Ethan, Rachel, and me, arms draped over one another, laughing at some forgotten joke at a summer barbecue.

A trinity of fools. “There’s a cherry on this toxic sundae,” Lauren said, pulling up one final document from the newly acquired file.

“That luxury apartment lease downtown? The one funded by your money?” “What about it?” “The primary leaseholder isn’t Ethan Bennett. It’s Vanessa Rachel Brooks.”

I closed my eyes. “I’ve been paying rent for my husband’s mistress.” “It appears so.” The affair was never the primary betrayal. The affair was just the motive.

The true betrayal was the methodical, cold-blooded financial slaughter of my autonomy. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, bruised shadows across the dining room, an automated email notification pinged on my phone.

SECURITY ALERT: Multiple failed login attempts to Cloud Storage via external IP (Location: Cancun, MX). Lauren smirked.