If things were really like that, then what was the point of me working myself into the ground? Let Fraser go make the money. I wanted to see just how far he would get without me behind the scenes.

"I'm not going," I said, dead serious. "If you're so desperate for money, go earn it yourself."

Ysabel looked stunned. Like she couldn't believe what she just heard. For a second, she looked like she wanted to say something, but I was already done.

I walked to the bedroom, shut the door and locked it. I didn’t want to see her face anymore, let alone hear her nagging.

Next thing I knew, it was already the afternoon of the next day. The house was quiet, no one was home.

I grabbed my phone, opened the bank app and wired every last cent of that one million from the deal straight to my parents. They deserved it. They were the only ones who ever had my back.

Once that was done, I headed into the office like it was just another normal day.

But of course, the minute I stepped in, Fraser and Ysabel came rushing at me.

"What did you do yesterday? Why is a million gone from the joint account? Transfer it back, half of it’s mine!" she said.

I didn’t even flinch. Fraser came straight at me, his face full of fake concern but his words sharp as hell. "Come on, man, don’t get upset. Ysabel just panicked, that’s all. You moved the money without saying anything, so she got worried. No need to let this cause drama in your marriage."

Drama? That was rich, coming from him.

I shot him a look and said, "Why are you even in this conversation? I had a fight with my wife, since when is that your business?"

That shut him up real quick. He stood there awkwardly, looking like he wanted to disappear.

Ysabel jumped in then, trying to save face for him, not me. She raised her hand, eyes blazing. "Jairo! What kind of attitude is that? Fraser is just trying to help us! Can’t you just give me this one bit of respect?"

I leaned away before her slap could land and gave her a light push. She stumbled and landed right in Fraser’s arms, of course.

Her eyes went wide in shock, voice shaking. "You! You can't even make money and now you treat me like this? Fraser is better than you in every way..."

I didn’t even blink. I knew exactly how that sentence ended. I had heard it in different forms a hundred times over.

She had been putting me down and lifting Fraser up since year one. Always comparing. Always belittling me. And I let her do it. I let her wear me down until I didn’t even recognize myself.

I used to feel guilty around her all the time, thinking it was my fault she didn’t have the life she wanted. That I wasn’t good enough.

But looking at things now, that was all bullshit. Guilt kept me chained to someone who never cared.

I gave her a flat look. "If he's so amazing, go be with him. Fraser clearly likes you. Do yourselves a favor and stop dragging me into whatever mess this is."

Ysabel instantly pulled away from Fraser, eyes wide like I’d just accused her of murder. "How can you say that? Fraser and I are just friends! A pure, innocent friendship between a man and a woman! You’re just disgusting for even thinking like that."

I was already done with the conversation. "Sure. Whatever you say. Just stay out of my way."

That hit a nerve. She hated being brushed off more than anything. Her pride couldn’t handle it. I watched her turn on her heel and stalk off, dragging Fraser with her like she expected me to come chasing.

But Fraser, being Fraser, paused halfway and came back like he was trying to play mediator. "Come on, Jairo, don’t be like that. We’re really not doing anything wrong. She’s just emotional, you know how it is.

“I’ll go calm her down, but you should probably transfer that one million back before things spiral. Women can be unpredictable, don’t mess up your marriage over a misunderstanding."

I looked him dead in the eye and pulled out my car keys. "Here. Take her out somewhere nice. Chill her out. Just return the car when you're done."

He grinned like I just handed him a gift, took the keys without a second thought and jogged after her.

I watched them go and the feeling in my chest turned from anger to suspicion. Fraser had ten million, right? So why was he acting like that one million in my hand was such a big deal?

Something didn’t add up. And I had a feeling I was finally starting to see the truth.

Fraser went out of his way to stop me, practically begging me to return the one million. Seriously? Was it really that important to him?

I slouched back in my chair, pulled out my phone and opened the dashcam app.

This was a new car, one I really liked, so I had splurged on a high-end dashcam. 4K video, full audio recording, everything. I figured it would come in handy if I ever got into an accident or ran into trouble.

But what I found… yeah, I wasn’t ready for that.

I leaned in, holding my breath as the audio kicked in. "Why didn’t you make him go seal the deal? Do you know how long I’ve been planning this? Jairo has to die for us to take all the money. You get that?"

That was Fraser. His voice was low, tense and full of impatience.

Then came Ysabel, sounding like she was the victim. "What do you want me to do if he doesn’t wanna go? I can’t force him. Besides, what’s the rush? Let him live a bit longer, he can still make money for us."

Fraser let out this annoyed sigh. "You’re being greedy. The system’s got rules. If Jairo moves that money, I’ll get hit with a tenfold penalty."

I froze. Tenfold?

So that was why they were panicking over just one million. Fraser wasn’t losing one, he was losing ten. No wonder he had been losing his mind.

Then came the part that really hit me in the gut. "So we need to fix this. Fast. The rest is on you."

Ysabel's voice turned all sweet and fake. "Relax. When have I ever let you down? Just give me a little more time. I’ll make sure he doesn’t make it back tonight."

Fraser chuckled, his tone turning sleazy. "Well, Jairo is not home yet... what do you say we enjoy ourselves here for a bit?"

I heard a chair scrape loudly, followed by… yeah. I didn’t need to hear more. I saved the footage, every damn second of it. My fingers were steady, but the hatred boiling in my chest was anything but.

Ysabel. The woman I gave my heart to.

I had spent years making excuses for her. Blaming myself. Telling myself she deserved better, that I wasn’t doing enough. I let her walk all over me because I loved her, because she was my first love.

Back in high school, she was this quiet, smart, beautiful girl everyone was obsessed with. I thought I had won the jackpot.

