Chapter 1

The call came during my second-period World History class, a jarring buzz against the worn wood of my lectern.

"Mr. Davis, your grandfather, Joseph Davis, he's been in an accident at Miller Farms."

The school secretary's voice was tight, unnatural.

Miller Farms, my wife Jess' s company, built on Grandpa Joe' s genius.

I dismissed class early, a knot forming in my gut, my hands shaking as I gripped the steering wheel.

The hospital air was cold, sterile, a stark contrast to the warm, earthy smell of Grandpa Joe' s workshop.

He was in surgery, the nurse said, critical.

Negligence with new experimental farming equipment, another staffer whispered, something about an intern.

Ethan Vance. Jess' s golden boy, the MBA intern she was grooming.

I was pacing, my mind racing, when Jess swept in, not from her supposed business trip to Chicago, but from her local office, her power suit immaculate, her expression a carefully constructed mask of concern.

"Mike, thank God you're here."

Her voice was smooth, too smooth.

"What happened, Jess? They said Ethan Vance..."

"It was an accident, Mike," she cut me off, her eyes flicking towards a doctor approaching us. "A terrible, unfortunate accident."

The doctor's update was grim, multiple fractures, internal bleeding, a long road ahead if he made it.

Later, when we were alone in a small waiting room, her composure cracked.

"You can't go blaming Ethan," she hissed, her voice low and urgent. "His career is just starting, he has immense potential for the company."

"Potential? Jess, Grandpa Joe could die!"

"And ruining Ethan won't help him," she snapped. "Miller Farms needs this to be handled quietly. No formal complaints, Mike."

I stared at her, disbelief warring with a rising anger. "He's my grandfather, Jess. He practically raised me. He gave you the foundation for Miller Farms!"

"And I'm telling you, as your wife and the CEO of that company, to let it go," she said, her voice hardening, her eyes like chips of ice.

"I need to know what happened, Jess. I need accountability."

"Accountability?" She laughed, a short, harsh sound. "If you pursue this, if you try to damage Ethan or the company, consider our joint accounts frozen. Grandpa Joe needs the best care, doesn't he? That care is expensive."

My blood ran cold. "You wouldn't."

"And consider this marriage on the line," she added, her gaze unwavering. "Don't test me, Mike."

The ultimatum hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. My grandfather was fighting for his life, and my wife was protecting the man responsible, threatening to cut off the very funds needed to save him.

The betrayal was a physical blow, leaving me breathless.