Chapter 1 - The Frozen Accounts
The heavy hospital doors finally closed behind the aggressive security guards.
I let out a long breath and rested my head against the sterile white pillow.
My shattered leg throbbed with a violent rhythm beneath the thick fiberglass cast.
However, the pain in my body was absolutely nothing compared to the clarity in my mind.
For three years, I had played the role of the quiet and obedient wife.
I had baked sourdough bread and smiled politely at Julian and his demanding mother.
They both truly believed I was a pathetic woman who needed their approval to survive.
They were about to learn how disastrously wrong they were.
Chloe practically kicked the hospital room door open exactly ten minutes later.
She was carrying a black duffel bag and wearing an expression of pure fury.
My best friend marched straight to the bed and handed me my encrypted laptop.
I did not waste time with tears or explanations as I flipped the screen open.
My fingers flew across the keyboard to access the global banking server of Aurora Capital.
I bypassed the standard security protocols and entered my master administrative credentials.
The joint accounts I shared with Julian appeared on the screen in bright digital numbers.
I watched in real time as a pending withdrawal request flashed across the dashboard.
Julian was currently standing in the hospital parking lot trying to transfer one hundred thousand dollars.
He was attempting to move the money into an offshore account registered in the Cayman Islands.
A cold smile touched my lips as I firmly pressed the rejection key.
The transaction instantly failed and the account balance locked entirely.
My phone vibrated violently on the small table next to my bed.
Julian was calling again, but I let it go straight to voicemail.
A text message popped up a second later, dripping with his usual arrogance.
He claimed he was going to shut down my bakery and leave me completely destitute by morning.
I took a screenshot of his threat and emailed it directly to my legal team.
Attorney Sophia Sterling was already preparing the most aggressive divorce papers in Chicago history.
Chloe peered over my shoulder and pointed at the denied transaction on my screen.
She asked why Julian would suddenly need to move that much cash to an offshore account.
I opened a secondary search window and initiated a trace on the destination routing number.
The encrypted files took a few moments to unpack on the hospital internet connection.
When the documents finally opened, all the air left my lungs.
The offshore account was not registered to a random shell corporation.
It belonged to a luxury real estate agency that specialized in private tropical villas.
There was also a secondary name attached to the property deed.
The name belonged to the lead financial auditor at Core Dynamics.
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Julian was not just stealing my money to buy a secret house.
He was buying a house with the exact woman who was supposed to be auditing his department tomorrow.
