Back when the Webbs were under siege from their enemies, I lived in fear every single day, terrified the man I loved most would die under someone else's gun.
To put me at ease, Stuart installed a real-time car-tracking app on my phone.
After that, I used it to pull him out of his enemies' hands more times than I could count.
I'd always thought of it as proof of everything we'd survived together.
I never imagined it would become the tool that ended our marriage for good.
I let out a hollow laugh and looked down at the little green icon crawling across the map.
"That's Stuart's location? Isn't that Rose Island, where the two of you spent your honeymoon?"
I nodded and turned to tell the housekeeper to have the private jet ready.
My mother watched the icon come to a stop, and without a word she dragged me straight onto the plane.
"Stuart has ruined this family, and now he actually has the nerve to go off cheating!"
Just before takeoff, the housekeeper handed two reports to my mother.
"Mrs. Carver, these are the reports your husband left behind."
She snatched them and threw up a hand, urgent. "Understood. Take off now."
Her fingers clamped around the papers, her eyes full of worry and fury.
"I really thought Stuart was a good man. And look at him now. Cheating with your best friend, and on top of that, putting your father in a hospital bed."
"How can anyone be so heartless? He's your father's son-in-law! And he won't even let your father go in for surgery!"
"My poor girl. How can he cling to your side swearing he loves you while he can't keep his hands off another woman? I'll make sure those two lose every shred of face and get out of New York for good!"
Tears slid from her eyes, her cheeks flushed red with rage.
My parents had never wanted me to marry him. They thought the Webbs were too far above us, and they were afraid I'd suffer for it.
But to bring me into the family, Stuart took ninety-nine lashes, the whole punishment, before the family elders and my parents finally gave their consent.
I still remember that day, the way he pulled me into his arms covered in blood, grinning through clenched teeth, murmuring the same thing over and over.
"I finally get to marry my Rosalind."
I lifted my arms and held her tight, saying nothing.
When my mother had cried herself out against me, she sniffled and started reading those two reports.
Then her brow tightened, the color went out of her face, and she fell silent.
The flight took forty minutes before we reached the island where Stuart was.
The moment I stepped off the plane, I spotted his flashy sports car parked beside the island villa.
Saying nothing, I grabbed my mother's hand and rushed toward it.
I was too fixed on reaching that villa to notice the change creeping over her face after she'd finished the reports and seen the place for herself.
Her hand shot out and caught my arm, stopping me before I could go any farther.
"Rosalind, are you sure Luna Pruitt is here?"
I looked up at her panicked face, and something inside me said this was wrong.
"Mom, you saw it yourself. Her social media location matches this place exactly."
The reports were still in her hands. Her fingers trembled, and she forced an ugly smile onto her face.
"Rosalind, let's go back. Your father's still waiting for us. Let's just call the police and have them make the arrest, all right?"
I frowned at her, confusion thick in my chest.
"Mom, the only way to save Dad is to find Luna. A minute ago you were saying you'd tear that worthless man and that little tramp apart. We're almost there, so why do you want me to turn around now?"
Her tears dripped to the ground, frantic, and then she suddenly screamed.
"Rosalind! Come home with Mom, and Mom will still claim you as her daughter!"
"Mom really loves you. Everything I do is for your sake."
I didn't understand.
Why my mother had ached for me on that plane, had hurt for me, had wanted to fight for me, and then, the instant she finished those reports and saw this villa, suddenly started trying to hold me back.
Was it because of those two reports?
Or because of this villa?
Or because of some secret about the woman waiting inside?
The curiosity surged in me until I pressed my lips together and opened the villa door with my fingerprint.
"Beep!"
The door swung open at the sound, and there on the sofa was Stuart, bent over, kissing a woman.
And when I saw her face clearly, and the birthmark on her neck, my eyes went wide, and it was as if I understood everything.
