Kiera Snow POV:
The morning sun slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows, pulling me from a fitful sleep on Brylee's sofa. My temple throbbed with a dull ache from the wine, but my mind was clearer than it had been in years.
In the kitchen, I had already set out freshly brewed coffee and a balanced breakfast plate—a habit born of six brutal years in Boston, where every hour outside of work was spent taking online business classes and perfecting domestic routines just to become the ideal supportive wife for the Mcgee family's star athlete.
Brylee emerged in her robe, blinking at the spread. "Morning, goddess of vengeance. You spent six years living like a corporate nun for that bastard, and you still woke up making breakfast?"
"Old habits," I said evenly, taking a sip of the black coffee. "I need a computer. A high-performance one. I need their exact schedule and hard digital recordings."
Brylee pushed her MacBook Pro across the marble island. "All yours. What's the play? Dragging him across social media?"
"Nothing so amateur," I answered, opening a terminal window and typing out rapid shell commands.
Brylee stared at the cascading text. "Wait, I thought you did design at MIT?"
"Media Arts and Sciences, minoring in CS," I muttered without looking up. I was exploiting a known backdoor in VeriSecure, the smart security system protecting the Mcgee mansion on Long Island.
Before digging into the internal logs, I picked up my phone, smoothly unblocked Donald's private line, and dialed.
He answered on the third ring, background noise echoing behind him. "Kiera? Where were you last night?"
"In my kitchen in Boston," I lied in a soft, sweet voice. "I was baking some little cookies and testing recipes for your upcoming post-game party, so I lost track of time."
Donald scoffed lightly, his condescension palpable. "Right. Good girl. Stick to the kitchen and don't worry about team business. Just show up on time for the gala next week. I've got a busy dinner schedule tonight, so don't bother calling."
"Of course. Focus on your training," I said gently, ending the call before a mocking smirk broke my composure.
The bait was set; he genuinely believed I was safely trapped miles away in Boston.
On the laptop screen, the status bar flashed green: Access Granted.
I bypassed the clutter and isolated last night's encrypted landline recordings, clicking on a late-night exchange between Donald and his mother, Eleanor.
Eleanor’s haughty voice crackled through my earbuds: "Everything with Kiera under control? The Beaumont name is a bankrupt shell, but having her as a docile ornament keeps our business alliances tidy. Play with whoever you want on the side, Donald, but keep that dull girl in line until the contracts are signed."
Donald’s voice dripped with dismissive arrogance: "Relax, Mom. She’s completely obedient and boring as hell. I'm not interested in her skinny frame anyway. Once the ceremony is over, she stays home while I do whatever I want."
Brylee, listening through the split audio, violently slammed her mug down, leaped up, and grabbed a metal umbrella from the entryway rack. "That arrogant, parasitic motherfucker! Give me an address, Kiera, I am going to cave his skull in right now!"
"Sit down, Brylee," I commanded, my tone terrifyingly calm as I saved the audio file. "A bat only leaves bruises. I'm here to take everything they own."
I deployed a man-in-the-middle script to sniff packets across Donald’s personal devices. Within twenty minutes, a direct VoIP stream initiated.
It was Cindy.
I immediately enabled real-time listening.
Cindy's cloying voice purred through the connection. "Donny, my sister didn't find out anything, did she? I'm so scared."
Donald scoffed. "Her? She just called me from Boston saying she's baking little cookies for me like a dutiful puppy. If she knew, she'd have come crying to me already."
I listened, my eyes growing colder. Good. The more you underestimate me, the harder you'll fall.
"So, are we still on for tonight?" Cindy asked. "The Peninsula Hotel, top-floor suite. I miss you."
Donald's voice dropped, thick with suggestion. "Of course, my little wildcat. Eight o'clock. Wait for me."
The call ended.
I took off the headphones, a smile of pure, calculated victory touching my lips.
The Peninsula Hotel. The top-floor suite.
I had everything I needed.
Brylee looked at me, her expression shifting from worry to excitement. "What are you going to do? Bust in and catch them?"
"No," I said, shaking my head as I closed the laptop. "That's too easy. I'm going to prepare a much grander stage for them."
