Chapter 1One swipe on my husband's card for coffee. Next thing I knew, cop shoved me to the ground.
"You're under arrest for embezzlement."
Before I could even figure out what the hell was going on, his new secretary called.
"Mrs. Merritt, I reported you."
"Every dollar you spend? That's Crew's money. His hard-earned money. And you just blow through it like it's nothing."
"Well, not anymore. I'm managing your spending now. Every purchase needs MY approval."
"Oh, and your monthly budget? Five hundred bucks. You already burned through four ninety-nine today, so you're done for the month."
I actually laughed.
This girl's been at the company for ONE month.
My husband's nice to her a few times, and now she thinks she runs his life.
What she doesn't know?
The company's mine.
Every cent in Crew's account? Mine.
Her paycheck? I sign it.
And that "Mr. Merritt" she keeps going on about?
He married INTO my family.
So who the hell gave her the right to manage MY money?
---
The cops heard everything she said on the phone.
Then they looked at my screen.
Three dollars and fifty-two cents. After coupon.
Their faces changed real quick.
"Ma'am, we are so sorry—"
"We're reporting this. Can't have people calling us for bullshit like this."
I grabbed the counter. My stomach cramped up bad.
"Oh God—I think I'm in labor. I gotta get to a hospital. Now."
They got me in a car. Rushed me to the ER.
At the hospital, they asked for payment.
I pulled out every card in my wallet. Handed them over.
The nurse came back two minutes later.
"Ms. Calloway, these cards aren't working. They're all declined."
What the hell?
"No way. I've got millions sitting in those accounts."
Then it hit me.
Sloane.
She transferred everything out.
I called my husband Crew.
Two rings. Someone picked up.
"Honey—"
But it wasn't him who answered.
It was Sloane. And she sounded pissed.
"Oh my God, Reese, seriously?"
"You're really calling him about this? I put a limit on your spending. So what?"
"Mr. Merritt told me to handle it. He's busy. He doesn't have time for this."
I was bent over, holding my stomach.
Everything hurt. My face going pale.
"I'm at the hospital. I need money. Give me my money back."
"Or put Crew on."
She laughed.
"You need money? Fill out a request. I'll look at it if it makes sense."
"Oh, and FYI, you've got a dollar left for the month. Don't go over."
I could barely breathe.
"I'm at the hospital! I'm having the baby! I need to pay for this!"
"And these aren't even his cards—this is MY money! Give it back right now or I'm calling the cops!"
Silence.
Then she hung up.
Next second, a text came through.
"Ms. Calloway, isn't that Mr. Merritt's money anyway?"
"You can't just threaten me 'cause you're his wife."
"I froze everything. And told people not to give you a dime."
"Wanna get them back? Apologize. And promise you'll stop burning through his cash."
My vision blurred. Everything went black.
Right before I passed out, I called my lawyer.
Two orders.
Fire Sloane.
Suspend Crew's CEO position. And tell him to get to the hospital. Now.
See, here's the thing.
A secretary doesn't pull this shit unless someone's backing her up.
And I really didn't wanna believe he'd actually do this. That he'd betray me for some chick who'd barely been there a month.
Chapter 2
My family's loaded. Like billions.
And it's just me. No siblings. Just me.
I could've married some rich guy, done the whole merger thing, split my family's money.
But screw that.
I wanted someone who'd marry into my world. Someone who'd work for me.
So I hid who I really was. Went undercover as a regular employee at my own damn company.
That's how I met Crew Merritt.
Fresh outta Yale. Broke as hell.
But sweet. And tough. The kind of guy who didn't quit.
I spotted him day one.
Always showed up early. Stayed late.
Everyone else bitched about overtime. He'd just put his head down and redo entire spreadsheets to make sure they were perfect.
Sometimes I'd work late too. And he'd blush like crazy while making me coffee. Then grab my computer and go—
"It's late. Let me finish this for you. You should go home."
That's when I started falling.
But the moment I knew?
A coworker stole my project. Presented it as hers. Then said I plagiarized her.
The department head backed her up. Said he was firing me. Suing me for leaking company data.
Crew was about to get promoted.
But he stood up. Slammed his hand on the table. Stepped in front of me.
"Reese didn't do shit. I'm backing her up."
"You fire her? Fine. Fire me too. I'm not sticking around if this is how you treat people."
He ripped off his badge. Grabbed my hand.
We ran out of that building together.
That's when I knew. He's the one.
Right there on the street, I grabbed him.
"Crew. I like you. Do you like me? Will you marry me?"
