My Husband Faked His Death to Steal Everything,He Didn't Know I Was Watching

The day I found out I was pregnant after five years of marriage was the same day my husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He knelt before me, tears streaming down his face. "Regina Thomas, you should terminate the pregnancy. I don't want you raising a child alone."

I pretended to be heartbroken, playing along with his little performance. "Darrell, we've waited so long for this baby. Do we really have to?"

"A child without a father's love is a pitiful thing."

I agreed through my tears.

The truth was, I already knew about his scheme with his college ex-girlfriend to fake a cancer diagnosis and stage his own death.

If they wanted to put on a show, I'd give them one worth watching.

...

Earlier, at the hospital, the moment the pregnancy was confirmed, I wanted to share the news with Darrell Simmons right away. After all, five years of trying had led to this.

I figured he'd be just as thrilled as I was.

I was about to call him when I spotted him holding a piece of paper, walking toward the elevator with Naomi Henson.

My grip tightened around my phone. I followed them. I knew Naomi was back in the country.

But seeing the two of them together at a hospital was strange.

As I drew closer, Naomi's voice reached me.

"Darrell, now that we have this diagnosis report, the rest of the plan should fall right into place."

They were scheming together?

I ducked behind a wall and kept listening.

"Right. Pancreatic cancer progresses fast. We'll squeeze some money out of her first, then I'll fake my death. After that, you take my will and..."

They stepped into the elevator, still talking. Whatever Darrell said next, I couldn't hear.

I stood frozen in place, watching the red floor numbers on the display tick slowly downward.

Darrell and I weren't each other's first love, but in five years of marriage, we'd been steady. Solid. I'd been with him from nothing to everything.

When he started his company, I gave him the three hundred thousand dollars from my dowry as seed money. Now the business was thriving, the future wide open.

The only thing missing had been a child.

That had been my one heartache. I'd lost count of how many hospital visits I'd made over the years. The holistic treatments alone could have filled a room.

And now I was finally pregnant, only to discover that Darrell's heart had already wandered.

Naomi Henson was Darrell's college sweetheart. She and I had been classmates. After graduation, she'd gone abroad to build her career.

She'd returned six months ago, and my best friend Sophie Whitney was the first to tell me.

I hadn't given it a second thought. That was ancient history. Darrell and I had been married for five years. I trusted that he wasn't the kind of man to throw away a stable life just to chase an old flame.

But I didn't know Darrell as well as I thought. He hadn't just rekindled things with Naomi. He was plotting against me.

What they seemed to have forgotten, though, was that I was no pushover.

On the drive home, I steadied myself and started digging into our marital assets: real estate, savings, and the company's books.

Since we'd never had children, I'd spent all these years working at the company. Pulling up the financial records was child's play.

Then I reached out to Hudson Dickerson, the company's legal counsel. He was Sophie's husband, and I figured he'd be on my side.

I explained the situation. Hudson cleared his throat and asked to meet in person.

I skipped going home and headed straight to a coffee shop to meet him.

The moment I sat down, he slid a manila envelope across the table.

"Actually, I've had these ready for a while. I was planning to bring them to you myself."

Hudson studied my face. People always said lawyers could read anyone like an open book. He was living proof.

I allowed myself a small smile and flipped through the documents. They were exactly what I needed: a complete record of the company's finances.