Chapter 3

"Oh, nothing. Just a system glitch. Scared me for a second."

He was testing me.

If I rushed out to confront him now, he would just claim it was a misunderstanding or a glitch. He might even turn it around and accuse me of not trusting him.

I had no concrete proof yet.

Those photos were still in his cloud. He could wipe them clean in a second.

I had to endure.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Julian was sitting by the bed, tucking Lily in.

His phone was placed face down on the nightstand.

"Done? Come, lie down."

He patted the spot next to him, wearing his signature "perfect husband" smile.

Suppressing my urge to vomit, I lay down, turning my back to him.

"Honey, I want to get a new phone. This one is getting really laggy."

I brought it up casually.

Julian stiffened for a second, then wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Sure, let's get one tomorrow. But... the company's cash flow is a bit tight lately. Can we get a cheaper model?"

If this were before, I would have felt bad for his startup struggles and said, "Never mind, I don't need one."

But now, it was just pathetic.

In that hidden album, Sienna was wearing a Cartier bracelet worth $7,000.

He bought it for her last month—right after he told me his company was struggling and asked me to sell the gold bullion my parents gave me as a wedding gift.

"Sure, whatever you say."

The next morning, Julian prepared breakfast.

He took out his phone, snapping photos of the table from a dozen different angles.

"A beautiful day starts with making breakfast for the two women I love most," he captioned it and posted it on Instagram.

Within minutes, the comments blew up.

"Julian is literally the perfect husband!"

"Chloe is so lucky. I'm so jealous!"

"Men who care about family like this are rare nowadays. Treasure him, girl!"

I looked at the comments, feeling sick.

While Julian was showering, I picked up his phone.

The password was changed.

It used to be my birthday, but now it showed an error.

With trembling hands, I typed in the boy's birthday—the date from the hidden photo captions.

"0520."

Unlocked.

His wallpaper was still a family photo of the three of us, but his pinned contact on Snapchat was saved as "Client - Mr. Johnson."

I opened the chat. The messages were vile.

"Client - Mr. Johnson" (Sienna): "Babe, our son wants that limited-edition Lego set. It's $300. Just buy that useless girl a cheap toy. Don't waste money."

Julian replied instantly: "Don't worry, that brat doesn't know the difference. Her future fund is for our son anyway. I won't waste a penny on her."

"Client - Mr. Johnson": "You're the best, babe. Love you!"

Followed by an intimate photo of Sienna.

Tears hot with anger fell onto the screen.

That is my daughter.

His own flesh and blood.

In his eyes, she was just a cash cow to fund his illegitimate son's life?

I took out my phone and photographed every single chat log.

My hands shook so hard I almost dropped the phone.

The shower stopped.

I quickly put his phone back, wiped my tears, and slipped into the kitchen.

Julian walked out, drying his hair, humming a tune.

"Babe, I have a three-day business trip to Orlando next week for a big project."

He hugged me from behind.

"Thanks for taking care of everything while I'm gone."

Orlando.

Disney World is in Orlando.

In the hidden album, Sienna had posted a wish list last night: "I want to take my son to Disney World to see the fireworks."

I turned around, straightened his collar, and gave him a gentle smile.

"Sure, honey. Don't worry. I'll take care of home."

Since you want to go so badly, Julian, I'll prepare a grand gift for you.

A gift that will send your whole family straight to hell.