The Mute Wife's Secret Genius Comeback

of a throat that refused to open. A silence she had cultivated, weaponized. A cage she had

r heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage of bone. The sheets were soaked in cold sweat, clinging to her skin like

vy velvet curtains. It was a mausoleum of a bedroom, decorated in shades of

tstand. Her fingers brushed against the cool, smooth plastic of the voice recorder. It was still there. A mi

h she didn't know s

r

red the silence. It wasn't a q

he wood, dry and devoid of warmth. Madame Gerr

n't answer.

o the vanity mirror, staring at her reflection. The woman looking back was pale, wit

The intelligence, the calculation, the burning rage-it was all buried under a glaze of dull vacancy. She p

dator known as Ghost on the dark web. She was Calleigh

ad purchased. instead, she reached for a beige dress from two seasons ago. It was slightly loose around

rf

held the door open, his face blank. Calleigh slid into the backseat. Immediatel

n. In her world, the

rse. To anyone watching, she was just another bored trophy wife scrolling through a game. Her thumb hovered ove

ished, replaced by lines

tle algorithm designed to flag micro-transactions within the Lloyd Group's subsidiary ac

nimized the window, the screen instantly rev

d set of teeth. The car didn't head toward the Lloyd Tower, but toward the Upp

at didn't accept insurance, o

d her watch as Calleigh approached, her lips pursed in disapproval. She d

wn. She clasped her hands in front of he

nthouse conference room. The air smell

s pruning a potted orchid with a pair of silver shears. Sn

She took her time, cutting away

d marble. She finally raised her eyes, her gaze dropping inst

king herself shrink. She didn'

le folder. He looked tired, or maybe just guilty. He avo

jector hummed to life. A complex

like he was reading a script. The stress on her system has created a hostile envir

s narrowed. She knew her cortisol was high; living in a shark tank would do that to anyone. But sh

ging a child into this family

click of stilettos on the hardwo

mez wal

air was pulled back in a severe, glossy ponytail. She radiated the kind of ag

to Aria with the shears. Aria. Harvard Law. impecca

er in her heels, looming over her. She extended

ile didn't reach her eyes. It was a predator's baring

ok a step back, her breath hitching

hand. She turned her back on Calleigh, looking at G

pped a document onto the gla

and Relinquishment

octave, losing the veneer of politeness. This

rgon, her mind processing it at lightning speed. Clause 14.b caught her attention immediately: Th

were asking her to sign away her marriage, her

of lint from her skirt, I will activate the menta

folder across the t

ychiatric Evaluation: Severe Dep

fake. A

said softly. Permanent conservatorship. You'll n

t, searing thing. Her fingers curled into her palms, gripping t

nc pen from the table an

ult for Heinrich, Aria

air between them.

es, then to the fake medical report. The silenc