Too Late, Mr. Don: Your Wife Erased You

like a king. To the world, Brendan Wiggins was a legitimate businessman. T

wasn't a threat from a rival gang. It was a photo

as working. I heard him tell her, "Ellery is functional. She handles the books. B

sh he caused-and used it to mock me with another woman. He thought I wa

ed the encrypted channels that kept him out

at of blood-red lipstick and tapped

lled me his "sanctuary," I drained fifty

ntment with a black-market neuroscien

n't just be bankrupt; to m

pte

dismantle a billion-dollar empire, but the phone vibrat

up beneath the heavy linen tableclo

brutal, and crafted w

ou're just the furniture he

d image of my replacement while the man who swore to protect

r a court of casualties. He was the Don of the New York Syndicate, a m

rom granite and eyes like frozen Atlantic water. To me, he was the man who pulled me

voice a low rumble that used to make my st

eat, El. You

steady. It had to be. In this hou

med senators and hitmen alike. "Business is good. T

as l

was the one who made him unt

he encrypted laundering channels. I designed the cybersecurity fortress that kept the FBI

chitect saw a crack

h. It showed his location history clearly: He hadn't been at

s apa

the cufflinks I gave him for our fifth anniversary.

again. A video

standing up. "I nee

steak. "Don't be long. I want

ntdown. I locked the door and leaned against the cold sink. My hands were

ssed

showed Brendan pacing in a living room I didn't r

"Ellery is the face. She handles the books. She keeps the heat off. But you... you're gi

cti

the tiled walls, l

his partner. I was a high-va

aring back was beautiful, poised, and dead inside. Sh

arry a child. Brendan had used that trauma to bind me to him. He

ave me. He

een us. Loyalty. He didn't just cheat. He shared my priv

ars were for peo

red lipstick. I applied it carefully, tracing th

a paper trail. A divorce leaves you vulnerable

had written three months ago. It was a simple command, but it would start

e away and unl

as pouring a glass of wine. He looked up, his

ng okay?"

up my fork. "Everythin

d into

he woman sitting here was just a gho