2026-09-22 08:11:57The phone in Garrett’s hand vibrated, the name Evelyn flashing across the screen.
His fingers trembled as he picked it. For five years, seeing her name on his screen had brought a wave of warmth—a reminder of why he worked until his hands were calloused. Now, after seeing her standing across the street beside another man, the sight of her name made his stomach churn. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Garrett," her voice came through, flat and cold. "Don’t bother stopping home tonight. There’s an unexpected parent-child event at Toby’s school, so we’ll be coming home late." Garrett’s eyes stayed fixed on her through his dusty windshield. Across the street, Evelyn laughed softly at something the man had just whispered in her ear. "A school event?" Garrett’s voice was raspy, barely above a whisper. He squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "Is it... just the two of you? Or is someone joining you?" On the sidewalk, Evelyn stiffened instantly. "What is that supposed to mean?" she snapped, her tone turning sharp and defensive. "Are you interrogating me now? Is this divorce making you completely paranoid, Garrett?" A bitter laugh caught in Garrett’s throat, but he kept his mouth shut. "Look at yourself," she scoffed into the receiver. "You're being ridiculous. I'm choosing to overlook this question just once for the sake of our past, but don't you ever tone-police me or question me like that again. Do you understand?" Before he could answer, Evelyn hung up. Through the windshield, Garrett watched her lower the phone. She turned back to the man in the suit, saying something with a smirk. Though Garrett couldn't hear her words, the movement of her lips was unmistakable: Handled. He’s so easy to manipulate. The man chuckled, giving her an approving nod before opening the rear door of the black Bentley. Little Toby hopped inside, laughing happily, followed by Evelyn. The luxury car pulled away from the curb, merging slowly into traffic heading toward the highway that led to the city's amusement park. Inside his beat-up car, Garrett’s chest heaved, his heart racing than it always was. A sudden wave of fury hit him. Every instinct screamed at him to slam his foot on the pedal, chase down that Bentley, and push it off the road. He wanted to tear off the mask she had worn for five agonizing years. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel again and again until his knuckles throbbed with dull pain. When the rush of adrenaline finally subsided, a cold, heavy silence filled the car. It was all a lie. Every single year. The guilt he had carried for half a decade—the agonizing feeling that he was a failure as a husband because he couldn't give her luxury—was nothing but a sick joke. She hadn't left him because she was "tired of struggling." She had used his love and guilt to bleed him completely dry. He had skipped meals, worn hole-ridden shoes, and worked himself to exhaustion just so she could buy brand-name clothes. And when she was done leeching off him, she had manipulated him into signing away their house, their car, and every dollar left in their joint account in the divorce settlement. And Toby… Garrett closed his eyes as a sharp, piercing pain hit his chest. “Daddy!” The sound of his five-year-old son shouting that word with joy—not to him, but to a total stranger—echoed in his head. Suddenly, all the pieces crashed together with grim clarity— Why she had demanded a divorce out of nowhere a month ago! Why she hid her phone under her pillow every night! Why Toby had looked at Garrett with cold indifference whenever he brought home cheap toys from his night shifts! The other man wasn't new. He was back. And Toby... was Toby even his biological son? The thought sent a chill straight down Garrett's spine. His breath caught in his throat. "No..." he whispered into the quiet car. "You don't get to ruin me and walk away." Taking a deep breath, Garrett pulled out his phone. He opened a browser and searched state legal codes regarding marital property and divorce cooling-off periods. His eyes scanned the dense legal text until he found the specific statutes on separate personal property. A long, quiet breath of pure relief escaped his chest. Because the Bitcoins had been given to him as collateral fifteen years ago—long before he ever met Evelyn—and had remained untouched in an unliquidated digital wallet, they were legally classified as his separate property. As long as he didn't transfer or deposit those funds into their shared bank accounts before the divorce was finalized, Evelyn wasn't legally entitled to a dime. Not one cent of his one billion dollars would ever reach her hands. The raw grief in Garrett’s eyes slowly cleared, replaced by a quiet resolve. The naive, self-sacrificing fool who had suffered in silence for five years was gone. He leaned back against the headrest, staring at the empty school gates, his next course of action becoming clear. First, he needed to find an offshore, legal way to cash out a portion of the Bitcoins into clean capital without raising red flags. Second, he was going to hire the best private investigators in the city. He would find out every single secret about the man, and he would get a secret DNA sample from Toby to test paternity once and for all. And third… Garrett looked down at the divorce paperwork sitting on his passenger seat. He picked up his pen and pulled the asset transfer waiver toward him. He was calling off the expedited agreement. He refused to hand over his house, his car, or any he owned to the woman who had betrayed him. If she wanted a war, he was going to give her one—and this time, he had a billion dollars behind him.
