Chapter 3 - The Secret in the Cloud
Two days after Julian was barred from my hospital room, the nurses finally allowed me to have my personal belongings back.
A plastic bag was placed on the bedside table. Inside sat my clothes—stained with dried, brownish-black blood—and my rose-gold smartwatch, its screen cracked slightly from the impact when I hit the Persian rug.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I picked up the watch. I pressed the side button. The screen flickered to life, glowing brightly in the dim hospital room. Battery: 14%.
Thank God.
During the frantic rush of paramedics and police arriving at our estate, nobody had thought to check my smartwatch. They had seen a dying woman with catastrophic abdominal wounds and rushed to save my life. Julian, consumed by panic and guilt, hadn't noticed it either.
With trembling fingers, I tapped into the Voice Memos app.
There it was. A single audio file, dated three days ago, exactly at the timestamp when the silver knife had torn through my flesh. Duration: 14 minutes and 32 seconds.
I plugged in my wireless earbuds, slipped one into my right ear, and pressed play.
The audio started with muffled rustling, followed by my own gasping, ragged breaths as I collapsed onto the floor. Then came the chilling, undeniable proof of my husband's treason.
(Audio excerpt)
Julian: "She's gone." Selina: (soft, whimpering sniffle) Julian: "I... I did it, Selina. Just like you said. We're free." Selina: "Oh, Julian... you're so brave. She was going to ruin us. We couldn't let her take everything from you."
A single tear slid down my cheek, not out of sadness, but out of pure, white-hot vindication. The illusion of my marriage was completely shattered, replaced by an ironclad weapon that would destroy both of them.
Just as the recording continued to play, capturing the sound of their footsteps walking out of the living room together, the door to my room swung open.
It wasn't a nurse. It was my lawyer, David Vance—no relation to Julian, despite the shared last name. David was a pit bull in a tailored charcoal suit, renowned across the state for handling the most vicious high-society divorces and criminal defense cases.
"Nora," David said, closing the door quietly behind him and pulling up a chair. Dr. Caleb Reed stood right behind him, acting as security. "Caleb called me. He said you had something urgent to show me."
I pulled the earbud out, handed the smartwatch to David, and tapped the screen to play the recording out loud at a low volume.
David listened, his sharp eyes widening with every second of audio. When the recording ended, a slow, predatory smile spread across the seasoned lawyer's face.
"Well," David whispered, leaning back in his chair with a low whistle. "Julian Vance is a brilliant corporate strategist, but he just signed his own death warrant. Or at least, a thirty-year sentence in maximum security."
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"I don't want a quick divorce, David," I said, my voice steady, carrying the weight of a woman reborn from the ashes. "I want everything. I want Vance Global. I want every single penny he owns. And most importantly... I want Selina Cole destroyed right alongside him."
David nodded slowly, his eyes gleaming with professional excitement. "Leave it to me, Nora. But we have to play this like grandmasters. Julian's defense team will try to claim the audio was edited or obtained illegally. We need to back him into a corner so tight he won't even see the blade coming."
