Chapter 1

Everyone in the city knew that Vivienne Sterling, the wealthiest woman in the country, loved me more than life itself.

During our five years of marriage, she was always home on time to eat dinner with me.

Every major brand her company launched was named after me.

Even the massive digital billboards on the Sterling Group headquarters featured our wedding photos.

Everything changed when her first love, Alastair Hayes, got divorced and moved back from Europe.

Vivienne brought him and his daughter into our home, and my world began to crumble.

Because Alastair was allergic to dogs, she personally took the dog we had raised for three years and had it put down.

She even stood by when Alastair's daughter dropped my allergy medication into my soup.

I went into anaphylactic shock and was rushed to the ER.

While the doctors were fighting to save me, she was holding Alastair's daughter in the hallway.

"Don't be afraid, baby. Mommy will protect you," she whispered to the girl.

In that moment, I knew it was time for me to disappear.

1.

The word "Mommy" fell from Vivienne's lips with a terrifying ease.

She glanced at me, her eyes flickering with a momentary guilt.

When she saw I didn't react, the tension in her face finally bled away.

"Everett, Wren is still so young," Vivienne said, her voice pleading. "She thought the pills were candy. She didn't mean to poison your soup."

I looked at seven-year-old Wren, who was hiding behind Vivienne's designer skirt.

A faint, hollow smile tugged at my lips.

"She is very young indeed," I said quietly. "How could I possibly be angry with a child?"

The sarcasm in my voice was sharp enough to draw blood.

Vivienne's expression darkened, her guilt quickly turning into annoyance.

I was the one lying in a hospital bed, so she couldn't scold me, but her eyes were full of disapproval.

Alastair wasn't satisfied with my silence.

He glanced at Vivienne's stony face and suddenly dropped to his knees by my bed.

"Everett, I'm so sorry. Please don't call the police on Wren," he begged, his voice trembling.

"I heard you on the phone earlier. She's just a baby. I'll do anything. I'll beg for your mercy."

Vivienne's brows knitted together as she turned to me, her voice dripping with irritation.

"You're really going to call the police over this? Everett, since when did you become so petty?"

I didn't argue with her.

I simply tossed my phone onto her lap.

"See for yourself," I said.

Vivienne looked surprised by my coldness.

Just as she was about to hand the phone back, the screen lit up.

She froze, staring at the display.

"Why did you change your wallpaper?" she asked, her voice tight.

My background had always been a photo of us on our wedding day.

While she was busy playing mother to Alastair's daughter, I had changed it to a generic mountain landscape.

She began fumbling with the phone, trying to unlock it.

"What's the passcode?" she demanded.

I reached out and took the phone back from her trembling hands.

"There's private information on here," I said calmly. "It's not convenient to tell you."

Vivienne's face went from pale to a deep, angry red.

The day after Alastair moved in, I noticed she had changed her own passcode.

I had seen her lock screen―a photo of her, Alastair, and Wren looking like a perfect family.

When she caught me looking at her phone back then, she had been cold.

"Everyone deserves their privacy, Everett. You should stop being so nosy."

I should have realized then that the woman who once treated me like her entire world was gone.

Suddenly, Wren began to wail at the top of her lungs.

"I want to go home! Daddy, Mommy, I want to go home now!"

"I don't want to look at this scary man anymore!" she screamed.

Vivienne's attention snapped instantly to the child.

"Wren, sweetie, it's okay. We're going home right now."

Watching her comfort the girl, you would never guess that Vivienne used to hate the sound of crying children.

"Everett, the doctor said you're stable. Take care of yourself. I need to get Wren home."

She didn't even wait for me to respond before she scooped the girl up and walked out.

Alastair lingered for a moment, falling behind.

He gave me a look of pure, smug triumph.

"Just wait, Everett. I'll be the one wearing the Sterling ring soon."

I ignored his pathetic taunt and pulled out my phone to send a text.

"Principal Henderson, I want to apply for that volunteer teaching position in the Appalachians. How soon can I leave?"

The principal knew my situation with Vivienne, so he didn't try to talk me out of it.

He only asked if I was absolutely sure.

"Sign me up," I replied. "But please, keep this confidential."

"Understood. A team leaves in exactly one week. You can join them then."

I set a countdown timer on my phone screen.

When I saw the bright red number seven, I actually felt a weight lift off my chest.