Chapter 1 - The Cold Drive
I did not look back as I walked down the sweeping driveway of the Sterling estate.
The freezing Chicago wind bit into my bare arms, but I barely felt it.
My cheek throbbed with a hot, stinging pain where Arthur’s heavy ring had broken my skin.
I reached my modest sedan, a car they had always mocked for being too cheap.
I slid into the driver’s seat and locked the doors with a trembling hand.
I looked in the rearview mirror and wiped a fresh drop of blood from my chin.
For four years, I had played the quiet, submissive wife to keep the peace.
They thought I was just a naive, middle-class girl who was lucky to be there.
They had absolutely no idea what I did for a living before I married Julian.
I was a forensic accountant, trained to find hidden money that billionaires tried to bury.
When I married Julian, I had transferred my skills to managing his personal portfolios.
But late at night, I had been secretly auditing Arthur Sterling’s massive corporate empire.
I had found the offshore accounts, the dummy corporations, and the bribed politicians months ago.
I had kept the evidence hidden, hoping Julian would eventually prove he was a good man.
Tonight, Julian had proven that he was just a cowardly extension of his monstrous father.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the direct number of the SEC’s lead fraud investigator.
The phone rang twice before a deep voice answered on the other end.
May you like
I told him I was finally ready to hand over the Sterling financial ledgers.
The empire was officially bleeding, and I was holding the knife.
