Chapter 5 - The Trojan Horse
The massive, heavily decorated front door of my in-laws' house looked entirely intimidating as I pulled into the snowy driveway later that evening.
I had meticulously practiced my absolutely miserable, defeated expression in the rearview mirror for over twenty minutes.
I walked slowly up the icy steps and rang the doorbell, completely wrapping my arms around myself to exaggerate my shivering.
Ben opened the heavy door, his arrogant face instantly morphing into a look of absolute, smug satisfaction when he saw me standing there alone.
"I completely knew you would eventually come back to your senses, Sarah," he said smoothly, stepping aside to let me into the warm hallway.
I kept my eyes completely glued to the expensive hardwood floor, purposefully avoiding his gaze to sell my performance of total submission.
"I just want all of this terrible fighting to completely stop, Ben," I whispered, forcing my voice to break exactly at the right moment.
Carol aggressively emerged from the formal dining room, still wearing a completely ridiculous string of expensive pearls.
"Have you finally decided to act like an adult and sign the necessary documents?" Carol demanded loudly, completely bypassing any standard greeting.
I took a slow, highly theatrical deep breath, completely letting my shoulders slump forward in a posture of total defeat.
"I will absolutely sign whatever you need tomorrow morning, but I am completely exhausted and I just need to sleep in my own bed tonight," I lied flawlessly.
Ben and Carol exchanged a rapid, highly victorious glance, completely convinced that their campaign of psychological terror had successfully broken me.
"That is a very mature, completely rational decision, Sarah," Ben smiled, heavily placing a patronizing hand directly onto my shoulder.
"We can officially go over the refinancing paperwork first thing in the morning over breakfast."
I completely ignored his physical touch and walked slowly up the grand staircase toward the luxurious guest bedroom we always used.
I closed the heavy bedroom door and immediately locked it, pressing my back flat against the cold wood as I violently caught my breath.
Ben’s primary workspace was completely set up on a small antique desk located in the far corner of the massive room.
His highly expensive, top-of-the-line laptop was sitting entirely closed on the desk, securely locked behind a complex biometric fingerprint scanner.
I completely knew his exact sleep schedule, and I entirely knew that he was a remarkably heavy sleeper once he finally passed out.
I quietly changed into my soft pajamas and slid entirely under the cold, heavy down comforter, completely keeping my clothes on underneath.
I stared entirely unblinking at the dark ceiling for hours, meticulously counting every single agonizing second that ticked loudly on the wall clock.
I absolutely had to wait for the entire house to fall completely into a deep, silent sleep before I could execute the digital heist.
At exactly two in the morning, the heavy door handle slowly clicked, and Ben finally stumbled entirely into the dark bedroom.
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I kept my breathing perfectly deep and completely even, flawlessly faking a deep sleep as he crawled heavily into the bed beside me.
The ultimate trap was completely set, and the absolute final phase of my revenge was about to begin.
