The Mute Wife's Secret Genius Comeback

For three years, I've played the role of the broken, mute trophy wife to the "Ice King" Heinrich Lloyd. While the world sees me as a fragile liability, I've been building a cage of silence to keep the monsters out, hiding my true identity as a high-level dark web hacker known as Ghost. The cage shattered when my mother-in-law cornered me at a private clinic and demanded I sign away my future. She didn't want my cooperation; she wanted my replacement. She introduced Aria, a ruthless socialite, as the "better vessel" who would carry my husband's child because my own womb was deemed "hostile." To ensure I wouldn't fight back, they shoved a fake psychiatric report across the table, threatening me with a permanent sanitarium stay and a forced conservatorship if I didn't relinquish my parental rights and my marriage. When I fled in a panic, Heinrich didn't offer comfort; he caught me at a bar, dragged me home like misbehaving property, and told me to stop being an embarrassment. Now, the nightmare has followed me to my secret day job. Aria walked into my office as a "consultant," leaning in to whisper that she could smell my fear through my cheap clothes and fake glasses. She thinks I'm a cornered rat, a woman so pathetic she can't even find the voice to scream for help. I stared at her, my fingers clutching the micro-recorder hidden in my pearls. They have no idea that the "mute" wife they despise has already mapped out every dirty transaction in their offshore accounts and discovered the massive gambling debts Aria is trying to hide. I felt a searing rage in my chest, a fire that had been smoldering for three years. They think they've trapped a bird, but they've actually locked themselves in with a ghost. I'm done hiding behind a tremor in my hands and a vacant stare. "Sign it," Gerri had commanded back at the clinic. "This is a notification, not a negotiation." She was right about one thing. It isn't a negotiation anymore. It's a declaration of war, and I'm going to burn their entire legacy to the ground.

Chapters

Chapter 8

The office was buzzing. The energy was different today-frantic, electric.

Calleigh walked to her desk, a small cubicle in the back corner, shadowed by a large potted fern.

Before she could even set her bag down, Chloe popped up over the partition.

Cal! You made it! Chloe's eyes were wide. Have you seen the internet? It's broken.

Chloe shoved her phone into Calleigh's face. Look! Everyone is trying to find her. Cinderella of the Upper East Side.

Calleigh pushed her glasses up her nose, squinting as if she couldn't see well. Who is that? she mouthed.

Viper rolled his chair over. Heinrich Lloyd's mystery woman. Twitter is trending LloydsLady.

Tank, leaning back in his chair with a donut, pointed at the screen. I'm telling you, look at the calf muscle. That's a dancer. Or a yoga instructor.

Calleigh sat down and turned on her computer. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her back.

Viper zoomed in on the photo. Wait. Look at the bag she's clutching.

Calleigh froze. In the photo, her hand was gripping a small clutch.

It's small, black leather... no logo, Viper said, his voice dropping in disappointment. Could be anything from Zara to Chanel. Useless.

Calleigh's heart hammered. Gerri had forced her to carry that bag last night. It was a status symbol. A beacon. And yet, its very plainness had saved her.

Viper started typing. Okay, let's try a different angle. Facial recognition is out, but maybe we can enhance the reflection in that car window...

Chloe looked at Calleigh. You know, Cal... from the back... she kinda has your hair.

The air in the cubicle seemed to vanish.

Calleigh gripped her mouse. She forced a confused smile. She pointed to her cheap grey suit. Then she pointed to the glamorous woman in the photo. She shook her head and laughed silently.

Me?

Chloe laughed too. Yeah, right. Sorry. I'm hallucinating. Can you imagine? Our Cal dating the Ice King?

Polka, the intern, poked her head in. My cousin works security at Lloyd Tower. He says the boss is actually married. Like, legally. But no one's ever seen her. They say she's a recluse, some European heiress who never leaves the estate.

The group went silent. Then they burst out laughing.

Married? Viper snorted. Heinrich Lloyd? The man is married to his stock portfolio.

While they laughed, Calleigh opened an Excel spreadsheet. But behind the rows of data, she tethered her personal burner phone-a heavily modified device that looked like a power bank-to her machine, routing her connection through a private, encrypted tunnel she'd built into the company's server on her first day. To any IT admin, it would look like she was just streaming music.

She ran a script to flood the social media algorithms with false flags. She created bots that tagged the woman in the photo as three different European actresses.

Dilute the truth. Create noise.

Suddenly, the photo on Chloe's screen vanished. Content Removed.

Hey! Viper yelled. It's gone!

Capitalism at work, Tank muttered. They scrubbed it.

Chloe sighed. Aww. I wanted to see the shoes again.

Calleigh slowly slid her feet further under her desk, hiding her sensible flats in the darkness.

Gordon, the team lead, clapped his hands as he walked out of his office.

Alright, people! Gossip hour is over! Gordon shouted. We have a VIP coming in today. Look busy!

Everyone scrambled back to their desks.

Calleigh stared at her screen. The data from her script showed the photo disappearing from servers worldwide. Heinrich's team was efficient.

But something else caught her eye. A news alert popped up in the corner of her screen.

Lloyd Foundation announces $10 million donation to St. Jude's.

A smokescreen. A nice, charitable headline to bury the bad search results.

Calleigh's fingers flew across the keyboard. She traced the donation transaction number. It routed through a bank in Zurich.

