Yvonne Larson, my housekeeper, has always been punctual, but she ends up being late today.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Carter. Dinner's not ready yet. I hope you won't mind. I had no choice. I waited for over half an hour, but no one got the door for me. I even called Mrs. Carter a few times, but she didn't take my calls. That's why I ended up running late."

Halfway through changing into my house slippers, I pause and frown.

"Yvonne, didn't Susanna give you the access card to the apartment?"

Yvonne looks confused. "The access card? Mrs. Carter never gave me any card."

"Never?"

"That's right," Yvonne confirms timidly while wiping the sweat off her brow. "For the past month, I've always had to call Mrs. Carter and ask her to open the door for me. She wasn't picking up her phone today, so I had to wait outside…"

That's strange.

I've checked the logs before. The access card has been used multiple times throughout the past month.

I bought the apartment—paid off in full—before Susanna Upton and I got married.

I was busy with work and often traveled, so I specifically hired a housekeeper, Yvonne Larson, to run errands and handle the house chores.

The smart lock that I had installed for the apartment came with access cards. I happened to have one spare access card left, so I gave it to Susanna and instructed her, "When Yvonne comes for the trial run as our housekeeper, give this card to her so it's easy for her to get in and out."

She took the card and gave me a warm, thoughtful smile. "Don't worry, honey. You can count on me."

But up until today, that card was still not in Yvonne's hands.

I logged into the smart lock application. It showed that over the past month, there had been 17 swipes with that particular access card. Susanna and I both entered the apartment using the fingerprint scanner, so who was using the card?

I was pondering that when the door opened. Susanna was home.

"Babe, Yvonne came late today. She said she couldn't get in without the access card. Didn't I tell you to give it to her a month ago?" I asked casually, as if I didn't think much of it.

Susanna, who was about to set down her handbag, paused and gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, that. I was so busy at the time. Maybe I forgot to give it to her. I'm not sure where I left that card now. I'll look for it and give it to her as soon as I find it."

"It's okay. It's not a big deal if you can't find it," I replied in a calm voice while setting down the newspaper. "I'll cancel the access card and report the loss to the property management tomorrow. I can just get a replacement card instead. It'd be far too inconvenient for Yvonne not to have one."

"No, don't do that!" Susanna abruptly turned around, her pitch rising several octaves.

After seeing the look of confusion I gave her, she quickly took my arm and said in a much softer voice, "What I mean is, it'll cost a few hundred dollars just to replace the card. There's no reason for us to waste that kind of money.

"It's definitely somewhere in the apartment. I'll just comb through the place carefully over the next couple of days. I'm sure I'll find it. You're always busy with work. Now that you're finally home and can relax, you shouldn't worry yourself with such petty matters.

"Look at you! You must have been stressing yourself out even more the last few days haven't you? You look so haggard now."

"Do I?"

"You most certainly do! You used to have such a healthy glow, you know, like a young man in his early 20s…"

With her playfully teasing me like that, I didn't bring up the access card again, but I still felt uneasy.

That night, while Susanne went to take a shower, I picked up her phone. The password hadn't changed—it was still my birthday.

There was nothing suspicious in her WhatsApp chat logs. Even the archive of her Instagram stories showed nothing unusual.

I checked her shopping applications and scrolled through her order history. It was mostly just ordinary household goods and daily necessities.

However, when I checked the archived orders, I saw the purchase of a branded men's watch a week ago. It had been delivered to her workplace, and the recipient's name was listed as Howie Neely.

Howie was a new intern at Susanna's workplace. I'd even met him once at the last company gathering. The guy looked young and kept treating me like an older brother, being extra courteous and respectful.

I put Susanna's phone back in its place, acting as if nothing had happened. When she came out of her shower, I brought up Howie as if almost as an afterthought.

She didn't show the slightest trace of guilt. She lavished Howie with praise, saying he had made rapid progress last month and that she had rewarded him with a watch.

That eased half of my doubts. She did have the habit of buying things to reward her subordinates.

The next day, as soon as I got to the office, I opened my phone and connected to the spare security camera at home. I had installed this camera six months ago to keep an eye on the cat we'd adopted. It was hidden in a corner, tucked behind a row of books on the living room bookshelf, facing the couch and the entryway.

Later on, we ended up sending the cat to my parents' place instead, and I hadn't turned the camera on since. Susanna had long forgotten about its existence.

Last night, while she was asleep, I quietly plugged the camera in and connected it to the network.

The live feed showed that the apartment was now completely quiet. Nothing seemed unusual. I ended up watching the feed for three days, and not once did I find anything suspicious.

Was I just being too sensitive about everything? Did Susanna really get that watch simply to reward Howie for doing a good job as her subordinate?

Deep down inside, I still didn't want to believe the woman I'd been with for seven years now was cheating on me.

On Friday afternoon, I had to go on a last-minute business trip to the neighboring city of Lakewich. I left work two hours early to go home and pack my things.

