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My daughter Cecilia was fighting for every breath in our moldy apartment. I was a paralegal working myself to the bone, while my husband, a "struggling artist," couldn't sell a single painting. Then, I found his name on the deed to a multi-million dollar penthouse. It was a gift for his celebrity mistress, Fiona. He called our daughter's life-threatening asthma an "inconvenience." But I only snapped when Fiona stole Cecilia's inhaler at a school event, leaving her to suffocate while she smiled for the cameras. When Justin finally showed up, he ran right past our daughter to comfort his mistress. "What have you done?" he hissed at me. He thought I was just his ordinary, unambitious wife. He was about to learn that I was the one who would tear his entire empire of lies to the ground.
Contents
Chapter 1
My daughter Cecilia was fighting for every breath in our moldy apartment. I was a paralegal working myself to the bone, while my husband, a "struggling artist," couldn't sell a single painting.
Then, I found his name on the deed to a multi-million dollar penthouse. It was a gift for his celebrity mistress, Fiona.
He called our daughter's life-threatening asthma an "inconvenience." But I only snapped when Fiona stole Cecilia's inhaler at a school event, leaving her to suffocate while she smiled for the cameras.
When Justin finally showed up, he ran right past our daughter to comfort his mistress.
"What have you done?" he hissed at me.
He thought I was just his ordinary, unambitious wife.
He was about to learn that I was the one who would tear his entire empire of lies to the ground.
Chapter 1
Eliza POV:
The chill in the Manhattan air usually invigorated me, but today, it felt like a cold hand squeezing my heart. I was a paralegal, good at my job, meticulous even, and today, that meticulousness was about to shatter my life.
"Eliza, darling, you're a lifesaver!" Fiona Wilson's voice, a manufactured purr I'd heard a million times on screen, sliced through the penthouse's opulent silence. She floated toward me, a vision in silk and diamonds, her smile as flawless as her botox.
I managed a tight smile. "Just doing my job, Ms. Wilson."
The penthouse was a monument to excess. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Central Park, sunlight glinting off polished marble floors. A custom-built wine cellar, a private cinema, a chef's kitchen that had never seen a home-cooked meal – it screamed money, old money, new money, any money but my money.
"Oh, please, call me Fiona," she chirped, waving a dismissive hand. "No need for formalities. You little worker bees always take things so seriously."
The comment stung, but I was used to it. My job was to serve clients like Fiona, to handle their multi-million dollar real estate transactions, to ensure their endless luxury was seamless. While my daughter, Cecilia, coughed through another night in our mold-ridden apartment.
Fiona gestured vaguely around the living room. "God, this place is so last year. Justin insists on buying me new things every season, but honestly, it's exhausting keeping up."
My pen paused mid-air. Justin?
A flicker of unease, like a cold draft, snaked up my spine. Justin was a common name. There were a million Justins in New York.
"Is everything in order?" she asked, not really looking at me, instead admiring her reflection in a chrome sculpture.
"Almost," I said, my voice sounding strangely distant even to my own ears. I flipped to the deed, the legal document stating ownership. It was routine. I always double-checked names. Always.
And then I saw it.
Printed in crisp, black font, under "Grantee": Justin Mitchell.
My husband's name.
The room spun. The polished marble floor suddenly felt like quicksand. That couldn't be right. Justin was a struggling freelance artist. He painted landscapes that never sold, complained about gallery commissions, and barely scraped by. He drove a beat-up car held together by rust and hope. This penthouse, this symbol of obscene wealth, bore his name.
"Justin is so sweet," Fiona cooed, oblivious, picking at a diamond on her wrist. "He bought this place for me last year. Said it was a 'surprise investment.' Bless his heart, he tries so hard to make me happy."
My breath hitched. The air in my lungs turned to ash. I tasted bile at the back of my throat. Bought this place for her? While I was scraping together change for Cecilia's asthma medication?
"Oh, you look a little pale, Eliza," Fiona observed, finally glancing at me, her perfect eyebrows arching. "Long day? Must be hard, working for a living instead of just enjoying it."
I swallowed hard, the bitterness a raw wound. "It has its challenges."
"I bet," she said, a condescending sigh escaping her lips. "I mean, can you imagine living paycheck to paycheck? Justin tells me stories about people like that. So sad." She shuddered delicately. "Anyway, he's just the most charming man. So powerful, so driven. And incredibly generous, of course. Not like those poor artists he sometimes pretends to be for tax breaks or whatever."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Powerful. Driven. Pretends to be a poor artist. It was all falling into place, a horrifying mosaic of lies. Ten years. Ten years of believing him, supporting him, sacrificing for him.
"He even kept a few of his old, sentimental things here," Fiona continued, pointing to a small, ugly ceramic cat on a shelf. "Said it reminded him of his 'humble beginnings.' So cute, isn't it? I keep telling him to throw it out, but he's surprisingly stubborn about some things."
I recognized that cat. Cecilia had made it for him in kindergarten. It was chipped, the paint smeared, clutched in the hand of a clay figure meant to be him. He' d told her it was the most precious gift he' d ever received. He'd told me he kept it on his bedside table.