He stared at me. Then smiled.
"Yeah. I will."
After we got married, I stepped back. Focused on getting pregnant.
Left the company to Crew and my lawyer.
And he crushed it.
Grew the company. Took it bigger. Made it successful as hell.
Until a month and a half ago—
He said he wanted to hire some kids from his alma mater. Low-income backgrounds. Needed a break.
I said yes.
Sloane was one of them.
Ten days later, she was Executive Secretary.
That's when people started talking.
Office gossip reached me fast.
Said she'd bring homemade lunches to his office. They'd eat together with door closing. For hours.
I asked him about it.
"Look, she's good. I'm not gonna punish someone just 'cause they're young and talented."
"Lunch? She's helping me through her break. So she eats in there. It's just easier."
"But if it bothers you, I'll switch her out."
I wasn't gonna mess with company stuff over office gossip.
Besides, I looked into her myself. Watched her in meetings.
She was good.
And I like her. Even paid off her student loans.
Gave her a raise. Promoted her to Chief Secretary.
Then told my staff to stop spreading rumors.
I thought I was investing in a smart young woman.
Turns out I was feeding a snake.
Chapter 3
It started small.
She changed the passcode to our house.
Said it was "so she could grab documents for Mr. Merritt when needed."
When I confronted her? Yeah, she apologized.
But that same night?
She took him out and they never came home. Gone all night. Phone was off.
I looked for him all night. Almost filed a missing person report.
Until the next morning, he called. Said he was home.
I rushed back.
And there she was, wearing my clothes, making him breakfast.
She saw me and her eyes went huge.
"Oh my God, Ms. Calloway, I'm so sorry. I suck at remembering numbers—I couldn't get the passcode right. Mr. Merritt was so drunk, I couldn't get him inside, so I took him to a hotel. But we didn't do anything, I swear."
I was about to lose it.
Crew cut me off.
He looked at her, voice ice cold.
"You can't remember six numbers and you can't figure out how to use a phone? Maybe this job's too much for you. Don't bother coming in tomorrow."
She burst into tears.
"Please, Mr. Merritt, I didn't mean it! Don't fire me! My mom needs surgery—twenty thousand dollars—I'm trying to save up! If you fire me, we're done for!"
Crew didn't even look at her.
"Don't say sorry to me. Say sorry to my wife. She's pregnant and you stressed her out. She doesn't forgive you? You're out."
Sloane dropped to her knees. Started slapping herself.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Merritt. I didn't wanna wake you up—I was worried about the baby!"
"I'm an idiot. Hit me. Yell at me. Just don't fire me."
I looked at her and sighed.
Finally let it go.
After she left, Crew hugged me.
"Babe, you're too good to her. I was about to kick her out."
"But fine, you forgave her. So I'll just make her work her ass off. Extra hours. A lot of them."
I thought it was sweet.
Didn't think twice.
But Sloane kept pushing. Kept testing boundaries.
And now she had access to my accounts. My money. My whole life.
If Crew wasn't backing her?
No way she'd have that kind of power.
No way.
When I woke up, Crew still wasn't there.
My lawyer was sitting by my bed.
"Mr. Merritt's out of town. Business trip with his secretary. Says he'll be back tomorrow."
He hesitated. Handed me a file.
"I pulled travel logs from the past two weeks. Every 'business trip' they took... none of them were to cities where we have clients."
I looked at the list of cities.
Napa. Aspen. Miami. Key West. All vacation spots.
"I also asked around the office. People said Sloane's always posting on social media about trips with Mr. Merritt. Wanna see?"
He handed me his phone.
Screenshot after screenshot.
All from Sloane's Instagram.
Every post was a perfect grid of nine photos.
Captions like:
"Mr. Merritt drove me home tonight. Just us."
"Someone bought me the Hermès bag I've been eyeing. Guess who."
"Said I wanted to see Paris... and he booked the flight that night."
I felt sick.
The lawyer kept going.
"We looked into her college records. She had a sponsor."
He paused.
"It was Crew."
"Her old roommate said she used to brag about her 'sugar daddy.'"
"It was him, Ms. Calloway."
My hands shook.
He pulled out another envelope.
"Oh, and we found something else. You're gonna wanna see this."
I opened it.
One look and I almost collapsed.
My hands were shaking. Voice too.
"Get me home. I need to clear my head."
But when I got home, I couldn't get inside.
The door was sealed.
Guards were loading boxes into a truck.
My jewelry. My heirlooms. Everything my parents saved twenty years to give me.
All being packed away.
