Chapter 2 - The Conspiracy
Evelyn collapsed onto the edge of her bed, her mind spinning wildly.
Five million dollars.
Her father-in-law, Victor Moretti, had paid five million dollars to forge a document that would destroy her marriage.
And her own father's assistant had ordered the poison to frame her.
The patriarchs of both families were working together against her.
“Caleb, why would they do this?” Evelyn whispered into the phone.
“The marriage between our families was supposed to solidify an alliance.”
Caleb’s keyboard clattered rapidly in the background.
“Alliances shift when money is involved, Evie.”
“I’m looking at the corporate filings right now.”
“There’s a massive merger happening between Hart Holdings and Moretti Shipping.”
“If you and Dominic stay married, community property laws give you fifty percent voting rights in the new conglomerate.”
Evelyn felt a sick feeling rise in her stomach.
“They’re removing me from the board,” she realized aloud.
“They can't legally force me to sign away my shares, so they are manufacturing a divorce.”
“Exactly,” Caleb confirmed.
“If Dominic believes you cheated and tried to murder his adopted sister, the prenuptial morality clause kicks in.”
“You walk away with nothing, and they keep absolute control of the empire.”
It was brilliant.
It was utterly, terrifyingly ruthless.
And her husband was too blinded by his own ego to see he was being played by his own father.
“I have to get out of here, Caleb.”
“If I stay locked in this room, they’ll draft the divorce papers by morning.”
“I can’t send an extraction team into the Hart estate, Evie,” Caleb warned.
“They have fifty armed guards on the perimeter.”
“You have to find a way out yourself, and then I can pick you up.”
Evelyn hung up the phone.
She looked around the luxurious, gilded cage of her bedroom.
The heavy oak door was locked from the outside.
The massive windows were made of reinforced, bullet-resistant glass.
There was only one way out, and it required a terrifying amount of risk.
She walked into the adjoining bathroom and turned the shower on as hot as it would go.
She let the room fill with thick, blinding steam.
She pulled the hidden air vent cover off the wall with a silver letter opener.
The shaft was narrow, but she had spent the first six years of her life learning how to hide in small spaces.
Before she climbed inside, she took off her wedding ring and left it resting on the marble counter.
A silent, final goodbye to a man who didn't deserve her.
She squeezed into the dark, dusty ventilation shaft.
She crawled slowly, ignoring the sharp metal edges scraping her arms and legs.
She navigated toward the west wing of the estate, directly above Richard Hart’s private study.
She peered through the metal grate, looking down into the dimly lit room.
Her father was sitting at his massive desk.
Across from him sat Victor Moretti and Owen Price.
Evelyn held her breath, listening closely.
“The girl is locked away,” Richard said, pouring a glass of scotch.
“Dominic is furious enough to sign the divorce papers tomorrow.”
Victor Moretti chuckled, accepting a glass.
“It was almost too easy.”
“Vanessa played her part flawlessly.”
Evelyn’s blood turned to ice.
Vanessa wasn't just a victim.
She was fully in on the conspiracy.
“What about the pregnancy?” Owen Price asked nervously.
“If Dominic finds out she’s actually carrying his heir, he’ll burn this entire merger to the ground.”
Victor’s smile vanished completely.
“Dominic will never find out.”
“Because by the time the divorce is finalized, Evelyn will have suffered a tragic, stress-induced miscarriage.”
Evelyn clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle a scream.
They were planning to kill her unborn child.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the hallway outside the study.
“Sir!” a guard yelled, bursting through the study doors.
“Evelyn is gone!”
“The bedroom is empty!”
Richard slammed his fist onto the desk.
May you like
“Find her!” he roared.
“Do not let her leave the grounds alive!”
