Oops, Looks Like You're the One Dying, Sweetheart

Adeline's stage-four diagnosis arrives the same week her husband empties their joint accounts — an "investment opportunity," he calls it, while her jewelry quietly disappears from the safe. His mother locks her out of family meetings. His investor refuses her calls. She is dying broke in a house that no longer feels like hers. Then the hospital phones with three words that change everything: we mixed them up. The terminal patient was never her. It was him. His money is gone, his mistress won't return it, and Adeline has all the time in the world. She doesn't ask for a divorce. She doesn't ask for the money back. She waits — with the evidence she's been quietly collecting, and a smile that terrifies the woman who used to be his mother.

Chapters

Chapter 4

I pushed the winter coats aside. The hidden wall panel slid back smoothly, exposing the steel door of the safe.

I pressed the first digit of my birthday.

*Bzzzt.*

A harsh, low-pitched error tone spat from the speaker. Not the high chirp I was used to.

I stopped. My finger hovered over the keypad. I punched in the four digits again, pressing harder this time.

*Bzzzt.*

A red light flashed above the numbers.

"Looking for something, Adeline?"

I spun around. Martha stood in the doorway of the walk-in closet, holding a stack of folded towels.

"The safe code," I said, keeping my tone entirely flat. "It's changed."

"Oh, Julian mentioned that." She stepped into the closet and placed the towels on a high shelf. "He upgraded the security software yesterday. Said the old system was outdated."

"Outdated."

"Yes, sweetheart." She smoothed the top towel, her back to me. "You know how crime is getting in this neighborhood. Do you need something out of it?"

"My passport."

"I'll have Julian get it for you tonight." She patted my shoulder as she walked past me. "Why don't you go rest? You look terrible."

I stepped out of her reach. "I have errands."

I left her standing in the closet, grabbed my car keys from the dresser, and walked out of the house.

***

The glass doors of First National Bank slid open. I walked straight to the mahogany counter at the far end of the lobby.

"How can I help you today, Mrs. Montgomery?" The teller, a woman with a silver name tag that read *Helen*, offered a practiced smile.

"I need a printed statement for my personal checking account," I said. "The one ending in 8814."

Helen typed into her keyboard. "Certainly. Give me just a moment."

The printer whirred behind her. She slid a single sheet of paper across the cold marble counter.

I stared at the bold number at the bottom of the page.

*$412.50.*

My stomach bottomed out.

"This is wrong," I said, sliding the paper back toward her. "There was over forty thousand dollars in this account last week. It's my personal account."

Helen frowned, leaning closer to her monitor. "Let me check the transaction history." Her fingers tapped rapidly. "Ah. A wire transfer cleared yesterday afternoon. Thirty-nine thousand, five hundred dollars."

"Authorized by who?"

"Julian Montgomery." Helen pointed to the screen. "He's listed as a joint signer on all your accounts, Mrs. Montgomery. The funds were moved to a new portfolio."

"A portfolio."

"Yes, ma'am. Under Montgomery Holdings." She tilted her head, her smile faltering slightly. "Is there an issue?"

"He emptied my personal checking."

"He also closed the secondary savings account this morning," Helen added, her voice dropping into a professional hush. "The one ending in 3301. He withdrew the remaining eighty thousand via cashier's check."

My jaw locked tight. "Who was the check made out to?"

Helen squinted at the monitor. "Rostova Consulting LLC. He said you two were finalizing a commercial real estate deal today. Congratulations, by the way. The Arts District is booming."

I grabbed the edge of the counter. My fingernails scraped against the stone.

"Thank you, Helen."

"Do you need anything else?"

"No."

I walked away from the teller station and sank into a leather chair in the waiting area.

Forty thousand from my checking. Eighty thousand from my savings. Plus the jewelry.

Julian hadn't just secured his assets. He had financially paralyzed me. I had thirty days to pay for cancer treatment, and my husband had just handed my survival money to his mistress.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts. My thumb stopped on a name I hadn't called in three years. *Marcus Thorne.* Julian's former business partner. The man Julian ousted to take full control of Montgomery Holdings.

I tapped the green icon.

"Adeline Montgomery." Marcus's deep voice came through the speaker after two rings. "This is a surprise."

