Ten Strikes and You're Out

After the dinner, Tracie placed me under surveillance. She immediately had Mom moved somewhere else, claiming to protect her in case someone sought revenge.

They refused to let me see her or tell me where she was. The only updates I received were the occasional photos and videos Tracie sent of Mom looking well, provided when Tracie's frequent public appearances with Elton started fueling rumors.

My job was to play her good husband.

That only made Elton bolder. He frequently started mocking me in our social circles, calling me a "trophy husband" and a spineless puppet.

He bragged that the Conners had only allowed a broke loser like me to marry into the family because I was soft and had nothing but a sick mother they could easily use against me.

Late at night, he'd flood my phone with suggestive photos of hickeys covering his chest or Tracie lying exhausted in his arms.

"Jonas, Tracie won't leave me alone. She says even the thought of you touching her makes her skin crawl. It's such a shame that you're my stand-in.

"You don't know why she married you in the first place, do you? She needed a puppet, someone who'd perform when told and disappear when no longer needed. She couldn't bear to see me suffer, so she chose you. Do you get it now?"

I knew. In fact, I'd long known.

I blocked his number and chose the only peace available to me—out of sight, out of mind.

But the next morning, Tracie and her bodyguards kicked my door open. They dragged me into the living room like a sack of potatoes and doused me with a bucket of ice water.

Tracie's expression hardened as she snapped, "Is this what you meant when you promised not to spread rumors? Was I too lenient with you, Jonas? Did I give you the impression that you could hurt Elton like this?"

She turned her phone toward me, showing the top trending headline exposing her affair with Elton. It featured intimate photos from multiple angles, along with an account written from my perspective, lamenting my wife's infidelity and the shamelessness of the other man.

I was genuinely confused. "I didn't post that. I don't even have those photos. Just look at my phone and check the deleted folder—"

Before I could finish, her slap landed on my face.

"I'm done believing you, Jonas. Do you have any idea how much money the Conners lost because of this? Do you know how much Elton is suffering? Even if your mother has ten lives, she can't pay for the damage you've done."

I looked up in shock and frantically shook my head. "It wasn't me! You have people watching me, didn't you—"

Before I could barely explain, Elton dropped to his knees and banged his head against the floor.

"This is all my fault!" he cried. "I shouldn't have hoped to be with Tracie, but all I wanted was to be by her side!

"I'm not like you, Jonas. You want your mother's medical bills paid and the Conner family shares, but I want nothing."

A chill ran down my spine when I realized that Elton was playing a masterstroke. He was the strategist putting himself in harm's way to gain shares and everything.

By playing the victim, he'd still come out on top.

"Trust me, Tracie. Elton did this to himself," I said urgently. "We've been together for years, so you know me best. I'd never risk my mother's safety for a stunt like this…"

Tracie shot me a look of pure disgust and pulled out a set of share transfer agreements. "You'll transfer the shares to Elton.

"As for your mom's treatment, we're pausing it for a while since she won't die anyway. Think of it as a punishment so you'd learn your lesson."