Chapter 1 - The Badge Hanging From the Closet DoorAdrian Mercer had less than ten seconds.
That was how long it took him to recognize the sound of Rosalie's SUV turning into the driveway.
His face lost all color.
Sienna Blake was still standing barefoot beside his bed.
Twenty-six years old.
Dark-blonde hair loose around her shoulders.
White blouse partly unbuttoned beneath the charcoal skirt she'd worn to the office that morning.
Around her neck glittered a delicate diamond necklace.
Adrian looked toward the bedroom window.
Then toward the door.
"She's home."
Sienna froze.
"What?"
"My wife."
He grabbed her shoes from the floor and pushed them into her hands.
"Closet. Now."
Sienna stared at him.
"You said she was taking Lily to—"
"Plans changed."
Downstairs, the front door opened.
Eight-year-old Lily called, "Dad?"
Adrian's breathing changed.
He pointed toward the walk-in closet.
"Go."
Sienna hurried inside.
Adrian followed, pulled the door nearly shut and whispered:
"Don't make a sound."
Then he closed it.
He didn't notice the narrow black cord caught between the doors.
A portion of Sienna's employee lanyard remained outside.
Her Blackwell Development identification badge hung just behind the gap.
Adrian straightened the comforter.
Picked up a glass from the nightstand.
Checked himself in the mirror.
By the time Rosalie entered the bedroom thirty seconds later, her husband was smiling.
"There you are."
He crossed the room and kissed her cheek.
Rosalie laughed.
"That welcome feels suspicious."
"Why?"
"You never meet me upstairs."
Adrian wrapped his arms around her.
"I was about to call you."
"For what?"
He smiled.
"Your birthday's Friday."
"I've been informed."
"So I was thinking we should go shopping tonight."
Rosalie raised an eyebrow.
"You hate shopping."
"I can evolve."
"And then?"
"Dinner. Your choice."
Rosalie smiled.
Ten years of marriage had taught her the difference between Adrian's business smile and his real one.
This looked real enough.
She had no reason to examine it.
Not yet.
"Lily needs to finish her science project."
"I finished it!" their daughter called from the hallway.
Rosalie turned.
Lily appeared in the doorway carrying a purple backpack.
Then she stopped.
Children noticed things adults had trained themselves not to see.
Her eyes moved to the closet.
A narrow black strap protruded from the door.
Lily frowned.
"What's that?"
Adrian turned too quickly.
"Nothing."
Rosalie looked at him.
"What?"
But Lily was already moving.
She grabbed the strap.
"Wait, sweetheart—"
She pulled.
Something slid through the gap.
A plastic badge struck the hardwood floor.
Rosalie looked down.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then she bent and picked it up.
BLACKWELL DEVELOPMENT.
EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS.
SIENNA BLAKE.
A professional photograph of Adrian's twenty-six-year-old personal assistant stared back at her.
Rosalie felt the room become strangely quiet.
Adrian laughed.
Too quickly.
"Oh."
Rosalie looked at him.
"Oh?"
"Sienna must've dropped that when she came by earlier."
Lily pointed toward the closet.
"But the string is still stuck in there."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
Rosalie followed her daughter's finger.
The remaining lanyard disappeared through the narrow gap between the doors.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Not accelerated.
Slowed.
It was the strangest sensation.
Like her body understood something before her mind allowed it.
She placed one hand on the closet handle.
"Rosalie."
Adrian's voice was different now.
She looked at him.
"Don't."
That word answered everything.
Rosalie opened the door.
Sienna stood inside.
Barefoot.
Shoes held against her chest.
Her blouse wrinkled.
Her face pale.
For one second, Rosalie forgot how to breathe.
Lily whispered:
"Miss Sienna?"
Sienna looked down.
Shame crossed her face.
Rosalie might have screamed.
Might have slapped Adrian.
Might have demanded answers.
Instead, her eyes stopped on something else.
The necklace.
Thin platinum chain.
Three small diamonds.
One larger pear-shaped stone at the center.
Rosalie knew it instantly.
Three nights earlier, Adrian had shown her a photograph on his phone.
"Don't look too closely," he'd joked. "You'll ruin the surprise."
She had laughed.
He told her he'd ordered it for her thirty-eighth birthday.
She had kissed him.
Now it was hanging around his assistant's neck.
Rosalie looked at Sienna.
Then slowly at her husband.
Her voice was almost frighteningly calm.
"You said that was my birthday present."
Adrian opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Rosalie looked back at the necklace.
Sienna instinctively touched it.
That tiny gesture hurt more than seeing her in the closet.
Because it wasn't something she'd put on seconds ago.
She wore it comfortably.
Possessively.
Like it belonged to her.
Rosalie asked:
"Who did you actually buy it for?"
Adrian stepped toward her.
"Rosalie, let me explain."
She backed away.
"No."
Lily looked between them.
"Mom?"
Rosalie immediately turned.
Her daughter.
Whatever happened next, Lily would remember.
Rosalie crouched.
"Sweetheart, go downstairs for me."
"But—"
"Please."
Lily looked frightened.
Rosalie softened her voice.
"Take your tablet into the kitchen. I'll be down in a minute."
Lily hesitated, then left.
Rosalie waited until her footsteps disappeared.
Then she closed the bedroom door.
Sienna remained inside the closet.
Adrian stood between both women.
Rosalie looked at the man she'd been married to for ten years.
"Now."
Her voice remained steady.
"Tell me how long she's been coming into my bedroom."
Adrian's eyes moved toward Sienna.
Rosalie saw it.
May you like
And suddenly understood that whatever answer came next—
they had already discussed what to say if they were ever caught.
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