Chapter 1 - The Whisper in the Dark
The kitchen was dead silent, save for the hum of the refrigerator. Leo’s hands were shaking so badly that his hot cocoa spilled over the rim of the mug, staining the white marble island.
I knelt down so I was eye-level with my seven-year-old son. “Leo, buddy. It’s just us. What is it?”
He looked over his shoulder, his terrified eyes darting toward the hallway that led to the master bedroom. Then, leaning in so close I could feel his breath on my collarbone, he whispered the words that broke my world in half.
"Mommy put the watches in Elena's bag. I saw her. The angry man told her to do it."
My blood ran ice cold. "What angry man, Leo?"
"The one who comes over when you go to work," Julian chimed in from the other stool, his voice thick with leftover tears. "He yells at Mommy sometimes. But today, they were laughing. Mommy put the shiny watches in Elena’s bag while Elena was tying my shoes in the garden. She said if we told you, the angry man would take us away forever."
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I couldn't breathe. My wife. The woman I had built an empire for. The mother of my children. She hadn't just framed an innocent woman; she had threatened our boys.
I hugged them both tightly against my chest, making a silent vow. I was a man who tore down corporate rivals before breakfast. Victoria had no idea the war she had just started.
