A colleague recommended a miniature GPS tracker, and on a whim I slipped it into my husband Daniel Carter’s scooter.

I never expected it would uncover his secret. Using the excuse that his reported locations didn’t match the tracker twice in a row, I chose to file for divorce.

My mother-in-law’s family scolded me for being crazy:

“He only lied for convenience, so you wouldn’t overthink things. That’s not betrayal.”

“You’re divorcing him just because of a location discrepancy? Are you out of your mind?”

I blinked and said,

“Yes. Exactly because of the location discrepancy.”

A colleague had recommended the tracker as a side hustle. Daniel’s scooter had GPS tracking every year, but he never let me see it. One day, that colleague gave me one, and curiosity pushed me to attach it to Daniel’s scooter to see where he really went when he claimed he was out for drinks.

I never expected to see his location at Central Park. I called him, but he said he was at Westfield Mall, which was completely the opposite direction. Did he think he could just fly there? Even if he had a private plane—which citizens don’t—he couldn’t possibly do that.

“Hey, honey, don’t worry. I’m here at Westfield Mall talking about a project. I’ll be back later.”

But over the phone, I heard a dog barking.

Daniel was terrified of dogs. None of our friends kept dogs—except one person. His first love, Isabella Reed. After being abused and divorced by her foreign husband, she had returned to live alone in the States, and out of loneliness, she kept a husky.

From then on, whenever I called to check in, Daniel would either say he was at Riverside Apartments or at Central Park. But the GPS always exposed him—it was Westfield Mall.

The contradictory locations revealed his impatience. Sometimes, even after spending the night with me, he would still rush to Westfield Mall in the middle of the night. I had to admit, he worked hard for that affair.

The influence of a first love, a so-called “white moonlight,” truly is powerful.

The next morning, when Daniel got up with dark circles under his eyes, I had already called my mother-in-law Margaret Carter and the rest of the family. I laid out the divorce papers and the GPS tracker on the table.

“Daniel Carter, sign the divorce papers. Otherwise, don’t blame me for exposing your GPS history to everyone.”

Daniel’s expression changed. He tried to grab the tracker, but I smiled.

“Relax. Breaking it won’t help. I’ve already saved over ten backups of the GPS logs in my email. You can’t erase them.”

“What’s going on? What’s happening?” Margaret looked puzzled.

“It’s not what you think, Mom,” Daniel tried to explain.

“Sometimes after work, I deliver takeout, do odd jobs fixing pipes and doors, and do side projects for extra money. Sophia thought I was lying, because the GPS didn’t match what I told her.”

“Well, that’s actually a good thing,” Margaret said, and Jason Carter, Daniel’s younger brother, agreed.

“Sophia, you’re being unreasonable.”

“You’d divorce my brother just because of a GPS tracker? That makes no sense.”

“Yes. Just because of the GPS history,” I glared at Daniel. “Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to Family Court. If you don’t, I’ll expose your secret, and you’ll regret it.”

“You hear me?” I threatened.

“…I hear you,” Daniel muttered.

“What’s really going on?” Margaret pulled him into the other room to question him.

“I told you, it’s nothing. Sophia just likes to overthink…” Daniel still refused to tell the truth. He was too afraid of losing face.

I was one step away from catching him in bed at Westfield Mall.

The blue pills in the drawer had already gone down by several tablets. He’d only been with me once this month—those pills must have gone to Isabella.

I decided to let him have her.

The next morning, when I went to Divorce Court, I got stuck in traffic. While waiting, I received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello, are you Sophia Miller? I have your daughter. If you’re smart, come here. Otherwise, I can’t promise I won’t sell her overseas.”

The voice was cold and male.

He put my daughter on the line.

“Mommy, help me.”

“Don’t hurt her, please! I’ll come right away,” I panicked. I immediately tried calling Daniel, but his phone was off. He hadn’t come home the night before. I didn’t know if he had stayed at Isabella’s or at Margaret’s.

“Damn it. Both his and Margaret’s phones are off.”

I had no choice but to go rescue Lily myself.

When I arrived, a gang of homeless-looking men surrounded me.

“Well, well. I knew you couldn’t abandon your daughter.”

I hadn’t realized they would recognize me. Was this revenge?

“Mommy, help me! Don’t let them hurt you!”

“Let her go!!” I shouted angrily.

Seeing my eight-year-old tied up, my eyes filled with tears.

“Sure, we can let her go—if you play with us for a while,” the gang leader, a greasy older man with yellow teeth, sneered.

“Play what? I’ll call the police! Kidnapping a child in broad daylight is a federal crime!”

