Chapter 3

My direct glare caught her off guard. Unsettled, she waved her free hand back and forth in front of my face.

When I kept a blank, deadpan expression, she burst out laughing and wrenched her wrist from my grip.

"Jesus, you scared me! For a second, I thought you could actually see!"

"Then again, after how hard I slammed into your car that day, there's no way your eyes could ever be fixed."

"Lucky for me, Julian couldn't bear to see me go to prison. He paid top-dollar lawyers to bury the evidence and get the charges dropped.”

“Poor Nora, though... Must have sucked being a blind cripple for two whole years, huh?"

My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles cracked. The horrific truth hit me like a physical blow to the chest.

The reckless driver who blinded me was Chloe Jenkins?!

And Julian had known all along! He had orchestrated the cover-up, buried the charges, and protected the woman who ruined my life!

I remembered how Julian had collapsed onto our sofa back then, feigning total exhaustion, comforting me with sweet lies:

"Nora, the accident happened in a traffic camera blind spot. The DA says it's hard to build a case. But don't worry, my love... I'll get you justice, no matter what it takes."

A wave of pure revulsion slammed into my throat. I nearly vomited right there on the hospital floor.

Seeing my sickly, devastated face, Chloe smiled with triumphant malice.

Before walking out, she leaned in and whispered one last warning into my ear:

"Nora Vance, if you don't sign those divorce papers, I have a million ways to make your life a living hell."

"Let's see who breaks first."

The nurse walked in a moment later, gasping when she saw the fresh blood soaking through the bedsheets.

"Oh heavens! Don't strain yourself! The wound just closed up, and now it's torn wide open again..."

Grinding my teeth, I choked back the boiling hatred in my chest.

"How much longer until I can be discharged?"

"At least two more weeks, if you want that leg to heal properly."

"Fine," I whispered through cold lips. "I can wait."

Every single person who tore my life apart will pay for this. In blood.

Two weeks later, I completed my discharge paperwork alone.

Surprisingly, Julian showed up at the hospital entrance to play the doting husband.

"Babe, the doctor said you should stay a few more weeks to let the scar tissue settle. Besides, you're still blind—it's so dangerous for you to be moving around!"

I stared straight ahead through dark sunglasses, the coldness behind my lenses sharp enough to draw blood.

"Why? Am I not allowed back in my own home?"

Julian choked on his words, his face darkening with annoyance before he forced an exasperated sigh.

"Of course you are. Come on, I'll take you home."

The drive back was dead silent. Julian tapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, his temper clearly wearing thin.

The moment we walked through the front door of our luxury penthouse, I immediately understood why he had been so anxious.

Our home was entirely overrun by another woman's presence.

Bright pink designer slippers at the door, matching couples' toothbrushes sitting side-by-side in the master bathroom, brand-new silk sheets on our king-size bed...

Every corner reeked of Chloe Jenkins.

They truly believed I was blind and powerless, flaunting their disgusting affair out in the open like I was already dead.

Julian didn't notice the icy hatred burning behind my sunglasses. He pulled a thick document from the entryway console.

"Nora, after everything that happened, I felt terrible. I want to make it up to you."

"I'm transferring twenty percent of the shares in Hayes Enterprises to your name. Just sign right here on the dotted line."

I glanced down at the paper. In bold, glaring print at the top were the words: UNILATERAL MARITAL DISSOLUTION & SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

Every single clause stated that I was the at-fault party, voluntarily giving up every dime, every piece of real estate, walking away completely penniless.

What a brilliant little trap.