## CHAPTER 2 ## THE WIFE HE THOUGHT HE COULD DELETE
Grant Holloway had spent his entire life believing one thing.
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Money solved problems.
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Every problem.
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A lawsuit?
Hire the best attorneys.
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A business crisis?
Buy the company causing it.
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A public scandal?
Control the headlines.
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But that morning...
For the first time in decades...
Money did not answer him.
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Because the problem wasn't outside his company.
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It was inside his own family.
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"Say that again."
Grant stood behind his office desk, gripping his phone.
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His lawyer, Richard Bennett, remained silent for a moment.
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"Mr. Holloway..."
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"Say it again."
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Richard took a breath.
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"The Holloway Family Trust has been activated."
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Grant laughed.
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Not because it was funny.
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Because he thought the idea was ridiculous.
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"My wife doesn't control my company."
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Richard didn't respond.
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That silence bothered him.
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"Richard."
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"Does she?"
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Finally...
The lawyer answered.
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"Not your company."
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Grant relaxed slightly.
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"Exactly."
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"But..."
Richard continued.
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"The trust controls the majority voting shares of Holloway International Holdings."
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The room became quiet.
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Grant slowly lowered the phone.
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"What?"
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Holloway International was everything.
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The company his grandfather built.
The empire Grant expanded.
The name printed on skyscrapers around the world.
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He owned the public face.
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But behind the scenes...
A private trust controlled the foundation.
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And nobody knew who held the final authority.
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Except now...
Apparently, his wife did.
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"That can't be true."
Grant shook his head.
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"I've reviewed every document."
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Richard answered carefully.
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"You reviewed the documents you were allowed to see."
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Grant's face hardened.
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"Who created this trust?"
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A pause.
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"Your wife's grandmother."
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The name hit him.
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Eleanor Whitmore.
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The wealthy woman who raised his wife.
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The woman everyone underestimated because she stayed away from the spotlight.
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Grant remembered her.
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Quiet.
Observant.
Always watching.
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He had assumed she was just an old woman with money.
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He was wrong.
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"Why didn't I know about this?"
Grant demanded.
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Richard replied:
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"Because the trust was designed that way."
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"Designed how?"
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"To protect your wife from anyone who married her for financial reasons."
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Silence.
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The words cut deeper than Grant expected.
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"Are you suggesting I married her for money?"
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Richard didn't answer.
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And again...
The silence was enough.
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Meanwhile...
At the hospital...
I was learning how much of my life had been erased.
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A nurse named Olivia sat beside me while I fed my newborn daughter.
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The other two babies slept nearby.
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Three tiny faces.
Three reasons I couldn't fall apart.
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"Do you need anything?"
Olivia asked softly.
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I shook my head.
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"I need to understand."
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She knew what I meant.
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Everyone knew.
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The hospital staff had seen Grant leave.
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They had seen him sign papers.
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They had seen him walk away.
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"Did he say anything about the babies?"
I asked.
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Olivia looked down.
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That hurt more than if she had answered.
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"No."
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My chest tightened.
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"Nothing?"
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"He only asked about the divorce."
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I closed my eyes.
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A man could stop loving his wife.
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That was painful.
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But forgetting his own children?
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That was something else.
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That afternoon...
A woman in an expensive gray suit entered my room.
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She looked familiar.
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Older.
Elegant.
Confident.
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"Mrs. Holloway?"
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I looked up.
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"Yes?"
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She smiled gently.
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"My name is Victoria Whitmore."
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My heart stopped.
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Whitmore.
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"My grandmother's family?"
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She nodded.
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"I'm your grandmother Eleanor's attorney and trustee."
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I immediately understood.
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"The trust."
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Victoria smiled sadly.
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"Yes."
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I looked at my babies.
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"Why didn't I know about it?"
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"Because Eleanor wanted you to live normally."
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I laughed quietly.
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"Normal?"
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I looked around the hospital room.
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"My husband divorced me while I was unconscious."
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Victoria's expression changed.
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"He activated the protection clause."
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"What does that mean?"
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She placed a folder on the table.
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"Your grandmother knew that one day someone might try to abandon you when you became inconvenient."
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My eyes filled.
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"She thought that could happen?"
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Victoria nodded.
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"She said, and I quote..."
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She opened the folder.
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"A person who loves my granddaughter will protect her when she has nothing to offer. Anyone who leaves during her weakest moment was never worthy of what she built."
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I looked away.
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Because somehow...
My grandmother understood my husband better than I did.
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That evening...
Grant finally called.
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I stared at his name on the screen.
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The man who had walked away.
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The man who signed divorce papers beside the ICU.
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The man who never asked if our babies were alive.
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I answered.
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"Hello."
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Silence.
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Then his voice.
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"We need to talk."
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I almost laughed.
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"About what?"
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"About what happened."
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"What happened?"
I repeated.
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"You mean the divorce you signed while I was dying?"
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His silence told me everything.
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"That wasn't how it looked."
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I looked at my children sleeping.
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"Really?"
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"Because from where I was standing..."
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"Actually, I wasn't standing."
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My voice cracked.
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"I was fighting to stay alive."
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Grant became quiet.
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"I made mistakes."
He finally said.
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"Mistakes?"
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"Yes."
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"You didn't forget an anniversary, Grant."
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"You abandoned your wife and three newborn children."
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"I was under pressure."
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I laughed.
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"Of course."
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"The billionaire was under pressure."
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A pause.
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Then his voice softened.
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"I want to fix this."
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I looked at the phone.
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A week ago...
Those words would have broken me.
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Now?
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They meant nothing.
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"Why?"
I asked.
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Silence.
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"Because you love me?"
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No answer.
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"Or because your accounts are frozen?"
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Grant stopped breathing.
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That was all the confirmation I needed.
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"Who told you?"
He whispered.
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I smiled sadly.
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"You really don't know me at all."
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Before he could respond...
Another call came through.
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Victoria.
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I answered.
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Her voice was urgent.
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"Mrs. Holloway..."
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"What happened?"
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"The trust investigation has uncovered something."
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"What?"
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A pause.
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Then:
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"Your husband's divorce filing was not just abandonment."
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My heart tightened.
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"What do you mean?"
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Victoria lowered her voice.
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"Grant didn't leave you because he stopped loving you."
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"He left because someone paid him."
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The room went cold.
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I looked at my sleeping children.
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"Who?"
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Victoria hesitated.
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Then said the name.
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"Samantha Vale."
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The woman who texted him:
Is it done?
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My hands started shaking.
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Because suddenly...
This wasn't just a cruel husband.
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It was a planned betrayal.
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May you like
And the woman who wanted my marriage destroyed...
had been preparing for my disappearance long before my babies were born.
