Chapter 3

03

"Of course, babe."

He handed over the keys without a second thought and kissed my forehead.

"Buy whatever you want. Your husband can afford it."

"I'm going to crash for a few hours. I'm exhausted."

I watched him walk toward the bedroom, my fingers tightening around the cold metal of the keys.

Oh, Lucian. You're definitely going to make it up to me at that ceremony.

But it won't be in the way you think.

I went down to the garage, pulled the memory card from the dashcam, and plugged it into my laptop.

The footage from last night was crystal clear.

A simple cheating scandal wouldn't be enough to destroy a man like Lucian.

But Lucian didn't have as much money as he pretended to. I controlled the majority of our shared assets.

He had to be getting the money for Lina's lifestyle from somewhere else.

And as I scrolled through the audio logs, I heard them discussing it.

I made three separate copies of the files and hid them in secure cloud drives.

For the next few days, I acted like a patient hunter setting a trap.

Weston, the investigator, was worth every penny. He didn't just get photos of their dates; he found the paper trail.

"Lina's luxury spending is being funneled through Lucian's corporate accounts."

Weston pushed a stack of photocopied receipts toward me.

"Designer bags listed as 'client gifts.' Even her prenatal doctor visits are being filed as 'business hospitality.'"

I flipped through the pages. Weston handed me one more document.

"And this. Lina signed a consulting contract with Lucian's firm. Sixty million a year in promotion fees."

"But her social media following is tiny. No real engagement. This is straight-up corporate embezzlement."

I let out a cold laugh.

Lucian, you really threw away your entire career and your soul for a pretty face.

I quietly organized everything into a presentation file.

That evening, Lucian came home early, his face glowing with triumph.

"Elara, I have the best news!"

He scooped me up in his arms.

"The board officially appointed me as the new CEO! The inauguration is next Wednesday."

"Really? That's amazing!"

I forced a look of pure joy.

"I need to find a stunning dress. I can't have the CEO's wife looking anything less than perfect."

Lucian's smile faltered for a fraction of a second.

"Actually, babe, it's a strictly internal corporate event. No family allowed this time."

"New leadership, you know? I have to keep it low-key at first. Once I'm settled, I'll take you to every gala in the city."

I stared at him until his eyes started to shift away. Finally, I nodded.

"Okay. Good luck then."

"I knew you'd understand!"

He looked relieved and kissed my cheek.

"After the ceremony, we'll have a private celebration."

As soon as he stepped into the shower, I checked my phone. Lina had just posted a new story.

【Going to a big event with my man tonight! So nervous. Baby, be good and don't kick Mommy while she's on stage.】

The photo showed a champagne-colored gown that probably cost more than a mid-sized sedan.

I smirked. I looked at the digital invitation I had already received on my private email.

Lucian seemed to have forgotten that besides being his wife, I was also one of the firm's minority shareholders.

There was no way I wasn't going to be at that inauguration.