Florence froze for a beat.

Lorraine's face changed, and her hand shot out. With a sharp crack, she knocked the phone right out of my grip.

The screen shattered on impact.

"Waving around a fake ID to fool people here?" Lorraine sneered.

"You're just after my Zane, aren't you? Does clinging to a married man really amuse you?"

She raised her voice. "Where's security? Get this madwoman out of here, now."

Two burly guards rushed over at once, seized me by the arms, and hauled me up without a word.

"What do you think you're doing!"

The furious shout came with Zane jogging up, out of breath.

I thought that at the very least he'd care about saving face.

But Zane walked straight past me, pulled Lorraine behind him to shield her, and glared.

"Sally, what are you doing here!"

The guards had my arms wrenched behind my back. I stared him down. "Isn't it obvious? I came to pick up Gabe after school."

I watched him stand there guarding Lorraine.

"Go ahead and explain. What's she to you?"

His eyes darted away, then he straightened his spine and put on an apologetic smile for Florence.

"Teacher Finch, I'm so sorry about this."

"My cousin here isn't quite right in the head. I'll take her away right now."

I was shaking with rage.

"Zane, say it again. Who am I?!"

Zane stepped closer, dropped his voice, teeth clenched.

"Sally, if you're set on making a scene, don't blame me for playing rough!"

"Lorraine's carrying a boy too, and my mother says she has to be made legitimate."

"Gabe's going to move in these elite circles from now on. You want his classmates laughing at him for having a crazy woman for a mother?"

I looked at him like I was looking at a total stranger.

Crazy mother? The postpartum depression I had was only because of him and our child!

And he, for the sake of one mistress, for the sake of so-called face, wanted to grind me under his heel and crush me into the dirt!

Zane's voice rose, deliberately loud enough for everyone around to hear.

"Sally, I'm giving you a roof and a meal out of family loyalty, so don't be so ungrateful!"

Lorraine leaned into Zane's arms, playing the part. "Honey, don't be angry, it's not worth ruining your health over."

"Sally's pitiful too. Let's just think of it as a good deed."

The parents around us chimed in. "Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are so kind. A dreadful relative like that, I'd have thrown her out ages ago."

Gabe came running out of the classroom.

"Daddy!" He threw himself into Zane's arms, then turned and saw me pinned by the guards.

"Mom—"

"Gabe!" Zane clapped a hand over his mouth, scooped him up, his eyes cold and grim.

"Call her Aunt Sally."

Gabe froze, his big eyes filled with confusion.

"Daddy, she's Mom."

Zane's face darkened.

"Gabriel Whitney, did you forget what Daddy told you? If you don't behave, that limited-edition Transformer is gone."

Gabe's body went stiff.

He looked at me, then at Zane's fierce face.

Finally, he lowered his head and said it softly.

"Aunt Sally."

In that moment.

I heard the sound of my own heart breaking.

Eight years of marriage, seven years of a mother's bond, the child I'd traded my life to have.

None of it measured up to a plastic toy.

A guard shoved hard, and I hit the ground. The rough asphalt scraped my palms raw, blood seeping out.

But the deeper pain was in my chest.

I drew a long breath and forced the sting behind my eyes back down.

I didn't want to argue anymore.

"Fine."

I stood, brushed the dirt off my hands, and picked up the phone with its shattered screen.

"Zane, Gabriel Whitney, remember what you said today."

I turned and walked out. Behind me came Lorraine's smug laughter and Zane's hollow reassurances.

Laugh all you want. Today's the last day you'll get to.

Back home, I kept sorting through everything that would work in my favor for the divorce, and stopped bothering with anything around the house.

So the next morning, the morning we were supposed to leave on the trip, the living room was still a wreck.

Zane was frantically trying to pack.

"Sally, you're not going to pack for us? What kind of wife are you!"

I stood off to the side and said nothing, watching him clown around.

He barked, impatient. "Don't blame me for this. Look how ugly you've let yourself get these last few years. I'm a department manager now. Is it a crime to want a more presentable wife?"

"Do you get it? Walking around next to you drags me down."

I didn't answer him. I just walked over to my son and crouched down.

"Is that what Gabe thinks too?"

"Of course." Zane smirked, pleased with himself.

"Gabe loves Aunt Lorraine. Lorraine promised to buy him a big mansion."

"Right, son?"

Gabe sat on the couch, the limited-edition Transformer clutched in his arms.

Head down. Silent.

And my heart went cold, inch by inch, all the way to the bottom.

"Do you want to go with Daddy, or with Mommy?"

Gabe looked up, glanced at me, then looked quickly over at Zane.

Zane glared at him.

Gabe shrank back.

"I'll go with Daddy."

I nodded.

Stood up.

"Fine. As long as you won't regret it."

I looked at the two of them, father and son, with cold eyes, like I was looking at two dead men.

Zane thought I'd given up. He gave a cold snort, grabbed Gabe, and slammed the door on his way out.

I watched their car pull out of the complex, then turned back into the study, and with a cold smile hit the enter key on the last line.

The firewall on the central control system at tonight's destination might as well have been made of paper in front of me.

Zane, you wanted to look respectable? Today I'll let you get your fill of "respectable" in front of the entire elite crowd.