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CHAPTER 10: THE APOLOGY
Garrett finally released the breath he had been holding for too long, letting it out in a slow, deliberate manner.One. Two. Three.Slowly, he released his tight grip on the steering wheel. His hands were numb, but the shaking had stopped. He flexed his fingers once, feeling the stiffness in his knuckles.He looked out at the dark alley, then caught his reflection in the mirror. The broken look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a dangerous clarity.He was sitting on a fortune worth two billion dollars. He held the key to an offshore empire that could buy and sell Theo Hudson three times over.Crashing his car or throwing his life away in a fit of rage over two manipulative leeches was the stupidest thing he could do.They weren't worth his future.They weren't even worth his anger.Garrett took one last deep breath and reached for the gearshift.He had spent five years destroying himself for people who never deserved it.He wasn't going to waste another minute.Garrett put the car in
CHAPTER 9: TARGET LIST
“Two targets,” Garrett said, his voice flat. “My first target is my wife, Evelyn Dalton.”Jason picked up the paper and adjusted his reading glasses. “Give me the specifics.”“Evelyn Ross. Thirty years old! Senior marketing specialist at Apex Media Group. Her office hours are eight-thirty to five, but for the past six months, she’s claimed to work late three or four nights a week.”Jason’s pen scratched across his notepad. “Does she drive?”“A white 2021 Toyota Camry. It’s registered under both our names, but I paid it off last year.”“What about her routine?”“She drops our son off at school at eight-fifteen every morning. Tuesdays and Thursdays, she claims to go to a gym on 4th Street after work. Verify whether she’s actually going inside or meeting someone in the parking lot.”Jason nodded, jotting down the details. “Alright. If she’s not working late or at the gym, my people will find out where she really goes. Now, who’s target number two?”Garrett’s jaw tightened slightly.“Her
CHAPTER 8: EYES IN THE SHADOWS
Garrett had barely made it to the elevators when Victoria’s door opened behind him. The sharp sound of her heels echoed down the hallway.“Garrett, wait up,” she called, walking toward him with a folder in her hand.He turned around, resting his bag against his leg. “Is something wrong?”“Not wrong. Just a detail we need to plan for,” Victoria said, stopping in front of him. “We can handle all the legal paperwork for the Singapore company right here from my office, but turning the digital money into actual cash means you’ll have to go there in person.”Garrett’s brows furrowed. “I have to fly to Singapore?”“Just for two days,” Victoria explained.“Because of Singapore’s strict banking laws, a new account holding this much money requires the owner to sign the papers at the bank in person. Once you sign the first papers, you can handle every transfer online from anywhere in the world.”Garrett thought about it quickly. Flying out of the country for two days meant he would be away right
CHAPTER 7: 3% DEAL
Victoria leaned back, studying the screen.“Moving two billion dollars isn’t as simple as a bank transfer,” she said. “If you sell it through a public app or put it straight into your local account, the tax authorities will flag it, the bank could freeze the money, and your wife’s lawyers might find out before the day is over.”Garrett stayed silent for a moment. “Then what do we do?”“We build a legal wall around it,” Victoria said, tapping the screen with her pen. “First, I’ll set up a company for you in Singapore. Once it’s registered, we’ll move the digital money into the company as assets you owned before you got married.”Garrett leaned forward. “And after that?”“Then I bring in my firm’s international tax experts and crypto brokers,” Victoria said. “They’ll handle the sale privately instead of dumping everything on the open market. That keeps the price from dropping while we sell.”She paused, meeting his eyes.“My team will structure the entire process so the money ends up in
CHAPTER 6: BILLION DOLLAR CLIENT
The receptionist put down the phone and looked at Garrett differently.“Mr. Dalton... Ms. Mercer will see you right now,” she said, her cold voice now hesitant and polite. “End of the hall. Door on the left.”Garrett nodded, picked up his duffel bag, and walked past the front desk.He knew why that door had opened so fast.It wasn't his name. And it definitely wasn't his denim jacket.It was Malcolm Reed.Malcolm was a lead murder detective with the city police and Garrett’s childhood friend. He had eaten at Garrett’s family table long before they lost everything. When everyone else turned their backs on Garrett, Malcolm was the only one who stayed loyal.Two hours ago, after leaving the testing lab, Garrett had called him from his car. Malcolm heard what was happening and immediately called in a personal favor with Victoria Mercer, one of the most feared senior lawyers in the state.That favor had gotten Garrett through the door.Garrett pushed it open.The office was huge, with gian
CHAPTER 5: THE LINE IN THE SAND
The heater in Garrett’s old car rattled loudly, blowing barely warm, dusty air against his hands as he drove through the morning traffic.On the passenger seat, his duffel bag sat open just enough for him to see the three transparent plastic bags inside.He glanced at his rough hands gripping the wheel. Five years of lifting drywall, moving pallets, and driving late-night shifts had left them hard and worn. He had worked himself to the bone for a wife who treated him like a servant.He wasn't angry anymore. The fury he'd felt outside Toby's school had hardened into something colder—like ice.Ten minutes later, Garrett pulled into the parking lot of Veritas Forensics, a low, gray-brick building tucked inside an industrial park outside the city. A small sign beside the glass doors read: Clinical Testing & Diagnostic Services.He grabbed his bag, turned off the car, and stepped into the damp morning air.Inside, the lobby smelled of floor wax and old coffee. A small TV in the corner play
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