But my eyes were no longer those of an excited, naive bride.
They were the cold, sharp eyes of a woman who had just woken up from a long, dangerous dream.
I stripped off the expensive dress, threw on a pair of jeans and a simple sweatshirt, grabbed my purse, and snuck out through the service stairs.
At one in the morning, I stood in the street and called my father.
“Dad,” I said, my voice steady and firm for the first time in months.
“You were right all along, and I need you to wake up Rebecca, the lead attorney, because Elias and his mother are trying to destroy me.”
My father was silent for a fleeting second before he spoke.
“Where are you right now, sweetheart?”
“I am on my way home,” I told him.
“Then come quickly, daughter,” he said with a dangerous tone.
“If they want war, then they are going to get the war of their lives.”
I had no idea then what that recording would cause, nor did I realize just how quickly Elias would sink beneath the weight of his own calculated lies.
CHAPTER 2: THE TRAP IS SET
When I arrived at my father’s estate, the massive iron gates swung open before I could even reach the driveway.
My dad was waiting for me in his study wearing a heavy robe, his face looking harder and more focused than I had ever seen it.
Standing next to him was Rebecca, my closest friend and one of the most ruthless corporate lawyers in the entire legal industry.
They did not ask me if I was okay, because the look on my face told them everything they needed to know.
I placed my cell phone on the mahogany desk and played the audio file for them.
Cynthia’s voice filled the quiet, somber room with every ugly, calculated word.
“Ella is just a low-level secretary.”
“We are going to reclaim the penthouse.”
“Elias has to put up with her for one year.”
“Brenda’s baby needs a proper room.”
My father clenched his jaw so tightly I thought he might actually break a tooth.
“I am going to destroy them completely,” he said, his voice cold as ice.
“No, not yet,” I replied, feeling a strange sense of calm.
“If we attack them now, they will claim I am a bitter wife or a woman having a mental breakdown.”
“I want concrete proof, and I want them to sign their own death warrants.”
Rebecca barely smiled, but there was a spark of interest in her eyes.
“Now you are finally speaking like the true daughter of Jonathan Wilson.”
That same night, we meticulously put the plan into motion.
First, we had to protect the property because even though the deed was in my name, Elias was under the delusion that he could fight for it since he had technically paid the mortgage installments.
Rebecca drafted a postnuptial agreement disguised as a complex insurance claim document.
If Elias signed it, he would legally relinquish any and all rights to the penthouse property.
“We will tell him the premium is being reduced by several thousand dollars a month,” Rebecca explained.
“An ambitious and greedy man will sign anything if he thinks he is saving money for his own future.”
Second, we had to follow the money trail.
My father discreetly ordered a comprehensive audit of the accounts at the logistics firm where Elias worked.
He was a mid-level sales executive at a subsidiary of the Wilson Group, and I never told him that the company he was stealing from actually belonged to my own family.
Third, we had to address Brenda.
I needed her to go on record confirming both the pregnancy and her ongoing relationship with my husband.
I returned to the hotel room at dawn and laid down beside Elias, pretending to be fast asleep.
“Where in the world were you?” he murmured in his sleep, sounding slightly confused.
“I just went downstairs for a walk,” I whispered softly.
“I was just sitting in the lobby thinking about our life together.”
He turned his back to me without a second thought.
“How beautiful you are, Ella,” he lied, his voice thick with fake affection.
I just smiled into the darkness, knowing exactly how this would end.
Over the next few weeks, I became the clumsy, ditzy wife they expected me to be.
I accidentally shrank his favorite tailored shirts in the dryer, I put too much salt in his morning coffee, and I forgot to pay the internet bill right before he had a very important virtual meeting.
I also accidentally ruined one of Cynthia’s incredibly expensive cashmere coats by tossing it in the washing machine.
She screamed as if she had lost a massive inheritance.
“You are absolutely useless, Ella!” she yelled.
“That was a designer piece that cost more than your monthly salary!”
I cried fake, exaggerated tears while looking at the floor.
“I am so sorry, Cynthia, it is just that I really do not know anything about expensive, high-end clothing.”
Elias gritted his teeth, but he forced a hug on me.
