I sat in the dark of my walk-in closet, the glow of my tablet illuminating my face. On the screen, a grainy black-and-white video played. It was a live feed from the hidden camera I had installed in Trevor's study.
"I can't believe she fired me!" Caroline shrieked. "After everything I've done! I've been covering for you for years, Trevor! I've been feeding you inside information! And she just... cuts me off like a dead limb?"
"Calm down," Trevor said, pouring himself a drink. "She's unstable. The miscarriage messed with her head more than we thought. It's just a tantrum."
"A tantrum?" Caroline laughed. “She locked me out of the server, Trevor! She revoked my access card! I can't even get into the building to delete the files! If she finds the dummy accounts… and what if she already knows about us?”
"She won't," Trevor assured her, walking over to wrap his arms around her. "If she does, surely she will not sit tight, and confront me.”
"I want her dead," Caroline sobbed into his chest. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of pretending to be her friend. I want her gone, Trevor. Now."
"It's okay, baby," Trevor cooed, stroking her hair. "We're close.”
"When?" Caroline demanded, pulling back to look at him.
"The Charity Gala," Trevor said. "Next Friday. It's the perfect stage. She'll be surrounded by the board, the press, the elite. I've already planted the seeds about her mental instability. We'll stage a breakdown. A public, undeniable psychotic break. I'll have the doctors ready to commit her that night. Once she's in the facility, I get power of attorney by default."
"And then," Trevor kissed her forehead, "she'll be ruined. And I'll get everything. The company, the house, the money. And you."
They kissed. It was hungry and desperate, a celebration of my impending destruction.
I turned off the tablet, my hand trembling slightly.
My phone buzzed in my lap. It was Arthur.
"Everything is ready, Madam," Arthur's gravelly voice came through. "The offshore accounts are active. The domestic assets have been liquidated and transferred. The house deed has been moved to the trust. The divorce papers are drafted and ready for filing."
"Good," I breathed. "And the forensic accounting on Caroline's department?"
"Complete. We have evidence of embezzlement, corporate espionage, and fraud. It's enough to send both of them to prison for twenty years."
"Hold onto it," I said. "I want to drop the hammer when it hurts the most."
"And your departure, Madam? When will you leave?"
"A few days," I said, glancing at the closed closet door. "Prepare the lake house. The one my parents gave me for my twenty-first birthday. It's off the grid. Trevor doesn't even know it exists."
"It will be ready. Be careful, Amber."
"I will."
I hung up and took a deep breath.
I walked downstairs. Trevor was in the living room, nursing a scotch. He looked up as I entered, his face instantly composing itself into a mask of concern.
"Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," I lied. "I'm sorry about dinner. I just... I snapped."
"It's okay," Trevor said, standing up. "But Amber... we need to talk about Caroline."
"There's nothing to talk about," I said, walking past him to the kitchen. "She's fired."
"She has nowhere to go," Trevor pleaded, following me. "She's been living in the guest house because she can't afford rent in the city. Her salary was her only income. If you fire her and kick her out... she'll be on the street."
"She should have thought of that before she became incompetent," I said, pouring myself a glass of water.
"She's your best friend!" Trevor argued. "She's been there for you through everything! The funeral, the wedding... she loves you, Amber. You're punishing her for trying to help."
"I'm protecting my company," I shot back. "And frankly, Trevor, I don't care where she goes."
Trevor opened his mouth to argue, but his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and frowned.
"It's the hospital," he said, answering it. "Hello? Yes, this is Trevor Black. Who? Caroline?"
I watched him. His face went pale. He looked at me with wide, accusing eyes.
"Oh my god," he whispered. "Is she... okay? We're on our way."
He hung up, his hand shaking.
"Caroline is in the ER," Trevor said, his voice trembling with manufactured outrage. "She tried to kill herself. She took a bottle of pills."
I felt a cold knot in my stomach. It was a move. A desperate, manipulative move to force my hand.
"This is on you," Trevor spat, pointing a finger at me. "You pushed her to this! You fired her, you humiliated her, and now she's lying in a hospital bed because she felt like she had nothing left!"
We drove to the hospital in silence. When we arrived, Caroline was awake, looking pale and fragile in the hospital bed. Her wrist was bandaged—a hesitation mark, I noted. Enough for attention, not enough for death.
"Amber," she croaked when she saw me. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I just... I didn't know what else to do."
Trevor stood by her side, holding her hand. The nurses looked at me with thinly veiled judgment. I could hear the whispers in the hallway.
The narrative was already spinning. If I didn't act now, I would be the villain before the Gala even started.
"I'm so sorry, Caroline," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "I didn't know you were struggling this much. I was just... I was projecting my own pain onto you."
"It's okay," Caroline sniffled. "I just want my friend back."
"You have her," I said, taking her other hand. "And you have a home. You can't stay in the guest house alone. It's too isolated."
Trevor looked up, surprised. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying she should move into the main house," I said, looking Trevor dead in the eye. "With us. Until she gets back on her feet. I'll reinstate her at the company, too. On probation."
"Really?" Caroline asked. "You'd do that?"
"Of course," I smiled. It was the warmest, most loving smile I could muster. "We're family, aren't we? Families stick together."
"Thank you, Amber," Trevor said, squeezing my shoulder. "You're doing the right thing."
"I know," I said.
But as I walked out of the hospital room to get some air my smile remained.
In just a few days, they will be ruined.
