Chapter 1

My husband, Zac Quinn, and I had been estranged for years, living separately as if we were strangers. So, it was quite unexpected when his family called me out of the blue.

"Layla, Sally has passed away. We can’t reach Zac, so you need to come back and handle the funeral arrangements!"

Hearing that my mother-in-law, Sally Quinn, had passed away, my heart skipped a beat.

It was not sadness I felt. Instead, it was as if the tight string in my heart that had been holding everything together suddenly snapped.

It was about three years ago that Zac and I separated.

Since the separation, he had been like a ghost, disappearing from my life. He spent his days attending various business gatherings or hitting up bars and clubs, but he never responded to my messages or answered my calls.

I frowned and felt a growing frustration. Zac had become so reckless. Even when his own mother passed away, he was nowhere to be found.

I stared at the voicemail for a long time before finally deciding to cancel all my meetings for the next week and head back to my hometown.

My assistant, Ruby Fisher, did not say a word, but she arranged for ten bodyguards to accompany me.

All the way back, I could not reach Zac on the phone. Who knew what he was busy with.

Out of curiosity, I checked his social media. Just an hour ago, he had posted a picture showing off his new sports car.

Relatives told me that Sally had specifically requested a custom-made urn before she passed away. It was worth nearly a million dollars, and she had argued with the family several times about it.

The faces of Zac’s relatives were full of sorrow and regret, yet when it came time to pay, they were the first to disappear.

After thinking it over, I swiped Zac’s card to pay for it.

Almost immediately, Zac, who had been unreachable until now, called.

"What did you buy that cost so much? Return it right away."

I was not in the mood to argue about money, so I just urged him, "Come back home quickly. Something has happened in the family."

Zac finally heard the funeral music playing in the background and his tone changed slightly, "Who?"

I answered calmly, "An elder in the family has passed away."

He did not say another word and hung up.

I was really curious. Since I did not mention it was his mother, would he assume it was someone from my family and decide not to bother coming?

After handling all the arrangements, I opened my phone to get some work done, only to have a notification pop up from a forum I followed.

"My boyfriend's card suddenly had eight hundred thousand dollars charged. Could something be up?"

Posts like this, designed to grab attention, were pretty common. Thus, I was about to close it when I noticed I was following this influencer.

Curious, I clicked in to take a closer look and then remembered it was Xena Carter, someone who worked at Zac’s company.

Back when Zac’s company was just getting started, our relationship was still strong. I had helped him with almost everything, including hiring the first batch of employees.

She was recommended to us, and I followed her social media account while doing a background check on her.

As I scrolled through the post, I saw there were already many comments.

Most were warning her that her boyfriend might have been spending money on another woman, probably a gold digger, and that she should be cautious.

I was not too interested and was about to unfollow her when Xena posted an update.

"Guys, it’s confirmed. There’s a mistress. My boyfriend is rushing to meet her, and I’m on my way to catch them in the act."

Attached was a screenshot from a couple’s tracking app, showing that her boyfriend had a new trip planned, and the destination was none other than my and Zac’s hometown.