Chapter 5

Mia couldn't stand the charade any longer.

She excused herself from one of Ethan' s lavish "work dinners" early, pleading a headache.

The knowing glances from some of the wives were almost unbearable. Did they suspect? Or did they just pity her, the naive librarian married to the tech god?

Back at the Napa estate, the silence was a relief.

She wandered into Ethan' s sprawling home office. His main computer was password-protected, of course. But his second phone, the "burner" he used for Skyler, was carelessly left on his desk, plugged into a charger.

He was getting sloppy. Or arrogant.

A new message notification glowed on its screen. From Skyler.

Mia' s hand trembled as she picked it up. No password.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

The message was a selfie. Skyler, pouting playfully, with a geotag. Las Vegas.

Mia' s PI had already alerted her. Ethan wasn' t at a "vital, off-the-grid tech summit in rural Montana" as he' d told her.

He was in Vegas. With his inner circle. And Skyler.

The PI had managed to plant a bug in their luxury suite. The audio file was already in Mia' s secure email, waiting.

She clicked play.

The sound of clinking glasses, loud music, raucous laughter.

Then Ethan' s voice, slurred with alcohol.

"...Skyler, man, she' s a firecracker in bed. Unbelievable. Makes you forget everything."

A chorus of knowing chuckles from his friends.

"Not like Mia, huh?" one of them prodded.

"Mia' s... sweet," Ethan said, a dismissive tone in his voice. "Predictable. But sweet. She' d never suspect a thing. Too trusting. Too... simple."

More laughter. Cruel, dismissive laughter.

They were all in on it. His closest friends, his business partners. They all knew. They were all complicit.

The words hit Mia with the force of a physical blow.

Sweet. Predictable. Simple.

Is that what he thought of her? After everything?

The room started to spin. She gripped the edge of the desk, her knuckles white.

The audio continued. Ethan, boasting about specific acts, graphic details.

His friends, egging him on.

One of them warned, "Just make sure Mia doesn' t find out, man. She' s the perfect corporate wife. Don' t screw that up."

"Don' t worry," Ethan slurred. "She' ll never know. She worships the ground I walk on."

Mia clicked off the recording.

A choked sob escaped her. Then another.

She sank to the floor, the phone clattering beside her.

The betrayal wasn' t just Ethan' s. It was his friends, his entire world.

She was an outsider. A fool.

The pain was unbearable, a gaping wound in her chest.

She curled into a ball, tears streaming down her face, soaking the plush carpet.

This was it. The absolute end.

There was no coming back from this.

After a long while, she got up. Her face was tear-stained, her eyes swollen, but her resolve was like steel.

She walked out of the house, into the cool Napa night. The rain had started, a soft drizzle that matched the desolation in her soul.

She drove, aimlessly, for hours. The rain grew heavier, drumming against the windshield, blurring the lights of oncoming cars.

She was alone. Utterly, completely alone.

And in a strange way, the thought was liberating.