My vision blurred. A wave of nausea washed over me, threatening to buckle my knees. This wasn't just a betrayal. This was a desecration of everything I thought we had built.
"You know, you remind me a little of his ex," Fiona said suddenly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied me. "He never talks about her, of course. Just says she was a bit 'clingy' and 'unambitious.' You know the type, right? Always dreaming of a white picket fence, settling for mediocrity." She laughed, a high, tinkling sound. "Thank God he moved on. Can you imagine him with someone... ordinary?"
My heart felt like it was tearing open, piece by agonizing piece. Unambitious. Ordinary. Mediocre. This was how he saw me. This was how he'd always seen me. I thought we were a team, struggling together, building a future for Cecilia. But I was just his secret, his shame.
A sharp, almost animalistic protectiveness flared within me. Not for myself, but for Cecilia. My ten-year-old daughter, whose small, weak body rattled with every breath, whose life was a constant battle against the mold and damp of our apartment, whose childhood dream was a room with a window that opened without letting in more dust.
I felt a cold resolve solidify in my gut. My hands trembled, but it wasn't from fear. It was from a nascent rage, a primal scream building behind my teeth. I had to be careful. I had to be smart.
Fiona picked up a slim, expensive-looking fountain pen from the desk. "Justin gave me this. It's solid gold. He said it was just lying around-found it in an old box or something. Probably from some poor investment banker he swindled," she snickered. "He always has the best stories."
I recognized that pen too. It had been Justin's father's, a family heirloom he'd sworn to me he' d lost. Another lie. Every word he' d ever spoken, every tender touch, every tired sigh - a performance.
"You know what?" Fiona said, holding the pen out to me. "You look like you could use a little pick-me-up. Here. You can have this. It's too heavy for me anyway, and frankly, I prefer my diamond-encrusted one." Her gaze swept over my sensible work clothes, my worn handbag. "Consider it a bonus for dealing with all this paperwork. From me."
My hand instinctively recoiled, as if touching it would burn me. The sheer arrogance, the casual cruelty of her offer, was suffocating.
"No, thank you," I said, my voice flat, devoid of emotion.
Fiona scoffed. "Oh, suit yourself. Some people just can't appreciate nice things. Always so prim and proper, aren't we? It's really quite boring." She dropped the pen back onto the desk with a clatter. "Frankly, I'm starving. Justin's sending over some gourmet takeout. You can leave the rest of the documents with his assistant. I'm done with you."
The dismissal was like a slap. My stomach churned, a violent wave of disgust. I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. I just wanted to leave, to breathe air that hadn't been poisoned by their lies.
I gathered my papers, my movements stiff and robotic. My mind raced, cataloging every detail: the name on the deed, Fiona' s casual mentions of Justin's wealth, the ceramic cat, the gold pen. Evidence. I needed solid, undeniable evidence.
"Goodbye, Ms. Wilson," I said, my voice barely a whisper. I didn't wait for a response, just turned and walked out, my back ramrod straight, each step a testament to a strength I didn't know I possessed until this moment.
The cool, impersonal hum of the elevator was a small mercy. I leaned against the polished wall, my body shaking uncontrollably. I felt like I was breaking apart, piece by piece, but beneath the shattering, something new and hard was forming.
The journey home was a blur. The familiar sights of the city, once a comfort, now seemed to mock me with their indifference. When I finally unlocked the door to our cramped, stuffy apartment, the smell of mildew hit me like a wall.
"Mommy?" Cecilia's weak cough was the first thing I heard.
I rushed to her bedside. She was curled up, her small chest heaving, her eyes wide with fear as she struggled for air. Her asthma was worse tonight. The humidifier was barely making a dent.
"It's okay, baby, Mommy's here," I choked out, grabbing her inhaler, my fingers fumbling with the cap. She took a shaky breath, her small hand reaching for mine.
"Mommy, can we... can we get a new house? One with fresh air? Like in the movies?" Her voice was so small, so full of a hope I felt like I had crushed.
A cold, hard knot formed in my stomach. Justin was living a lavish life, spending millions on his mistress, while our daughter fought to breathe in this toxic environment.
Just then, my phone buzzed. A text from Justin: "Rough day, babe. Art wasn't flowing. Guess I'll be home late. Maybe grab some cheap pizza for you and Cici? Love you!"
The "love you" felt like a knife twisting in the wound. Cheap pizza. While he sent gourmet takeout to Fiona.
My daughter's innocent plea, Justin's casual lie-they clicked into place, igniting a firestorm within me. My hands clenched into fists, knuckles white. The helplessness, the pain, the betrayal-it all funneled into a single, burning resolve.
He had built his empire on lies, and I would tear it down, brick by brick. Not for revenge, not just for my own shattered pride, but for Cecilia. For her right to breathe freely. For her right to a life free from the lies of a man who called himself her father.
My eyes, usually soft with worry, hardened into steel.
"Yes, baby," I whispered back to Cecilia, stroking her damp hair. "We are getting a new house. A beautiful one. And you won't have to worry about anything ever again."
The words were a promise. A silent, deadly promise that would change everything.
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