When I opened the door, I found Susanna in the bathroom, taking a shower. She usually only showered at night before bed, so this was out of the norm for her.

"Honey? Why are you home so early?"

Susanna stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Her eyes flickered with panic when she saw me, but she soon schooled her expression back into normalcy.

"I have to leave on a last-minute business trip, so I came back to grab a few clothes," I said as I walked into the bathroom.

I picked up the razor from the bathroom counter—only to spot two tiny hairs on it. I would've missed it if I hadn't taken a closer look.

As it was, I was a bit of a clean freak when it came to personal items like this. Every time I used the razor, I cleaned it thoroughly.

I wanted to convince myself that those were my hairs—that I'd simply been careless the last time I cleaned the razor, but I just couldn't shake off the unsettled feeling in my chest.

However, without asking any questions, I silently packed my bag for the trip.

As I was leaving, Susanna seemed unusually attentive. "I'm sad you have to work over the weekend, honey. I'll walk you to the car."

She even carried my briefcase for me with a caring smile on her face, acting like a truly devoted wife.

By the time I arrived at the hotel in Lakewich, it was already 9:00 pm. Without bothering to wash up first, I checked the feed from the camera.

Susanna was sitting on the couch alone, using her phone. She looked bored out of her mind. I stared at the screen for over ten minutes. Just as I was about to close the feed and go to sleep, a sound came from the apartment door.

I heard a soft beep. The smart lock had been unlocked, and the door opened.

A man dressed in trendy, branded clothes sauntered into the apartment like he owned the place.

I recognized the man. It was Howie. In his hand was the access card that had gone missing.

Susanna sprang up from the couch with a flirty look on her face, one that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Howie carried himself with ease, as if he'd returned to his own home. He didn't even switch into the guest slippers but put on my silk slippers instead. That pair had been a birthday gift from Susanna, which I usually treasured too much to wear.

"Susie!" Howie called sweetly before pulling Susanna right into his arms.

She cupped his face and kissed him. "What took you so long, you brat? I've missed you like crazy!"

"I had to get my hair done first," Howie whined as he ran his thumb along her collarbone. "Besides, that old fart won't be back for an entire week anyway. We've got plenty of time."

"Then let's get started on a week's worth of fun," Susanna said with a giggle before pulling Howie toward our master bedroom.

I stared at my phone screen, my nails digging almost painfully into my palm. She was really cheating on me!

I had the instinctive urge to call Susanna and confront her about it. However, the moment I pulled up her number, my fingers paused.

If I confronted her now, I would only be tipping them off and giving them time to cover their tracks. There was no way I could let them get off so easily!

The next few days of the business trip seemed to drag on endlessly. I forced myself to focus on work during the day. At night, I hid in my hotel room, torturing myself by watching the security footage.

Howie was already acting as if he were the master of the house. He wore my pajamas and drank the wine I set aside.

He even fooled around in bed with my wife.

What disgusted me the most was the way he'd stomped on my box of expensive cigars, crushing them solely for his own amusement.

Susanna simply watched from the side. Not only did she not stop him, but she even lit one of them for him.

Seeing this, I slammed my fist against the table.

After splashing cold water on my face, I looked at my sullen reflection in the mirror, my gaze hardening. Since they were being so shameless, they couldn't blame me for not showing any mercy.

I downloaded and saved all the security footage from the past few days, backing it up to the cloud storage.

Then, I called my lawyer, Peter Hurst. "Draft a divorce agreement for me, Mr. Hurst. I want her to leave with nothing."

After ending the call, I checked the calendar. It was my birthday tomorrow.

Susanna had originally said she wanted to have a celebration for me, but it was clear she had long since forgotten about it. Since that was the case, I'd just have to throw myself a "spectacular" birthday party.

I packed all the work into five days, finishing it ahead of time before booking an early ticket back home.

Once that was done, I sent out three messages. The first went to my parents and Susanna's mother, Caroline York.

"Mom, Dad, since it's my birthday this Saturday, Susanna wants to throw a party at home. She wants everyone to come and have a fun celebration."

The second went to Susanna's close friends and colleagues, including a few of Howie's rivals at the company.

"There's going to be a party at Susanna's place at 10:00 am this Saturday. There will be good food and plenty of booze, so I hope you guys will all come and join in on the fun!"

The last message went to the apartment's property manager.

"I'll be upgrading my home security system this Saturday morning. Please assign two security guards to come to my unit for assistance. I might need their help moving some things."

Everyone happily agreed to come.

The next morning, I headed straight home once my flight landed. Through the security feed, I could see that the two of them were still all wrapped up in each other's arms in bed.

Susanna reached out and ruffled Howie's hair. "Wake up, babe. Are you hungry? I'll order us some takeout."

"I don't wanna move…" Howie mumbled. "Can't you cook for me, Susie? I wanna have some of your pasta."

"Oh, alright. I'll make it for you."

Susanna kissed him affectionately and went to the kitchen.

At 9:50 am, the doorbell rang.