I stayed in the foyer, staring into the dark. I was going to give him the greatest birthday party of his life. And it was going to cost him everything.

Chapter 3 — The Arrangements

The next morning Jason left early for a round of indoor golf with his colleagues, mentioning he wouldn’t be back until late afternoon — to “let me focus on the preparations.”

The moment his Audi pulled out, I flipped open my laptop with my left hand and got to work.

First I logged into a hidden high-yield savings account I’d quietly kept at a separate bank for three years. My emergency escape fund.

Then I made my first call, to Pristine Maids, a luxury cleaning service.

“I need an emergency, top-tier deep clean for a four-bedroom house,” I told the dispatcher. “Baseboards, chandeliers, the works. I need a crew here in one hour.”