My husband gave me twenty-four hours to disappear

Three weeks later, the Metropolitan Detention Center smelled of stale bleach and damp concrete.

Sabrina Lin sat in an orange jumpsuit across the Plexiglas partition, her manicured nails broken and unpainted, her face stripped bare of cosmetics. Across from her sat Eleanor Cross, representing Aura Design Group.

“I have nothing left, Eleanor!” Sabrina hissed, tears streaking her pale face. “The feds took my apartment, my Birkin bags, my car! Everything! Ethan told me he had billions! He told me he was divorcing that mouse to marry me! I was a victim too!”

Eleanor turned a page in her leather binder, utterly unmoved.

“You were not a victim, Miss Lin,” Eleanor said evenly. “Our forensic investigators retrieved your text messages with Ethan Mercer dating back eighteen months. You were the one who researched the mechanic. You were the one who connected Ethan to the offshore crypto account used to pay for the sabotage on Mrs. Vance’s vehicle.”

Sabrina choked on her breath, her pupils shrinking in terror. “That… that was just pillow talk! It was a joke! I didn't think he would actually do it!”

“A federal grand jury doesn't consider conspiracy to commit murder a joke,” Eleanor replied coldly. “The Vance Trust has also filed a civil lawsuit against your family’s import-export business for laundering corporate kickbacks. By tomorrow morning, your father’s logistics firm will be in receivership.”

“No! Leave my family out of this!” Sabrina screamed, pounding her fists against the glass. “Please! Tell Claire I’m sorry! I’ll testify against Ethan! I’ll tell the judge everything he did! I’ll get on my knees and beg her!”

“Claire has no interest in your apologies, Miss Lin,” Eleanor said, closing her binder with a sharp snap. “She is currently attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the Vance Cultural Center—the true design for Hudson Horizon. She does not think about you. She does not think about Ethan. You are simply accounting errors that have now been permanently balanced.”