He threw money on the bed after our one-night stand.
I threw it back in his face at his own inauguration.
By sundown, we were engaged. By the week's end — married.
Franklin Flemington needed a wife to secure his empire. I needed a miracle to save my family. For two years, we played our parts flawlessly — the golden couple the whole city envied.
Behind closed doors, I was invisible to him.
When the two years were up, I handed him divorce papers without blinking.
He stared at me like I'd lost my mind. "I've given you everything a husband should. What more do you want from me, Octavia?"
I smiled, signed my name, and walked out.
I thought that was the end. I thought I'd finally won.
I forgot one thing — Franklin Flemington has never lost anything in his life. And he has no intention of starting with me.
Game on.

The mere thought that Bella Washington might have had something to do with Octavia's accident filled me with fury. It was still just a theory—I hadn't proven anything yet—but now that I had her phone number, I finally had a chance to test it.


I pulled out my phone and stared at her number on the screen like it was a loaded weapon. I didn't dial right away. I needed to be calculated. I ran through every possible thing I might say, building the plan carefully in my head.


Bella Washington. That name carried a different weight now. Every finger at the office pointed straight at her. She wasn't just a colleague or the woman who had flirted a little too boldly in the Bronx. She was something more. Was I suspicious of her? Damn right I was. She was a suspect — at the very least, someone worth testing.


I exhaled slowly, then tapped the screen. The line rang once… twice… and then she answered.


"Hello?" Her voice was firm and strong.


Chapter 116 - ~ 116