Chapter 2

2.

I was taken to the base, not as a spouse, but as a "key witness."

Agent Miller, a hawk-eyed veteran investigator, poured me a cup of coffee himself.

"Mrs. Sterling, relax. Tell me exactly what you found today."

I held the cup, my hands perfectly steady.

"Today is our third anniversary. He said SEAL Team Six had an emergency recall. I knew something was off immediately."

"How so?" Miller pressed.

"He wasn't in uniform. He took his personal truck, not the government vehicle. And he didn't take his go-bag. Also, I found this in the shredder."

I pulled a taped-together piece of paper from my purse. A reservation for St. Mary’s Private Hospital.

I had actually pieced it together from his home office days ago.

He thought he was careful.

But he didn't know that ever since I got pregnant―and subsequently lost it―my sense of smell had been hypersensitive. I smelled the Chanel perfume on him weeks ago.

From that day on, I stopped being the gentle housewife and reverted to who I was before: a network hunter for the NSA.

Miller looked at the paper, his expression darkening.

"Why jump to treason?"

That was the million-dollar question.

I lowered my eyes, letting a calculated tremor enter my voice.

"He’s been acting strange. Taking encrypted calls at midnight. Using an unauthorized laptop in the study. When I asked, he said it was classified."

"As a military wife, I know the drill. Don't ask. But today... he lied to me to be with another woman. Agent Miller, if he can break his vows to me, what makes you think he kept his vows to the country?"

My words were half-true.

He did have another laptop, but it was for video chatting with Bella.

He did take midnight calls, but it was Bella complaining about morning sickness.

I had seen it all through the hidden cameras I installed.

But I couldn't say that. I needed to muddy the water.

Miller frowned deep in thought.

"The woman. Do you know her?"

"No," I lied. "But I traced his digital footprint. Her name is Bella."

"You traced him? And hacked the hospital?" Miller looked surprised.

"Agent Miller, before I married Lucas, I was a Senior Cyber Security Consultant for the Pentagon."

That was my ace in the hole.

I could do more than hack a hospital. I could recover every deleted file from his "love laptop."

Miller went silent.

A SEAL Commander, acting shady, lying to Command, meeting a mystery woman. And his wife, a top-tier cyber expert, turned him in.

It was a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

"Savannah, this is critical intel. We're opening a formal investigation. For your safety, you'll stay at the Visitor's Quarters on base."

"I understand. I have one condition."

"Name it."

"I want a divorce."

My tone brooked no argument.

"Regardless of what you find, this marriage is over."

Miller looked at me with complex eyes.

"Okay. We'll provide legal counsel."

Walking out, the Virginia sun was blinding. But I felt cold.

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

Savannah, you psycho! You ruined Luke! Mom is going to kill you!

It was Lucas’s sister, Lily.

I deleted the text and blocked the number without blinking.

This was just the beginning.

Immediately after, my phone rang. It was my mother-in-law, Margaret.

The moment I picked up, she was screaming.

"Savannah! What the hell are you doing? Luke is a hero! You’re a curse! I never should have let him marry trash like you!"

I listened quietly. When she ran out of breath, I spoke.

"Margaret, save your energy. You should be worrying about your unborn grandson."

Silence.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Lucas was at the hospital for a prenatal checkup with his mistress. Three months along. They named it Hope."

"To commemorate their love."

I could picture the blood draining from the old aristocrat's face.

"Liar! Impossible! My son is a man of honor!" she shrieked.

"You'll find out soon enough."

I hung up and exhaled deeply.

The heavy weight in my chest lightened, just a fraction.

Lucas, did you think your family would save you?

Soon, they’ll be the ones pushing you off the ledge.