Chapter 3

The silence in the ballroom was absolute. You could hear a pin drop. All that remained was the faint tinkling of ice in forgotten drinks and the sound of my own harsh breathing. My hand still gripped Elyssa' s wrist, the bones fragile under my fingers.

Darwin strode toward us, his face a mask of controlled fury. He was the king in his castle, and someone had dared to disrupt his perfect party.

"Let her go, Gregoria," he commanded.

I didn't move. My eyes were locked on Elyssa. She was now playing the victim, tears welling in her eyes, her lower lip trembling. The performance was flawless.

"Darwin," she whimpered, reaching for him with her free hand. "She attacked me. For no reason."

He looked from her tear-streaked face to my cold one. His gaze flickered down to the red dress she was wearing, and for a fraction of a second, I saw something in his eyes. Annoyance. Not at me, but at her. She had been careless.

Then his attention snapped back to me, his expression softening into one of concern. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice low and intimate, meant only for me.

The shift was so quick, so masterful, that anyone watching would see only a devoted husband worried for his wife.

I saw the truth. He was angry she had been so blatant, so reckless as to wear that dress tonight.

I released her wrist. Elyssa stumbled back, collapsing against Darwin' s chest for support.

"Tell me what she did," Darwin said, his voice turning to ice as he addressed Elyssa. He pushed her away slightly, his hands on her shoulders, holding her at arm's length.

"I... I just came to say hello," Elyssa stammered. "She just... she went crazy."

"She said you're a dog who eats garbage," another woman from the crowd piped up, eager to add to the drama.

Darwin' s jaw tightened. He looked at me, a silent question in his eyes.

"She insulted you, Darwin," Elyssa cried. "I was defending your honor!"

He ignored her, his focus entirely on me. "Is that true?"

I just stared at him, my silence a confirmation.

"Apologize to my wife," Darwin said, his voice lethal. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Elyssa.

Elyssa' s eyes widened in disbelief. This was not how this was supposed to go. "But... but Darwin, you said... you told me to..."

"Apologize," he repeated, his grip on her shoulders tightening, a clear warning.

He was cutting her off before she could expose him.

"I..." Elyssa's face was a mess of confusion and betrayal. He was throwing her to the wolves to protect his image. To protect me. Or rather, to protect the image of him protecting me.

"Get her out of here," Darwin snapped to a nearby security guard, finally releasing her. "And make sure she understands she is no longer an employee of this company."

Elyssa looked at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. The shock on her face was real. She had been a pawn, and she had just been sacrificed.

As security led her away, Darwin turned back to the crowd, his face etched with regret. "My sincerest apologies for this disruption. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening."

He then came to me, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders. "Let's go home," he murmured, his voice full of warmth and concern.

I let him lead me out of the ballroom. I could feel his hand trembling slightly against my back. He wasn't calm. He was terrified of what Elyssa might have said.

The media had a field day. The headlines the next morning were all about the dramatic showdown.

"CEO Darwin Mcintosh Defends Wife, Fires Assistant on the Spot."

"A True Love Story: Mcintosh Proves His Devotion."

The public narrative was set. He was the perfect, protective husband. I was the wronged wife he would defend at all costs.

I sat in the living room, reading the comments online, a cold, humorless smile on my face. They were all fools.

That night, I couldn't sleep. The house was quiet. Darwin had gone to his study after we got home, claiming he had to deal with the fallout from the gala. I knew where he really was.

I crept downstairs. The study was dark, but a sliver of light shone from under the door of the adjoining private lounge. I heard voices. A man' s and a woman' s.

His voice was low, soothing. Hers was high, hysterical. Elyssa.

I pressed my ear to the door.

"...don't understand! You threw me away!" she was sobbing.

"It was the only way, Elyssa," Darwin's voice was patient, condescending. "She was suspicious. You were being careless. Wearing that dress? What were you thinking?"

"I wanted her to know!"

"And what you wanted almost ruined everything," he snapped. "Now be quiet. I'll take care of you. I'll set you up in the villa by the lake. Just lay low for a while."

The villa by the lake. Our special place. The place he had proposed to me.

He was giving our sanctuary to his mistress.

"But what about her?" Elyssa whined.

There was a long pause. Then I heard Darwin's voice, soft and chilling. "Don't worry about Gregoria. I'll handle her."

I stood there for what felt like an eternity, listening to the muffled sounds of them moving around, the low murmur of their voices. He was comforting her. After publicly humiliating her, he was now soothing her, promising her a future.

My heart, which I thought was already broken, seemed to splinter into a million tiny pieces. It wasn't just the affair. It was the depth of the deception. The public performance, the private betrayal. He was playing a game with both of us.

I thought about my mission, about faking my death. The plan had once seemed like a terrible sacrifice.

Now, it felt like an escape.

I didn' t need to be handled. I was an FBI agent. And Darwin Mcintosh had no idea who he was dealing with. He was about to find out.