The gang leader laughed. “I’ve already gone this far. You think I’m afraid of you calling the cops? Get on your knees.”

I was forced to kneel, praying that Daniel might see my texts and call the police. Otherwise, Lily and I could really be trafficked overseas like in some movie. The thought made my blood run cold.

But they didn’t stop. They beat me like a dog. A crowd of them punched and kicked me. My nose bled heavily, but I shielded Lily’s small body. I took the blows myself, until one of them hit me hard on the head with a blunt object.

When I woke up, I was horrified to find one of my legs gone.

I wasn’t dead. I’d been amputated.

I wanted to scream, but my throat was blocked. From the crying and screaming during the attack, my voice had broken.

Where was I? Was this overseas? Had I already been trafficked?

Where was my daughter—where was Lily?

Panicking, I looked around. Then I saw the sign on the door: St. Mary’s Hospital.

I looked out the window. It was pitch black night, but I could recognize Broadway Avenue.

I hadn’t been trafficked overseas. Relief washed over me—but fear for Lily returned immediately.

Before I could reach for my phone, I heard whispers from the next room.

“Daddy, how was my acting? I tricked Mommy, didn’t I? I was awesome, right?”

“Perfect.”

“But Daddy, Mommy’s leg was amputated. How could you bear that? She’s basically disabled now. Just because she put a GPS tracker in your scooter and discovered your movements, you had her beaten like that? How will she live from now on?”

To my shock, it was Daniel’s voice.

“Lily, you don’t understand. I had no choice. If she exposed my GPS history, both Isabella and I would be ruined. We have reputations, families. She insisted on divorce, forcing me to go to Family Court tomorrow morning. If she exposed me, I’d be humiliated. What choice did I have? I could only ask you to help me.”

“And besides, poor Isabella. She’s been abused for so long and has wanted a divorce. Isn’t it normal for me to comfort her, fix her pipes here and there? Sophia has no empathy.”

“And don’t you like Isabella better anyway?”

My daughter clapped her hands and laughed. “Of course! I love Isabella! She always dresses like a fairy when she picks me up from school. But my mom—she always looks like a peasant woman. It’s so embarrassing in front of my friends.”

My heart turned cold.

The daughter I carried for ten months and nearly died giving birth to… The daughter I risked my life to save… had betrayed me for an outsider, tricking me, leading me to lose my leg.

And my husband of more than a decade—he was the mastermind.

Too cruel.

This betrayal was harder to accept than being trafficked overseas.

The next day, the police came to take my statement after I regained consciousness. I told them everything I knew.

But Daniel and Lily instantly put on their performance.

“Officer, can you believe such terrorists exist here in Newark? I strongly condemn this. You must catch them and give my wife justice!” Daniel said passionately.

“Yes, officer, my mom is innocent! If she hadn’t risked herself to save me, she wouldn’t have lost her leg. How could they do that to a mom?” Lily sobbed. “Please, officer, help my mommy get revenge!”

The officer patted her cheek gently.

“Don’t worry, little one. We’ll bring those bad people to justice.”

Then he turned to me.

“If you think of any enemies or suspicious people, contact us again.”

I nodded my thanks.

“Honey, are you okay?” Daniel grasped my hand tenderly. I quickly pulled away, disgusted.

To arrange my assault, to have my leg amputated, and then to act devoted—how had I ever married such a man?

“Lily, are you all right?”

She stammered, “I’m fine, Mommy. I’m sorry. I ran first… so I didn’t get hurt.”

I smiled at her coldly. “Good. As long as you’re not hurt.”

Then I glared at Daniel.

“Tomorrow, to Family Court. Don’t forget. I will divorce you. If you dare not show up, you know the consequences.”

Daniel froze, disbelief in his eyes.

“You’re in this condition, and you still want a divorce?”

I laughed bitterly.

“What, am I dead? Or too disabled to walk with a cane?”

He deflated. “Can’t we just not divorce? Honey… you know me. I didn’t really betray you. It was just a mistake in the GPS logs…”

I shook my head. “Whether it was a mistake or not—can you cut ties with her completely?”

Daniel fell silent.

“So tomorrow. First thing. I want the divorce finalized. I won’t wait another day.”

“…Fine.” His face darkened, as if I owed him millions.

The traitor was him, yet he acted like the victim.

I didn’t sleep that night. My daughter’s deceitful eyes kept stabbing my heart. But tomorrow, I would finally be free. Once divorced, I’d ask Lily the truth. Maybe I could forgive her for being manipulated by Daniel.

Around 2 a.m., just as I drifted into sleep, a noisy commotion jolted me awake. When I opened my eyes, I thought I was dreaming.