At 2:00 in the morning, my husband leaned over what he believed was my sleeping body, kissed my forehead, and whispered,

“Poor Audrey. You never saw any of this coming.”

He was wrong about one thing.

I had already seen enough.

Earlier that night, I had noticed something unusual about the tea Daniel brought me.

The taste was different.

And after months of quietly questioning his behavior, I had learned not to ignore small details.

So instead of drinking it, I poured it away and returned to bed.

When Daniel came upstairs a little later, I closed my eyes and kept completely still.

He believed I was deeply asleep.

Through barely opened eyes, I watched him cross the bedroom.

Then he opened our safe.

One by one, he removed passports.

Cash.

Jewelry boxes.

And a folder labeled HAWTHORNE HOLDINGS.

He packed everything with the calm confidence of a man who had clearly thought about this moment before.