3
The moment she stepped through the villa's front door, Wilfred Fox hurried toward her, his expression grim.
"Mr. Morton sent someone by earlier. He said he's taking Miss Dickerson to an exhibition tomorrow and wanted her to pick out a set of jewelry."
Serena's heart dropped. Her throat tightened.
"Which set did Nanette choose?"
Wilfred's voice was heavy.
"The emerald set your late mother left you."
A sharp pain tore through her chest, so fierce she could barely breathe.
That emerald set had been passed down through her mother's family for generations. It meant more to her than she could put into words.
When they married, Theodore had a custom display case built and placed it in the most prominent spot of her walk-in closet. He cleaned it himself on a regular schedule and forbade anyone else from touching it.
She'd once asked him why he cared so much. He said that whatever mattered to her mattered to him too.
He said he would protect everything she held dear.
And now he was taking the thing she treasured most and handing it to another woman.
The realization settled over her like ice water. It wasn't that the jewelry didn't matter. It was that she didn't matter to him anymore.
Her heart went cold, degree by degree, until there was nothing left.
She looked at Wilfred. Her voice came out so steady it didn't sound like her own.
"Make some trouble for Theodore. And have someone bring Nanette here."
She curled up in the rocking chair and followed the trail of breadcrumbs she'd found online until she landed on Nanette's secret social media account.
The earliest post dated back eight months.
I'm going to have him.
After that, the account went dark for a long time.
When it picked back up, it was six months ago.
The date of the post stung so badly her vision blurred.
It was her birthday.
He stayed with me until late. He said being with me makes him more relaxed than anything else.
Serena stared at the screen, her fingertips ice cold.
That day, she had waited from morning until night. All she got was a message saying he had to leave town on business.
She scrolled further. Every single post was dated on a day she had once looked forward to with her whole heart.
Their wedding anniversary. He canceled his date with her to be with me.
Right now, he's holding me, sleeping peacefully.
His so-called sleep disorder doesn't seem that hard to cure after all.
He told me I understand him better than she ever did.
Today, I belong to him completely.
The photo attached was of two hands, fingers laced together, against hotel sheets.
Every night he hadn't been beside her, every evening she'd spent alone wondering where he was, all of it finally had an answer.
She set down her phone.
At that same moment, over a dozen bodyguards dragged Nanette through the door and threw her onto the floor.
Nanette's eyes were rimmed red. She glared up at Serena, face twisted with venom, and screamed.
"Serena! You heartless bitch! Why did you cut off my mother's treatment?"
"I'm Theodore's sleep therapist. Aren't you afraid he'll be furious with you?"
Serena rose from the chair. She looked down at the woman on the floor and let out a quiet laugh.
"Furious with me?"
"What exactly do you think Theodore Morton can do to me?"
Nanette froze, clearly unable to fathom where that kind of confidence came from.
"When you decided to become the other woman and wreck someone's marriage, didn't you bother running a background check on your target?"
Nanette blinked, still lost.
Serena paused, her tone flat and unhurried.
"There is only one Ashworth family in Harborton."
"Three generations without a daughter. And in this generation, I'm the one."
"That means I don't have to compete with anyone. I don't have to scheme or beg for anyone's favor. Anything I want is handed to me on a silver platter."
Nanette's body shook uncontrollably. The color drained from her face.
She understood exactly what that meant.