I slipped a USB drive into my pocket and headed out to the same place.

Atlanta's most exclusive luxury glamping site. The bonfire party was in full swing.

The moment I arrived, I spotted Zane and Lorraine right in the middle of the crowd.

Lorraine wore an expensive designer maternity gown, holding a glass of alcohol-free champagne, laughing so hard she was practically shaking.

Zane had an arm around Gabriel, playing the picture of a successful man, career made, family perfect.

"Mr. Whitney's really young and accomplished, and your wife's so beautiful too. What a winner in life!" A few of the parents crowded around, showering them with compliments.

I pushed through the crowd and walked toward them, one step at a time.

"She is beautiful. After all, she's kept beautiful on my money, so how could she not be?"

My voice wasn't loud, but every word reached every ear in the place.

Every gaze snapped toward me at once.

The moment Zane saw me, the smile cracked off his face.

"Sally?! How did you follow us all the way out here, you crazy woman!"

Lorraine ducked behind Zane at once, cradling her belly, putting on a show of being scared half to death. "Cousin, will you only be satisfied once you've driven my baby and me to our deaths? I've already given you the position of Mrs. Whitney. Isn't that enough for you?"

The parents around them erupted.

"It's that psycho nanny again?"

"How shameless. She actually followed them all the way here!"

"Call the police! Get security to throw her out, now!"

A few of the site's security guards rushed over and shoved me without ceremony.

I stumbled back a couple of steps, pinned in their grip.

I looked at Zane, cold.

He pointed down at my face from above. "Sally, I left you a shred of dignity, and you'd rather throw it back in my face! If you dare make a scene today, tomorrow I'm having you committed to a psychiatric ward!"

His eyes were pure venom. Gabriel hid against his chest, too scared to even lift his head and look at me.

"Have me committed?" I laughed out loud and stopped struggling.

"If people found out about that, who do you think would be committing whom?"

"April 25th last year, the two of you—"

Zane's face went white. His hand shot up.

The slap was already flying at my face.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch!"

Lorraine shrieked too. "Security, drag her out and give her a beating!"

I didn't dodge. I just looked at him, cold. "Zane, you think I came here today to beg you?"

Right at the razor's edge, his palm about to land, a guard's hand reaching for my hair—

"Screech—"

The music across the whole luxury glamping site cut off dead.

At the same moment, a line of black Maybachs let out an ear-splitting screech of brakes.

The giant projection screen in the center of the site suddenly flickered wildly, and then the image changed.

Every trace of Zane and Lorraine's smugness drained away. In an instant, both went pale.

Zane's hand froze in midair.

The big screen came to life, the date stamped in the corner reading April 25th of last year.

There was Zane, in his office, stripped to the waist, with Lorraine draped against his chest.

The massive speakers carried their voices across the entire campground.

"We just did something this thrilling in your office. So when are you finally divorcing that worn-out housewife of yours?"

"Soon. Her patent licensing deal is almost up. Next month I'll trick her into signing the transfer agreement."

Zane's hand slid the fabric off Lorraine's shoulder.

"You're amazing, baby. Once the patent dividends come in, we'll buy that mansion on the south side." Lorraine's laughter echoed through the night air.

"No problem. And you need to clean up the company books a little better."

"Relax. The five million, I broke it all into small transactions."

At that point the footage flickered, and a financial statement stamped with a red official seal appeared in the center of the screen, several figures circled in red — circles I had drawn myself.

The faces around them were a sight to behold.

The parents who had been crowding around Zane fawning over him a moment ago all stopped what they were doing, backing away, putting distance between themselves and the two of them.

Zane spun around.

"Turn it off! Cut the power, now!"

He lunged at the sound equipment beside him, grabbing the cable to yank it loose, but no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge.

On the screen, Lorraine stuffed several documents bearing the company seal into her Hermès Birkin bag, glanced left and right, then strode out of the office.

Lorraine's hand, which had been cradling her belly, dropped. She took two steps back, ducking behind Zane.

The video kept playing.

I let one corner of my mouth curve up. I had known all along that Zane would do everything he could to kill the power, then flip the blame and pin it all on me.

Sure enough, he took two big strides forward and jabbed a finger at my face.

"Sally! You wanted revenge so badly you actually hired someone to fake this video with AI!"

He turned to the parents around him, raising his voice.

"Everyone, she synthesized this video! Don't believe a word of it!"

A low murmur rippled through the crowd.

"AI face-swapping? The tech really can pass for real these days."

"No wonder. I kept saying, I've known Mr. Whitney and his wife for so long. There's no way they'd have that kind of relationship."

Teacher Finch stepped forward, looking at me.

"Ms. Swanson, what you've done is defamation. Mr. Whitney has every right to call the police and have you arrested." She pulled out her phone.

Lorraine snapped out of her shock. She quickly hooked her arm through Zane's.

"Cousin, I know you're jealous that I get to be with Zane. But you can't just make up lies like this to frame us because you want to take my place!" Lorraine pressed a hand to her belly, her eyes going red.

I watched the two of them perform, cold.

I was about to speak when a calm, steady voice cut in:

"I'd like to see who dares lay a hand today on the most important core technology partner of my Group."