard from her pocket and pressed it into his palm. "I'll be waiting at the hotel tonight. Consider it an early celebration."

I couldn't watch any more.

My fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms.

They were monsters. Not only had they been carrying on behind my back, they were actively trying to kill me. And I had walked through every single day without suspecting a thing.

The aide's message came through right after: Ma'am, I got everything on camera. Should I call the police?

I typed back slowly: No. Letting them rot in prison would be too easy.

I was going to destroy them. Ruin everything they had. Make them pay in ways a jail cell never could.

I picked up the phone and dialed my private security team. "Get to my brother's rehabilitation center immediately. Replace the current caregiver and make sure she doesn't get anywhere near him again."

I paused, then added, "Twenty-four-hour protection, around the clock. No one gets access to my brother without my explicit approval."

I had been so blind, trusting Zachery with the only family I had left.

Now that I thought about it, those times my brother had been "accidentally" hurt at the center—there was no way those were coincidences.

Never again. I would never let anyone lay a hand on me or the people I loved.

A long time passed before Zachery finally came back.

There was a smear of lipstick on his jaw. He hadn't even noticed.

"Ellie, why did you switch out your brother's caregiver? You really don't trust me?"

My expression didn't waver. "Weren't you the one who threatened to make something happen to my brother? Can you blame me for being cautious?"

Irritation twisted across his face.

But he reined it in just as quickly, forcing his features smooth. "Forget it. This is all my fault. I pushed you to this."

"Ellie, I know you've been through a lot. Let me go pick up something nutritious for you to make up for it."

I stopped him. "I don't want it. Can I just skip it?"

Part of me still clung to one last shred of pathetic hope—that I could reach whatever conscience he had left.

But Zachery was unwavering.

"How are you going to recover if you don't eat? I want you out of here as soon as possible. Be good."

He turned and left.

I closed my eyes.

I'd given him too much credit. Far too much.

If Zachery refused to feel an ounce of remorse, then he couldn't blame me for what came next.

I picked up my phone and dialed the number I'd saved days ago. "Hey. I need a favor..."

It was a long time before Zachery came back.

He handed me the meal. "Here, Ellie. Eat up."

"The university needs me to work late tonight, so I can't stay with you."

I knew he was rushing off to meet Gertrude at some hotel.

I said nothing about it.

"Okay. I'll finish it all. Go ahead."

Then I pulled out a document and handed it to him.

"The doctor says I need to stay for more observation. Can you sign this consent form for me?"

He didn't question it. He scrawled his name in a hurry and left, his steps practically bouncing.

I opened the location-sharing app on my phone.

His dot moved across the map and came to a stop at a couples' hotel.

A smile curved my lips. I dialed 911.

"I'd like to report my husband soliciting a prostitute. The location is..."

The meal went straight into the trash.

I flipped open the document Zachery had just signed—a divorce agreement granting him nothing—and felt genuinely pleased for the first time in days.

Five minutes later, my phone nearly exploded with his calls.

He bombarded me with messages. "Ellie, what the hell are you doing? Why did you report me?"

"I was just dropping something off! You're accusing me of soliciting?!"

I didn't respond. I powered off my phone and set it to silent.

Even if Zachery managed to talk his way out of it at the police station, at least it would ruin his night.

I ordered delivery and ate the first meal in days that didn't make my stomach turn.

Then I slept. Long and deep.

The next morning, Zachery woke me.

His face was ashen, his eyes webbed with red veins. He clearly hadn't slept.

"Ellie, why would you do that to me? How did you even know where I was?"

He was trying to figure out whether I already knew about their plan.

I let out a cold laugh. "Funny—I should be the one asking questions. I pulled up your location to check on you, and imagine my surprise when I saw you at a hotel."

"Did you do something behind my back? Tell me!"

The excuse was airtight.

Zachery bought it. The tension visibly drained from his shoulders.

He slipped right back into that spineless, groveling act. "I really was just dropping something off, babe. Don't misunderstand."

"To make it up to you, I cooked this myself. You must be hungry. Try it."

He set a container of lamb stew in front of me.

Under his eager, expectant gaze, I drank it. Spoonful by spoonful, until it was gone.

But within moments, the room began to tilt. My thoughts blurred at the edges.

Five minutes later, I couldn't hold on any longer.

Everything went black, and I collapsed.

Beside me, Zachery let out a laugh he couldn't contain.

"Playing games with me, Ellie? Not so clever now, are you?"

"You're smart—I'll give you that. You caught on to our plan. But you're still not smart enough."

He raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

"I put five times the dose in that stew. Go ahead and die."

When I still didn't stir, the grin on his face deepened, satisfaction spreading across every feature.

Then he pulled out his phone and typed a message to Gertrude, his fingers quick with excitement:

"Get to the hospital. She's already passed out, and this time she's not waking up!"

"We'll transfer the money from her phone first. I know her bank card PIN. We can deal with the rest of her assets later!"

Before long, Gertrude came rushing in.

A greedy smile spread across her face. "Zachery, she's really gone? This is perfect! Let's move fast before something goes wrong!"

"What's there to worry about?" Zachery's voice dripped with smugness. "I'm her legal husband. Her only next of kin. I say her condition deteriorated and she passed away. Who's going to question that? The cops won't find a thing."

The two of them crowded around the hospital bed, buzzing with excitement.

Zachery reached for my phone.

Gertrude rubbed her hands together, her eyes gleaming as she looked me over, as if she could already see the fortune within her grasp.

They were so drunk on the thrill of getting everything they wanted that they'd lost all sense of their surroundings.

Bang! The door to the hospital room flew open, kicked in from the outside.

The explosive sound made Zachery and Gertrude whip around.

My best friend Vivian stormed in with several uniformed officers at her back, every one of them radiating authority.

She held up a body camera and barked, "Freeze! You're both under arrest!"