She memorized the routing number. That was a new node in the Lloyd financial map. She could use that.

She was so focused she didn't hear the elevator ding.

She didn't hear the click of expensive heels on the linoleum floor.

Keep Watching!

The story is getting intense! Switch to App to continue reading

Unlock All Episodes

Open the Official Website

I make my living binding monsters to their promises. But Silas Malphas is the one monster I never should have touched. As a Thread-Binder, I can see the glowing, invisible strings of loyalty, debt, and lies connecting everyone in the city's supernatural underworld. It makes me the ultimate contract lawyer-and the perfect infiltrator. My mission is simple: secure a job in the inner circle of the House of Malphas, the city's most ruthless monster syndicate, and steal the Primal Ledger from their lethal heir. Silas Malphas commands the shadows themselves. He is arrogant, dominant, and terrifyingly elegant. But the most dangerous thing about him isn't his power-it's that when I look at him, I see *nothing*. He is a void in the magical spectrum. No debts. No loyalties. He is completely unreadable. I was supposed to betray him. But as I am dragged deeper into his golden cage of high-stakes negotiations and blood-soaked boardroom politics, the lines between my mission and my dark attraction to the Beast begin to blur. When a rival faction launches a deadly coup and my cover is blown, I am left with a terrifying choice. To survive the night, I must forge a blood-oath contract with the very monster I was sent to destroy. I'm no longer just his lawyer. I'm bound to the Beast.

Horror Mafia Modern

8.5

Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

8.5

Emilia Taylor has always been the unwanted daughter of the Frostridge Pack—no wolf, no status, no love. Betrayed by her lover and abandoned by her family, she is handed over to Alpha Sebastian Simons as his seventh bride, a fate that has already claimed six women before her. Everyone expects her to die. But Emilia's failed awakening left her with a hidden gift: the ability to read minds, exposing every lie and cruel intention behind a smile. Yet Sebastian's thoughts remain locked away, his secrets beyond her reach. As she navigates a pack ruled by fear and a husband surrounded by death, Emilia must decide if she is the next victim or the only one who can break the curse.

Action Fantasy Horror Mystery Romance Werewolf

7.8

Claimed by the CEO

7.8

Anna Williams never imagined her life would collide with Alexander Knight-the cold, ruthless CEO feared across industries. When fate pushes her into his path, she discovers that power and wealth come with dangerous chains. Bound by a contract she can't escape, Anna must navigate his world of secrets, betrayal, and a passion that burns hotter than she ever dreamed. But behind his icy exterior lies a man scarred by trust and haunted by loss. Will she be able to melt the billionaire's heart, or will she remain just another possession... claimed by the CEO?

Billionaire Horror Modern

9.7

Falling in love with a supernatural being

9.7

Leah Steven's life was mapped out before birth: a sealed promise binds her to marry billionaire heir Luke Paul at twenty. She believes she's stepping into privilege, but a month before the wedding, Luke lures her to his distant mansion and traps her in a nightmare of secrets no one dares expose. Just as hope fades, Gabriel Stone—a powerful werewolf searching the human world for his birth mother—discovers Leah is his fated mate. Saving her pulls him into a dangerous conflict with Luke, who sees Leah as his possession. Now Leah faces an impossible choice: return to the man who made her life a living hell or trust a supernatural stranger whose world defies everything she knows. As Gabriel's search for his mother unfolds, shocking truths await—and Luke won't let his prize go without a fight.

Action Adventure Billionaire Fantasy Horror Modern Mystery Romance Werewolf

8.3

Gaslit by Reality: My True Husband's Gone

8.3

After ten years of marriage to Jake Watson, a woman wakes up beside Brandon Moore, who claims to be her legal husband. Her world shatters as friends and family deny Jake’s existence, insisting she has been with Brandon for a decade. Labeled insane and sent to a mental asylum, she suffers a brutal death during therapy. However, she suddenly regresses to the day her nightmare began. Now, she must navigate this distorted reality to find her missing husband.

Fantasy Horror Modern Mystery Romance

7.5

His Regret, Our Irrevocable Goodbye

7.5

, I am Colleen Hoover, and I am ready to write. This story will be an emotional surgery, raw and direct, for the American woman who craves that gut-wrenching, heart-healing journey. Let's begin. I married a man haunted by the ghost of his dead son. I gave him a new son, Leo, and foolishly believed our love could heal his shattered past. But then the ghost came back to life. His ex-wife, Georgia, returned with wide, innocent eyes and a diagnosis of trauma-induced amnesia. Suddenly, my husband was walking on eggshells around the woman who broke him, while our son and I became background noise in her twisted play. The day he chose her was the day he destroyed us. After Georgia framed our five-year-old for desecrating his dead brother's memorial, my husband, Calvin, snapped. He grabbed Leo's arm and twisted it until I heard a sickening pop. As I lay on the floor bleeding, I watched him cradle Georgia, whispering comforts while our son screamed in agony. Over his shoulder, her eyes met mine, filled not with confusion, but with pure, triumphant malice. He had made his choice. Now, I would make mine. My fingers, sticky with my own blood, dialed 911. "I need an ambulance," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "And I need the police."

Horror Modern Romance

The Mute Wife's Secret Genius Comeback

Chapter 8

You may also like