I ended the call. The silence was absolute, save for the rain lashing the windowpanes.

Ethan looked like he’d been physically struck. His mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out. The arrogant, calculating man from ten minutes earlier was gone, replaced by a terrified boy who’d just watched his entire fabricated life burn down in under a minute.

BZZZ. BZZZ.

Ashley’s purse. She scrambled for her phone, hands shaking, and stared at the screen, the blue light lighting up her horror.

“My card,” she whispered. “The charge for the contractor — it just declined. The fraud alert…”

She looked up at Ethan, but she wasn’t looking at a husband. She was looking at a bad investment. The disgust in her eyes was almost hard to witness.