His Betrayal, Her Unyielding Revenge
My ten-year marriage to a tech mogul ended with his affair. But the real betrayal wasn't his cheating with my protégé. It was the words of my five-year-old son.
"I want Aunt Bethany to be my mommy!"
His cry shattered me. My own son chose the woman who destroyed our family. I was a ghost in my own home, my identity as a wife and mother erased.
So I walked away from it all-the money, the mansion, and the son who no longer wanted me. I built a new life, adopted a daughter, Eva, who truly needed me, and found a peace I never knew.
Two years later, my ex-husband reappeared. To prove his "love" and force our family back together, he kidnapped my daughter. He thought he could control me. He was about to learn that the woman he broke is gone, and the woman who stands in her place will burn his empire to the ground.
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Chapter 2
That night, after the divorce was finalized, I couldn't stop thinking about the first time I saw Leo call Bethany "Aunt." It had been two years ago, a lifetime ago. The memory was burned into my brain, a searing, grotesque image.
I had been at a charity gala, one of those glittering events Beck insisted I attend as the perfect tech mogul's wife. I was supposed to be the elegant backdrop to his success. But that night, I felt a strange unease, a prickle under my skin. I left early, craving the quiet comfort of home, wanting to curl up on the sofa with Leo and read him a story.
Instead, I walked into a scene that would forever haunt me. The house was too quiet, but not empty. Not exactly.
I heard the splash of water from the master bathroom, Beck's usual post-work ritual. My heart sank, a heavy premonition. Leo's laughter, bright and unrestrained, echoed from the living room. It was the sound of pure happiness, the kind I longed to hear directed at me.
I moved silently through the entryway, my heels making no sound on the plush carpet. The living room came into view.
There she was. Bethany. My former protégé, my friend, the bright young designer I had mentored and believed in. She was sitting on the floor, surrounded by Leo's building blocks, her head thrown back in laughter as Leo piled blocks on her head, shrieking with delight.
"Aunt Bethany is the BEST!" Leo declared, his small hand patting her cheek. "You're so much fun!"
Bethany beamed at him, her eyes sparkling. She looked up, and her gaze met mine. Her smile faltered. Her body stiffened, caught in the act.
"Claire!" she exclaimed, her voice a little too high, a little too forced. Her eyes flickered, searching for an excuse, a way to gloss over the obvious intimacy of the scene. "You're home early! I didn't expect you back for hours."
I placed my handbag on the console table, my fingers white-knuckled around the strap. My breath hitched in my chest, a cold knot tightening in my stomach. I took a deep, shaky breath, fighting for control.
"The gala finished early," I lied, my voice surprisingly steady. "I was worried about Leo getting too tired, so I came back."
Worried about Leo. The bitter irony. I had called Bethany myself, just yesterday, asking if she could spend some extra time with Leo today. Beck had a late meeting, and I knew how much Leo loved her. How much I had trusted her. I had unwittingly handed her the keys to my life, to my family.
A sickening realization washed over me. Leo wasn't just being entertained. He was being used. Used as a cover, a charming prop in their domestic charade.
Just then, Beck emerged from the bathroom, a towel slung low around his waist, water still dripping from his hair. His eyes widened when he saw me. He hadn't bothered to shut the bathroom door. He looked disheveled, caught off guard.
"Claire? What are you doing home?" His voice was a hoarse whisper.
I just stared at him, at his wet hair, at the way Bethany's eyes quickly scanned his bare chest before settling back on me, a forced smile on her face.
"I asked the same thing," Bethany chirped, trying to sound normal, trying to regain control. Her hands, which had been resting casually on Leo's head, now twitched nervously.
Then, there was a clatter. Bethany, in her haste to appear innocent, had accidentally kicked over Leo's toy bin. Plastic blocks scattered across the polished floor. And among them, something else.
A small, lacy piece of underwear. Not mine. It was a bright, shocking red. Bethany's face went ashen. She scrambled, her movements jerky, to kick it under the sofa.
"Oh, goodness! What a mess!" she babbled, her cheeks flushing crimson. "Let me just... I should go. I'll help you clean this up first, Claire."
Leo, oblivious to the silent drama unfolding, clung to her leg. "No, Aunt Bethany! Don't go! Stay and play with me! Please!" His voice escalated into a whimper.
Bethany looked torn, a trapped animal caught in the headlights. Her eyes pleaded with me, a silent apology mixed with desperate fear. But it was too late. The dam had broken. The truth, in all its vulgar, undeniable ugliness, was laid bare.