"Hello, Marcus." I watched a security guard pace near the entrance. "Do you have time for a meeting?"

"Julian isn't looking to buy me out again, is he?"

"Julian doesn't know I'm calling you."

Silence stretched over the line.

"I'm listening," Marcus finally said.

"I have inside details on the Arts District commercial project." I kept my voice low, shielding my mouth with my hand. "I need liquid capital. Two hundred thousand dollars. In exchange, I will hand you the exact financial vulnerabilities of Julian's new joint venture with Rostova Consulting."

"You're selling out your own husband?"

"I'm securing my future." I gripped the phone tighter. "Do we have a deal?"

"Bring the proof to my office tomorrow at ten. We'll talk."

"I'll be there."

I ended the call. The heavy weight in my chest shifted, replaced by a sharp, cold focus. I had a target. I had a plan. I just needed to raid Julian's home office tonight and copy the rest of those ledgers.

I stood up from the leather chair and headed for the exit.

The heavy glass doors slid open.

A woman stepped through the frame just as I walked out. We collided, shoulders knocking hard.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, stepping back.

"My fault," I murmured, glancing up.

She had straight dark hair and wore a tailored gray suit. Not Elena in the red coat. Someone else entirely.

She reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

The afternoon sun caught the metal on her wrist.

I froze.

A heavy gold bangle wrapped around her forearm. It featured a unique, twisted clasp shaped like a lotus flower.

My mother's bangle. The one missing from my safe.

The woman offered a polite, dismissive nod and walked past me into the bank lobby.

I spun around, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Hey," I called out.

She didn't turn.

She walked straight to the teller counter. Helen smiled and waved her over.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Rostova," Helen said loudly. "Your sister said you'd be coming by to sign the deposit forms."

Elena's sister.

Julian hadn't just fenced my jewelry. He had gifted my family heirlooms to his mistress's relatives.

Continue to next part

I woke up in total darkness, the air smelling of stale chemicals and dying flowers. When I tried to sit up, my forehead slammed into solid wood just three inches from my face. I was trapped in a coffin, buried alive next to the cold, stiff body of my fake husband, Cedric. My stepmother, Hermina, had poisoned our champagne at the gala to seize my trust fund, and now she was hosting a lavish memorial service for us right outside the lid. I found a faint, erratic pulse in Cedric's neck, but I couldn't just scream for help. If Hermina realized the dose wasn't lethal, she'd finish the job with a lethal injection under the guise of medical assistance. To survive, I bit my tongue until I tasted blood and tore my hair into a tangled mess. When I finally kicked the lid open and spilled onto the marble floor, I didn't act like a rescued heiress; I crawled like a broken doll, shrieking about poisoned bubbles and "the bad man" while Manhattan's elite watched in absolute horror. The betrayal was suffocating. My own family watched as Hermina tried to sedate me back into silence, playing the role of a grieving saint while her eyes remained cold as ice. Even more shocking was Cedric, who rose from the casket like a predator, commanding the room with a terrifying authority that proved our entire marriage had been a lie. I couldn't understand how many secrets were buried in that house, or why my "boring" husband was suddenly acting like a man who owned the city. After kneeing Cedric in the stomach to break his iron grip, I bolted out into the torrential rain. I didn't care that I was barefoot or that the world thought I was insane. I had the key to my father's secret safe in my hand, and I was going to make sure Hermina paid for every second of darkness she forced me to endure.

Horror Modern Romance

7.5

Divorcing the Don: And Then I Took Everything

7.5

For six years, Isabella Rossi used her family's immense wealth to save her husband's Mafia empire from bankruptcy while he fought on the front lines. Her reward? Don Damien Moretti returns with a mistress, a secret son, and a demand: Accept them, and keep paying the bills. He expects her to swallow her pride. Instead, Isabella closes her checkbook. She demands a divorce, cuts off their funding, and leaves his "glorious" empire to starve. But a Queen stepping down draws wolves. Enter Giovanni Falcone-the ruthless, untouchable King of the New York Underworld. He doesn't want her money; he wants her. Now, her ex-husband is begging for her back. But Isabella? She's too busy building her own empire-and watching his burn.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.6

