Chapter 5

"What did you just say?"

I stared at Agnes, my mind going completely blank.

Before she could answer, my phone buzzed.

Curtis.

"Emma, your mother's hospital expenses were paid through a Delgado account. Three hundred thousand. Make sure you reimburse it."

Three hundred thousand.

That number again.

Curtis had taken three hundred thousand dollars from my mother's surgery fund to force me onto my knees in front of Margot.

I'd knelt.

I'd apologized.

And my mother had still died because the money never reached the hospital in time.

To Curtis, three hundred thousand dollars was nothing.

Less than what he might spend on a watch or a bottle of wine at some private auction.

To me, it had been my mother's life.

Something inside me snapped.

I surged to my feet, ready to go after Curtis.

I wanted to find him.

I wanted him to pay for everything he'd done.

Agnes caught me before I reached the door.

Her eyes were swollen from crying.

"Ms. Henson, please."

She held on to me.

"Your mother is gone. Nothing you do tonight will bring her back."

"Please don't destroy yourself too."

I don't remember how I ended up back on the floor.

I stayed there until morning.

I cried until there were no tears left.

Curtis finally returned just before dawn.

He smelled of whiskey.

When he saw me sitting on the floor, he stopped.

"Emma?"

For once, he looked genuinely startled.

He crossed the room and pulled me to my feet.

The moment his arm wrapped around me, I smelled Margot's perfume on his shirt.

Sweet.

Familiar.

Disgusting.

Curtis didn't seem to notice.

He held me closer.

"What's wrong? Why have you been crying?"

His voice softened.

"Is this about Margot?"

"Or what people have been saying about you?"

He stroked my hair.

"It's okay."

"If you're tired of all this, you don't have to deal with it anymore."

"You can stay home from now on."

"Just be Mrs. Delgado."

His hand rested against my back.

"I'll secure my position in the family. Once I have full control, no one will ever be able to humiliate you again."

I looked at him.

And suddenly, I remembered the man I'd met years ago.

The man who'd crouched in front of me when my entire world was collapsing.

"Emma, you're capable."

"Don't let what happened to the Hensons decide the rest of your life."

"Whatever you want to build, I'll help you build it."

"I'll stand behind you."

I'd believed him.

I'd thought I'd finally found someone who understood me.

So after marrying Curtis, I'd worked harder than ever.

I attended every negotiation he needed me at.

Every charity dinner.

Every gathering with politicians, bankers, businessmen, and other families.

I'd used the Henson name and every connection I had left to open doors for him.

I worked until I was sick and kept going.

Because I believed we were building something together.

I hadn't realized Curtis only needed me while my name was useful.

Now his position inside the Delgado family was secure.

He didn't need Emma Henson anymore.

He only needed Mrs. Delgado.

Quiet.

Obedient.

Dependent on him for everything.

Maybe even my mother's death was convenient.

Now there was one less person left for me to turn to.

The thought hurt so badly that I couldn't speak.

I pulled away from him.

Before I could take another step, Curtis's phone lit up.

He glanced at the screen.

His expression changed immediately.

"Emma, get some rest."

He was already reaching for his coat.

"I'll ask Agnes to stay with you."

"Something urgent came up with the family."

Then he left.

Just like that.

What Curtis didn't know was that I'd received a message too.

From Margot.

A photograph appeared on my screen.

A sprawling villa overlooking the Mediterranean.

Thirty million dollars.

Curtis's gift to her for finally helping him "tame" his wife.

The next photo showed Margot inside the bedroom, dressed in lingerie.

Her message underneath was short.

"He's on his way."

I stared at it.

Then I laughed.

It sounded almost like a sob.

How pathetic.

How absurd.

I opened social media.

My name was still everywhere.

People demanding that the Delgado family cast me out.

Calling me greedy.

Calling me worthless.

Celebrating the destruction of a woman they'd never met.

Why?

My father was dead.

My mother was dead.

My family was gone.

Everything I'd spent years building had been destroyed.

And the people responsible were drinking champagne in a thirty-million-dollar villa.

While I was the one everyone hated.

I sat there for a long time.

Then I wiped the tears from my face.

Curtis had spent years turning my life into his carefully staged performance.

Fine.

Before I disappeared from his world for good, I'd give Curtis Delgado one final performance of my own.