Chapter 2

A week later, the house felt smaller, the walls closer.

Every smile from Ethan, every touch, felt like a lie.

I played my part. The weak wife, dependent on his care.

"Feeling tired today, honey?" he'd ask, his voice full of fake concern.

"A little," I'd murmur, letting my hand tremble as I reached for my water.

Inside, I was counting.

Counting the cameras. Counting his lies.

My sessions with Sarah intensified.

Push-ups against the wall when Ethan was gone.

Squats, holding onto the sturdy frame of my drafting table.

My muscles burned, then grew.

One evening, Ethan was on a call in his study. His voice carried.

He thought I was napping in the sunroom.

I wasn't. I was listening, my wheelchair silent on the rug.

"Chloe, listen," Ethan said, his tone impatient. "I can't just leave Ava. Not now."

My heart hammered.

"Think of the optics, baby. My wife, disabled after that tragic accident. If I leave her, I look like a monster."

A pause. Chloe must have said something.

"Of course, you're more important," Ethan cooed. "And our baby... he's going to be my heir. Everything I'm building, it's for him."

Baby? Chloe was pregnant?

The floor seemed to tilt.

"Ava... she can't have children. Not after the accident, the doctors were clear. It's too risky for her, her 'fragile state'."

Fragile. He loved that word.

"So, here's the plan," Ethan continued, his voice dropping conspiratorially. "We convince Ava to adopt. Our child. She'll be the mother on paper. You'll be... close by. It' s perfect."

Perfect.

For him.

I wanted to scream. To roll in there and confront him.

But Sarah's words echoed: "Patience, Ava. Strength isn't just physical."

I stayed silent.

He thought I was weak, broken, unable to conceive.

He was wrong about all of it.

The adoption plan. It was sickening.

He would use my supposed infertility, another consequence of the "accident" he orchestrated, to steal my life, my future, and give it to his mistress and their child.

His heir.

The word tasted like poison.

This gilded cage he' d built for me wasn't just about control.

It was about replacement.