Chapter 4

I sat curled up inside my walk-in closet, surrounded by darkness except for the pale glow of my tablet. The only light in the room came from the screen, where a grainy black-and-white livestream flickered. It was the feed from the tiny camera I had secretly installed inside Caleb's study.

"I still can't believe she actually fired me!" Chelsea exploded, pacing across the room. "After everything I've sacrificed for you, Caleb! I've spent years feeding you information from inside the company, covering your tracks whenever things got messy, and this is how she repays me? She tossed me aside like I never mattered."

Caleb calmly poured himself another glass of whiskey before answering.

"Take a breath," he said. "She's not thinking straight. Ever since the miscarriage, she's been emotionally unstable. What happened tonight was nothing more than an emotional outburst."

Chelsea scoffed.

"An outburst? She locked me out of every company system. My security badge doesn't work anymore, and I can't even get into the building to erase the records. If she starts digging through those shell accounts..." Her voice faltered before dropping into a whisper. "What if she's already figured us out?"

Caleb crossed the room and slipped his arms around her waist.

"She hasn't," he assured her. "And if she had, do you honestly think she'd stay quiet? Natalie would've confronted me the second she suspected anything."

Chelsea buried her face against his chest.

"I wish she'd just disappear," she muttered through her tears. "I'm exhausted, Caleb. I can't keep pretending to care about her. I want this over with. I want her gone."

He stroked her hair as if comforting a frightened child.

"We're almost there."

She pulled away just enough to search his face.

"Almost? How much longer?"

"The charity gala next Friday is our opportunity," Caleb replied with absolute confidence. "Everyone important will be there—the board members, investors, reporters. I've spent months planting doubts about her emotional state. All we need now is one convincing public meltdown."

His smile widened.

"Once everyone sees her lose control, the psychiatrists I've arranged will step in. She'll be committed that very night, and while she's locked away, I'll have complete authority to make decisions on her behalf."

Chelsea's eyes lit up.

"And after that?"

Caleb leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"After that, Natalie loses everything. The company becomes mine. So does the estate, every account, every investment..."

He brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"...and finally, I get you."

Their lips met in a long, desperate kiss, celebrating a future built on my ruin.

I shut off the tablet.

For a moment I simply sat there, staring at the blank screen while my hands trembled despite every effort to steady them.

Then my phone vibrated.

Bernard.

I answered immediately.

"Everything has been taken care of, Madam," he reported in his usual measured tone. "The offshore accounts are fully operational. Every domestic asset has been transferred successfully, and ownership of the residence now rests with the trust. Your attorneys have completed the divorce petition. It's ready whenever you give the word."

I released a slow breath.

"Excellent. What about Chelsea's division?"

"The forensic audit is finished."

"And?"

"We uncovered enough evidence to bury both of them. Fraud, corporate espionage, misappropriation of company funds, falsified financial records. The documentation is comprehensive. If prosecutors pursue every charge, they could spend decades behind bars."

I closed my eyes.

"Don't move yet."

"Madam?"

"I don't want them arrested today."

"You wish to wait."

"Yes."

I smiled to myself.

"I want everything to collapse around them all at once."

"I understand."

There was a brief pause before Bernard spoke again.

"And your own plans?"

"I'll disappear for a few days."

"The lake house?"

I nodded instinctively even though he couldn't see me.

"Get it ready. The cabin my parents gave me on my twenty-first birthday."

"The one outside the network?"

"Exactly. Caleb doesn't even know it exists."

"It will be prepared before you arrive."

His voice softened.

"Please take care of yourself."

"I intend to."

After ending the call, I drew one long breath before slipping the phone into my pocket.

Then I left the closet.

Caleb was sitting in the living room with a glass of scotch in his hand.

The instant he noticed me, concern spread across his face so naturally that anyone else would have believed it.

"There you are," he said gently. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm feeling a little better."

The lie came easily.

"I'm sorry about what happened at dinner. I lost control."

He immediately stood.

"You don't need to apologize."

Then his expression shifted.

"But we should talk about Chelsea."

I walked straight past him toward the kitchen.

"There's nothing left to discuss."

I filled a glass with water.

"She's no longer employed by my company."

Caleb followed behind me.

"Natalie, please think about what you're doing. Chelsea has nowhere else to live. She's been staying in the guest house because she can't afford an apartment. Her paycheck is all she has."

I took a sip before answering.

"That stopped being my responsibility the moment she stopped doing her job."

"She's your closest friend."

He sounded genuinely desperate.

"She stood beside you after your parents died. She was there at our wedding. She's always supported you."

"I'm protecting my business."

I set the glass down.

"And honestly, I couldn't care less where she ends up."

He looked ready to argue again, but his phone suddenly rang.

His eyes dropped to the screen.

"It's the hospital."

He accepted the call.

"Caleb Kane speaking."

A second later his expression changed completely.

"What?"

His face drained of color.

"Is she conscious?... We'll be there immediately."

He lowered the phone with shaking fingers.

"Chelsea's in the emergency room."

He looked directly at me.

"They're saying she overdosed."

I remained perfectly still.

So this was their next move.

"She tried to end her life."

His voice rose sharply.

"This happened because of you. You fired her, humiliated her, threw her out, and now she's lying in a hospital because you made her believe she had nothing left."

I didn't respond.

The drive to the hospital passed in silence.

When we arrived, Chelsea was already awake.

She looked pale beneath the fluorescent lights, a bandage wrapped neatly around one wrist. I recognized the injury for exactly what it was—a shallow cut designed to frighten people rather than end her life.

The performance had already begun.

"Natalie..."

Her voice trembled as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Everything became too much. I didn't know how to cope."

Caleb stood beside her bed, clasping her hand as though he were the devoted friend.

Around us, nurses exchanged sympathetic looks.

People whispered outside the room.

The story was already spreading, and according to everyone else, I was the villain.

If I wanted to win, I needed to let them believe they were succeeding.

I stepped closer.

"I'm the one who should apologize."

My voice cracked convincingly.

"I never realized how much pain you were hiding. I let my own grief cloud my judgment."

She sniffled.

"I just want my best friend back."

I reached for her free hand.

"You never lost her."

Caleb frowned.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't stay in the guest house anymore."

Both of them stared at me.

"You'll move into the main house with us until you're back on your feet."

Caleb blinked.

"And your job?"

"I'll reinstate you."

I smiled warmly.

"There will be a probationary period, but you'll have another chance."

Chelsea's eyes widened in convincing disbelief.

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Of course."

I squeezed her hand affectionately.

"We're family."

Caleb rested a grateful hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you," he said. "This is the right decision."

"I know it is."

I smiled all the way out of the hospital room.

Neither of them realized they had just accepted an invitation into the trap I had built for them.

Within days, everything they had schemed for would be gone.