Chapter 3

A few weeks passed. Tense weeks.

Mark was furious about the declined card, the "embarrassment" Tiffany suffered.

"How could you freeze the card, Sarah? Without telling me?" he yelled.

"There was suspicious activity, Mark. And I told you I was planning a trip." My voice was flat.

He didn' t believe me, I could see it in his eyes. But he couldn' t prove anything.

The NFT incident was a crack, a big one, in the facade of our marriage.

He became colder, more distant.

I knew something was wrong, deeply wrong. He was plotting.

Then, one evening, he came home, all smiles. Fake smiles.

"Sarah, darling," he said, his arm around my shoulder. "I have great news."

I stiffened. His "darling" was always a warning sign.

"The new funding round for the company, it's looking amazing. But the lead investors want a special retreat. Key stakeholders only."

"A retreat?"

"Yes, on a private island in the Caribbean. Super exclusive. They want to meet the 'woman behind the man,' you know?" He chuckled. "They want to meet you."

I didn't believe him. Not for a second.

I hadn't been the "woman behind the man" publicly for years. He made sure of that.

"Why me, Mark? I haven't been involved in company meetings for ages."

"It's different this time, Sarah. They're old-fashioned, value family. It' ll seal the deal. It' s crucial."

He was pushing hard. Too hard.

My mind raced. This felt like a trap.

But if I refused, what then? He' d make my life hell.

And a tiny, foolish part of me wondered if this was his way of trying to fix things.

A very tiny part.

"When is it?" I asked.

"Next week. Just a few days. Pack something light, beachy." He kissed my forehead.

His lips felt like ice.

I needed to be careful. Very careful.

I remembered my grandmother's words, years ago, when she set up the trust.

"Sarah, my dear, this is for a day I hope never comes. For when you are in true, inescapable duress. Ethan will know. You will know."

Ethan Cole. My childhood friend. His family was old money, powerful.

He was the executor of that trust.

I hadn' t spoken to Ethan in years, not properly. Mark didn't like him.

But I still had the secure messaging app, the pre-arranged codes.

Just in case.

This "retreat" felt like it might be that "just in case" moment.