Chapter 1 - The Coldest Night in Boulder
The rain was not merely falling,
it was screaming against the pavement,
shattering like glass under the weight of a darkening sky.
I stood on the porch of the house I had designed,
the house where I had chosen every marble tile,
every hand-carved banister,
and every hidden light fixture.
Lily,
my beautiful,
fragile daughter,
shifted against my chest.
I could feel the heat of her breath through my soaked coat,
a tiny contrast to the icy betrayal blooming in my veins.
My C-section incision throbbed,
a sharp,
stabbing reminder that my body had just performed a miracle,
while my husband had performed a heist.
Luca had looked at me three days ago with tears in his eyes,
promising to be the protector we needed.
Now,
those same eyes were probably squinting against the bright Miami sun,
toasting to a victory that didn't exist.
The digital lock stared at me,
its red light blinking like a mocking eye.
I had paid for that lock.
I had programmed the security system that was now treating me like a criminal.
Evelyn’s headlights cut through the gloom,
two twin beams of salvation sweeping across the manicured lawn.
She pulled the SUV to a screeching halt,
the tires spitting gravel against the stone driveway.
She didn’t even wait to turn off the engine before she was out,
running toward me with a thick wool blanket in her arms.
“Get in the car,”
she commanded,
her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and heartbreak.
She didn’t ask why I was wet.
She didn’t ask why the door was locked.
She knew Luca.
She had seen the shadow of his greed long before I had allowed myself to notice it.
I climbed into the passenger seat,
moving with the stiff,
calculated motions of a woman held together by surgical staples and sheer willpower.
The warmth of the heater hit my face,
but it couldn't touch the frost inside my heart.
“He took them all,”
I whispered,
my voice sounding like dry leaves skittering across a grave.
“Wendy.
Stephanie.
They went to Miami on my dime.”
Evelyn gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white.
“Let them go,”
she said,
her eyes fixed on the road as we pulled away from the estate.
“The higher they fly,
Jessi,
the harder the ground will feel when they eventually hit it.”
I looked back at the house,
the amber lights glowing within.
It looked like a sanctuary,
but it was now a tomb for a marriage that had died the moment that code was changed.
I pulled my phone back out,
the screen flickering with the blue light of a new reality.
I didn't call Luca.
I didn't text him to beg for the new code.
I didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing I was shivering in the dark.
Instead,
I opened my banking app.
I watched the transactions rolling in from Miami.
A five-star resort.
A boutique on Ocean Drive.
A dinner that cost more than most people make in a month.
Every cent was being drained from a joint account I had foolishly over-funded for "family emergencies."
I felt a strange,
hollow laugh bubble up in my throat.
He thought he had locked me out of my life.
He didn't realize he had just locked himself into a cage of his own making.
“Phoebe is waiting at the house,”
Evelyn said,
breaking the silence.
“She’s already contacted the buyer.”
I nodded,
closing my eyes.
The image of the house burned behind my eyelids.
It was beautiful.
It was perfect.
And it was about to be gone.
I would burn my own kingdom to the ground before I let a traitor sit on the throne.
Lily stirred,
letting out a soft,
dreamy whimper.
“It’s okay,
baby,”
I breathed,
kissing her forehead.
“Mommy is just moving the pieces on the board.”
The game hadn't just started.
May you like
The game was already over.
Luca just didn't know how to read the scoreboard yet.
