Chapter 1 - The Midnight Kiss
The cold air of the Chicago suburb bit sharply through my silk coat as I stepped back onto the porch, clutching the vintage pearl necklace inside its velvet box. My breath plumed into white clouds against the snowy evening, but the freezing temperature felt nothing compared to the ice that had formed around my heart.
Two years.
While I spent sixty hours a week drafting skyscrapers and closing multi-million-dollar structural deals, my husband of eleven years, Daniel, had been carving out another life with a woman named Savannah. He had drained my accounts, handed my properties over to his lazy family, and plotted to label me mentally unstable so he could walk away with everything I had built from the ashes of my poverty.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out.
Daniel: Honey, where did you go? Mom is asking if you’re parking the car.
I stared at the screen, watching the little typing bubbles appear and disappear. A wave of nausea rolled through me, threatening to buckle my knees, but I forced the bile down. I swallowed the tears burning the back of my throat. I remembered my father’s words echoing from my childhood: Never strike until you know where the foundation is weak.
I opened the voice recorder app. The audio file labeled NYE_Dinner_Confession.m4a sat safely in my secure cloud drive, backed up twice.
I unlocked the front door and stepped back into the warmth of the foyer. The scent of roasted prime rib and expensive pine drifted from the dining room, mixed with the sickeningly familiar laughter of Marjorie and Brooke.
“There she is!” Daniel called out as I walked into the dining room.
He stood up from his chair, his handsome, symmetrical face creased into that warm, adoring smile that had fooled me for more than a decade. He walked over, kissed my cheek, and pulled me gently against his chest.
“You’ve been gone forever,” he murmured, his lips brushing my hair. “Is everything okay?”
“I dropped the gift bag on the porch, so the ribbon came undone,” I said, my voice smooth, steady, and terrifyingly normal. “I had to fix it.”
Daniel smiled, completely blind to the abyss opening beneath his feet. “You always worry too much about being perfect for them. Come sit down. We’re just talking about the upcoming lake house acquisition.”
I let him lead me back to my seat.
Marjorie beamed at me, her diamond rings catching the light of the chandelier as she adjusted her napkin. “Oh, Claire, darling, I hope you brought your checkbook energy. Daniel says your firm just landed that massive commercial contract downtown. We are so proud of you, aren't we, Frank?”
“Financially speaking, Claire is the best thing that ever happened to this family,” Frank grunted, raising his glass of scotch in a mocking toast.
I smiled back. It was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life.
“Thank you, Frank,” I said evenly. “I’ve worked very hard to make sure this family wants for nothing.”
Across the table, Brooke smirked, taking a sip of wine. “Too true. Some people are just born lucky.”
At 11:59 p.m., the television in the den began counting down the final seconds of the year.
Ten. Nine. Eight...
The family gathered around the living room. Daniel wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder as the ball dropped on the screen.
Three. Two. One. Happy New Year!
Confetti popped from a decorative bottle. Shouts of joy filled the room. Daniel turned me around, cupped my face in his hands, and pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was soft, lingering, and utterly poisonous.
May you like
“I love you, Claire,” he whispered against my mouth. “Always.”
“I know, Daniel,” I whispered back, staring straight into his brown eyes. “Happy New Year.”