MARRIED TO THE CEO WHO RUINED ME: HIS BRIDE, HIS REVENGE

8.6

He shattered her heart to avenge a past that wasn’t hers. Now he desires her in his bed—as his wife. Marceline Valino once believed in love. She gave her heart—and her innocence—to Cross Dejava, the boy who whispered promises in the dark, igniting dreams of a forever that felt so real. But by morning, her world was left in ruins. Private photos were leaked, her name dragged through the mud, and at the eye of the storm? Cross, smirking, cold, and ruthless. “You mean nothing to me,” he said, delivering a blow that would leave scars. “You’re just the bastard daughter of my father’s mistress.” His vengeance had never aimed at her heart; it was meant to punish the daughter for her mother’s sins—an ex-lover who had torn his family apart. Pregnant and abandoned, Marceline begged for mercy, but all she received was the echo of his silence. When she lost the child, she lost every last piece of the girl she used to be. Now, five years later, she’s preparing to return—broke, desperate, and willing to do anything to save her ailing mother. Anything… except this. Because the man extending a lifeline isn’t a savior. It’s Cross. And he has no desire for her heartfelt apologies; he craves her complete submission. A contract marriage awaits her. No love. No escape. No mercy. But Marceline isn’t the naive girl he once broke. She’s a woman who has risen from the ashes, ready to play his game. And as the pieces of their lives fall into place, she’s determining when—exactly—she will ignite a fire that could burn it all down. The future promises a reckoning, and she's preparing to seize it.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.8

My Celebrity Therapist's Cruel Deception

7.8

On my tenth wedding anniversary, I found my celebrity therapist husband naked with our housekeeper. He called it "somatic therapy." I was pregnant with our miracle baby and secretly battling a brain tumor. But when his lover faked a fall and a miscarriage, framing me for it, he chose her. The fall caused me to lose my actual baby. As I lay bleeding on the floor, my husband scoffed, "Don't play games, Alexis," and rushed her to the hospital. He then had me committed to a psychiatric facility, publicly painting me as delusional to protect his reputation and his affair. He thought he had gotten rid of me forever. But he didn't know my sister would break me out. He didn't know I would fake my own death to escape. Now, I'm back. And I'm about to teach the good doctor a lesson in consequences.

Action Modern Romance

7.8

NAUGHTY DESIRES: A COLLECTION OF DARK EROTICA

7.8

Warning : This book is filthy, addictive, and dangerously addictive. Once you start... you won't want to stop. NAUGHTY DESIRES - because some cravings are too wicked to resist. In the velvet darkness where pleasure and pain entwine, surrender is the only choice. A dominant stranger pins you beneath him on a bed of crimson rose petals, his hand wrapped possessively around your throat as your body trembles in helpless ecstasy. A ruthless billionaire demands your complete submission in a candlelit penthouse, turning your whispered "no" into a breathless "more." A dangerous lover drags you into the shadows, where every touch brands you, every command unravels you, and every climax leaves you aching for the next forbidden taste. These scorching stories plunge deep into the rawest, darkest corners of desire-where powerful men take what they crave and willing women beg to be taken. No limits. No mercy. Only raw, dripping, heart-pounding heat that will ruin you for anything tame.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.5

Reborn With My Husband

9.5

On the way to the hospital, my husband Kody and I had a huge argument, which led to an unexpected accident. When I opened my eyes again, we went back to when we first met. In our previous life, we were married for ten years. Our marriage was more about mutual respect than passion. However, he was unwilling to have a child with me. It was only later that I discovered he could never let go of his high school sweetheart. After being reborn, I decided to let him go. We silently deleted each other's contact information, kept our distance, and chose different paths in life. Seven years later, he became a top financial strategist and proposed to his high school sweetheart, Daniela, at their high school reunion. Seeing me still alone, he couldn't help but make a snide comment. "Emeline, I know you can't let go of me in both lifetimes. After all, I'm quite the catch, but you don't have to wait around for me." I ignored him and took my daughter's hand. Kody's face went white, his eyes blazing with fury as he demanded, "Didn't you say you'd love me for life and only want our child?"

Modern Romance Young Adult

Oops, Looks Like You're the One Dying, Sweetheart

Chapter 4

You may also like