Now I knew better. She had been playing me the whole time. I spent over ten years treating her like she was made of glass. Always scared she would get tired of me, that one day she would leave.

I kept trying to be enough, for her, for us. It became second nature, following her lead, always giving in, thinking if I just held on tight enough, she would stay.

I was making 3000 dollars a month and still tried to stretch every dollar just to spoil her. Even if it meant skipping meals or wearing the same shoes for years, I didn’t care. I thought that was love.

But to her, it was never enough. She never once looked at me like I was good enough. Just that same tired expression, like I was holding her back.

And when I died, she didn’t even wait. She ran straight into Fraser’s arms like she’d been dying to all along.

I would never forget what I saw, they were kissing right in front of my grave. Like I was never even there.

"Hubby, I stayed with him all these years for you," she said. "You have to make it up to me."

Fraser chuckled and said, "Babe, aren’t you scared Jairo’s ghost is watching? What if he died with his eyes open?"

Ysabel just laughed, soft and sweet. Like none of it mattered. "What’s there to be scared of? He was a loser when he was alive. Now he’s dead. In the next life, he’ll beg me to take him back. He’ll crawl if I tell him to."

That voice… that smug tone, burned into my brain. It answered every question I ever had. Fraser didn’t just want to ruin my life. He wanted me dead. And she helped him make it happen.

She gave him the knife. Smiled while she twisted it. So what kind of love was I even holding onto?

I hated them. Both of them. But I couldn’t blow everything up yet. If I divorced her now, she would take half of everything. I needed a plan.

Besides, I still didn’t know the full extent of what they were up to. There was more, I could feel it. That night, she didn’t come home. Then, right before sunrise, she called like nothing had happened.

"Honey, we're having a little class reunion at our old friend’s bar tonight. Wanna come too? Everyone says they miss you," she said over the phone.

I could hear the bass from the bar pounding in the background, voices shouting over each other. I acted concerned and said, "Alright. I’ll head over now, might as well come pick you up."

Honestly, bars like that were chaotic, too many people, too many corners. It wouldn’t be hard to set someone up.

Maybe that was the point. Maybe this was her way of drawing me out. But fine. I wanted to see what she was playing at.

Before I left, I messaged someone important. Just in case.

When I pushed open the door to the private room, Ysabel walked up and melted into my arms like nothing ever happened. I swallowed down the urge to push her away.

She looked up at me with those fake tearful eyes and said softly, "Honey, I was wrong earlier, okay? Can we stop fighting? You're still the one I love the most."

I didn’t say anything. Not in front of all these people.

Fraser stood nearby with that smug look plastered on his face. "Alright, everyone, cheers to Jairo! Our big shot over here. Say the word and he’ll hook you up with a job!"

That got the rest of the table excited real quick. A few of them crowded around, clinking glasses. I went along with it, had a couple drinks, but then I started feeling... off.

My limbs felt heavy. My lips tingled. Something wasn’t right. I tried to stand, but my knees nearly buckled. That’s when Fraser stepped in, holding me up like we were best friends.

"You’re drunk, bro," he laughed. "Relax, I called a driver for you. Let’s get you outta here."

Everyone else was still laughing and chatting, not paying attention. Once we were outside, he guided me into a car and when I tried to slide out, he shoved me back in without a word.

He smiled down at me, but there was nothing friendly in it. "Jairo, I really didn’t wanna go this far. But you? You just keep pushing it."

I had a million questions but no strength to ask them. He pulled off his outer shirt, tossed it aside and slid into the driver’s seat.

The engine started. The bar lights faded into the rearview. We were headed into the dark, onto some road with nothing but shadows.

"You realize this is a country with laws, right? What the hell are you doing?" I managed to mutter, my voice slurring.

He glanced back, then chuckled like this was just some fun little road trip. "What am I doing? Sending you off, man. Don’t worry, after you’re gone, I’ll make sure your parents are taken care of. Your wife too. Real good care."

Fraser's smirk widened like he was enjoying every second of this. "You really didn’t know, huh? Your precious wife’s been sleeping with me for ages. You’re the only one still treating her like a damn queen."

I tried moving again, struggling to reach into my pocket for my phone, but he caught on fast.

He snatched it from me and tossed it right out the window like it was nothing. "Trying to call the cops? Keep dreaming."

That was it. My last shot. Gone.

Without thinking, I lunged and bit down on his arm, hard enough to taste blood, hard enough to tear something if I could.

"Shit!" he screamed, face twisting in pain. He smacked me across the face—once, then again. "You crazy son of a bitch!"

My mouth was full of blood. My head was spinning. My limbs felt useless, but I kept fighting. Then he grabbed the back of my head and slammed it into the window with a sickening thud.

"I should’ve ended you a long time ago," he growled, breathing heavy. "You bite me again, I’ll make sure you never open your damn mouth again."

And just like that, he grabbed a small handful of glass shards from the cup holder, God knew how long he had been planning this and forced them into my mouth.

I screamed, the sharp edges cutting into my tongue, my gums, blood pouring fast now.

He looked so damn satisfied. "You still think someone is gonna save you out here? Nobody’s coming. This road’s dead. You’ll rot before anyone finds you."

Just as he reached for something else, the car suddenly jolted.

The whole front end shook like it had been hit. Tires screeched. The vehicle veered off and rolled to a shaky stop at the edge of the road.

And then, flashing red and blue lights. Sirens. Doors slamming. Shouts from every direction.

Fraser froze. Police cars had boxed us in. Out of nowhere. The lead officer stepped out, eyes locked on the car, jaw clenched.

Fraser’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Checkmate.

"We got a call for help! Step out of the car, now! No funny business! You’ve got three seconds or we’re coming in!" one of the cops shouted through a megaphone.