Chapter 1

Mia Hayes stared at the glowing screen.

Her breath hitched.

The images were undeniable. Ethan. And a young woman, Skyler Reed.

Intimate. Explicit.

A hidden folder on his home office computer, a place he rarely used.

A place Mia almost never touched.

Her world, the carefully constructed world Ethan had built around her, fractured.

The fear, long buried, clawed its way up her throat.

Betrayal. The one thing.

Her mind flashed back, years ago, before the rings, before the vows.

"Ethan," she had said, her voice quiet but firm, her hands clasped tight in her lap. "I need you to understand this. I can handle almost anything, but I cannot handle deceit. If you ever truly lie to me, if you break that trust, I will walk away. And you will never find me again. That' s not a threat, it' s a promise."

He had laughed then, a warm, reassuring sound. Pulled her close.

"Mia, my love, why would I ever lie to you? You're my universe."

His universe.

The "Mia Constellation" diamond suite, unveiled at that glittering gala. Diamonds cut like stars, a necklace that had blinded the cameras. "Mia guides my universe," he' d declared.

The Hayes Wing at the San Francisco Public Library, his tribute to her love for rare books.

"The List," his viral blog posts, then the slim, beautiful book: "100 Reasons Mia Hayes is the Center of My World." A cultural touchstone for "perfect love."

The Napa Valley estate, acres of a rare rose she' d once mentioned, cultivated just for her.

Even the marrow, the life-saving donation when leukemia had tried to steal her. A one-in-a-million match. A hero. Her hero.

All of it, a lie.

A cold dread seeped into her bones, colder than any Vermont winter.

She closed the folder. Her movements were precise, almost robotic.

The decision was instant. Cold. Clear.

She picked up her phone. Not her main phone, but the burner she' d acquired months ago, a nagging unease prompting the purchase.

She dialed a number, one memorized from a discreet card given to her by an old family acquaintance, someone from her grandmother's world of quiet money and even quieter arrangements.

A "privacy consultant."

"It's Amelia Hayes," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I need to activate the Disappearance Protocol. Immediately."

There was a pause on the other end. "Understood, Ms. Hayes. The initial arrangements are in place. We can finalize within your desired timeframe."

"Two weeks," Mia said. "Exactly two weeks from today."

She booked a one-way ticket on a luxury sleeper train. Destination: a remote coastal town in Oregon. Under her new name. Eleanor Vance.

Two weeks.

She walked through their opulent Napa home. Each object, each room, screamed his name, his gestures.

Her fingers brushed the cool wood of an antique box she' d found at a flea market weeks ago, a beautiful, hand-carved thing. She' d intended it as a simple, heartfelt anniversary gift.

Their wedding anniversary was tomorrow.

She went to her small, personal safe. Inside, her plain gold wedding band, the one she wore every day, lay beside the more ostentatious engagement ring he' d given her.

She took out the divorce papers. Already signed. She' d had them drawn up by a discreet lawyer weeks ago, when the subtle shifts in Ethan' s behavior had started – the late nights, the second phone, the emotional distance.

She placed the signed papers and both rings inside the antique wooden box.

Tomorrow, she would give it to him.

Ethan returned late that night, full of apologies about a "crisis at Eternity HQ." He was all charm, all concern.

He presented her with a new diamond bracelet at their intimate, press-covered anniversary dinner. Another piece for the "Mia Constellation." More stars for his universe.

She smiled, played her part. Thanked him.

As he leaned in to kiss her, she saw it. Faint, but unmistakable. A smear of bright pink lipstick on the collar of his pristine white shirt.

"What's this?" she asked, her voice carefully light, touching the mark.

He glanced down, a flicker of something in his eyes before his easy smile returned. "Oh, that. Just a smudge from a celebratory hug at the office. We closed a big deal."

A lie. So easy for him.

She nodded. Later, she presented him with the antique wooden box.

"Happy anniversary, Ethan," she said, her smile feeling brittle. "It' s a special gift. But you can only open it in two weeks. Promise me."

He looked intrigued, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Two weeks? What' s the mystery, Mia?"

"Just a promise," she said.

He took the box, admired the carving. "Alright, my love. Two weeks it is."

He had no idea.