I stared at him, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

"What is she to you? You're snapping at me over someone I've never even met?"

His expression softened, shifting into something that looked like helplessness with a touch of hurt. "I wasn't snapping at you. I just think you're being too sensitive. It was just a charger. Nothing's going on."

"Or is this because you came home and saw my bad parking job, so now everything's rubbing you the wrong way?"

Listening to him turn this around on me, I almost wanted to laugh. That righteous indignation of his only worked because he knew I didn't have solid proof.

"Fine. If you say nothing happened, then nothing happened."

I didn't say another word. I went back to the bedroom and posted the surveillance screenshots on social media. The response was instant.

"She's going full surveillance mode on this scumbag. This is about to be a showdown!"

"Anyone can post a couple of blurry screenshots. This is probably just another clout-chasing stunt."

"That's it, keep watching him. Find an excuse to stay away from home. The other woman's bound to show up again sooner or later."

"Let them drop their guard. Then catch them off guard."

I read through every single comment, carefully taking note of every useful piece of advice.

Over the next few days, I made a point of working late and staying at a hotel near the office. Matthew sounded perfectly relaxed at home, and he still called me every night, his voice warm and eager.

"Honey, I can barely sleep without you here. Are you coming home tonight?"

"Not tonight. This project's almost finished. Give me a few more days." I replied half-heartedly and opened the surveillance app on my phone.

On screen, the moment he hung up, he got off the couch and walked to the front door. He opened it, and that woman threw herself straight into his arms.

So this was what happened whenever I wasn't home. She crawled in like a cockroach the second I was gone.

I gripped my phone until my knuckles went white, a wave of nausea rising in my throat.

She wrapped her arms around Matthew's neck and pouted. "When are you going to actually spend more time with me?

"The baby's getting bigger, you know. He's starting to ask for his daddy. I wanted to bring him over tonight, but your parents wouldn't let me."

So his parents knew all along. The rage hit me so hard I could feel my heartbeat in my ears.

Matthew pulled her close and guided her inside, his voice gentle and coaxing. "They were right not to let you bring him. What if he catches a cold coming out this late? Just hang in there a little longer."

"Hang in there?" She shoved him away and dropped onto the couch. "I can't see you, so I just have to put up with it. I'm stuck living with your parents, and I just have to put up with that too. How much longer do you expect me to live like this?"

She jutted out her bottom lip. "Tell me, when are you going to get us a bigger place? Somewhere the whole family can live together comfortably. The baby needs room to run around."

He leaned in and wrapped his arm around her. "Once I make shareholder the day after tomorrow, I'll get you a bigger place right away. No more walking on eggshells around anyone.

"Whenever I want to see you and the baby, I'll just come. Ten years of groundwork are all coming together this month."

I stared at the screen, my fingers ice-cold. So that was what this was. That was what all of it was for.

They disappeared into the bedroom, out of the camera's range.

I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked out. I didn't know her name or where she came from, but the child living with his parents wasn't going anywhere. I updated my social media on the way.

"Found out they have a child together. His parents have been raising it. I'm on my way to their place right now."

The comments flooded in.

"A secret child? This is way worse than I thought. Don't you dare let him off easy!"

"Slow down. No divorce papers means you're still married. Plenty of people catch their spouse in bed with someone else and still don't go through with it."

"A child is solid evidence. This works in your favor. These are all bargaining chips. Whatever you do, do not confront his parents right now."

My anger was still churning inside me, but that last comment stopped me in my tracks. It cooled me down almost instantly.

My first instinct was to storm over there tonight and drag the truth out into the open. But if I spooked them now, and they hid the child somewhere I couldn't find, I'd have nothing left to work with.

I knocked on my in-laws' door. The two of them looked only mildly surprised to see me.

"It's so late," my mother-in-law, Jenny Turner, said. "What are you doing here by yourself?"

I peered past them into the apartment, scanning for any sign of a child. There was nothing.

My heart sank.

My in-laws had hidden the child quickly and thoroughly. Finding any trace of it wasn't going to be easy.

I kept my expression neutral. "Mom, Matthew needs his diploma and certificates for the shareholder meeting the day after tomorrow, and we can't find them anywhere. I came to check if they're here."

"Oh no, that's important!"

The two scrambled, pulling open drawers and rummaging through cabinets. I walked into the living room and let my eyes sweep across every corner. There was no sign that a child lived here.

I was about to try a different approach when I noticed a few thin, wispy strands of hair caught in the gap between the couch cushions. They were so fine that they could only belong to a small child.

I crouched down, picked them up, and slipped them into my pocket.

The moment I straightened up, the front door swung open. Matthew rushed in looking panicked, but the second he saw me, a smile spread across his face.

"Honey, what are you doing here this late?"

I smiled back. "Your paperwork is missing, and the shareholder meeting is the day after tomorrow. I didn't want anything holding it up."

He walked over and draped his arm around my shoulders, his voice gentle. "You must have forgotten. I already submitted everything."

His eyes stayed locked on me, watching carefully, as if he was terrified I might have seen something I shouldn't have.

"You must be exhausted. Let's go home?"

"Yes, yes!" His parents chimed in right away. "Vivienne, go home and get some rest!"

I nodded and let him lead me out.

This entire family was putting on an act, and all of it was designed to take what was mine. But with what I had in my pocket, there was no way I was letting that happen.

The next morning, I sent the strands of hair along with samples from Matthew's toothbrush and comb to a paternity testing lab and paid extra for expedited processing. I posted a photo of the receipt on social media, and it blew up instantly.

"I meant what I said. I'm not just leaving him. I'm going to make sure he regrets every second of it."

The comments poured in.

"Holy shit, she actually got evidence! What an absolute scumbag!"

"Go pull his bank records next. This is a war of preparation now, and whoever's more thorough wins."

"This is enough for a divorce, but not enough to make him walk away with nothing. Think about it. What do you have that would force him to agree to your terms?"

I paused, then typed a reply. "Is exposing who he really is not enough?"

The response came immediately.

"You have no idea how shameless people can be. You need real leverage over him. Otherwise, he'll flip it around and use your desperation to leave against you."

"Exactly. Even if you have to play dirty, so what? He did it first."

I thought it over for a moment, and then a plan formed in my mind. I replied with a single word. "Done."

…

The day of the shareholder meeting, Matthew showed up early in a crisp suit, looking like he owned the room. I watched him greet the executives as they filed in one by one, all smiles and confidence, and all I could see was the performance underneath.

Maybe this was what he'd been calculating from the very beginning, from the moment he so "selflessly" quit his job two years ago to take care of me.

The meeting started, but I stayed outside. I waited until my assistant came jogging over with the document I'd been expecting, and I flipped straight to the last page.

"Probability of paternal relationship: 99.99%."

Now it was irrefutable.

I took a deep breath and called my lawyer. "I want Matthew to leave this marriage with nothing. Lock down every asset. Don't let them move a single cent."

Then I pushed open the conference room doors. Every head turned toward me.

Matthew sat beside the head of the table, looking like a man on top of the world. He smiled and waved me over.

The moderator was mid-sentence. "It has been decided to grant Mr. Matthew Channing equity in—"

"I object." I walked to the front of the conference table and slammed the paternity report down on it.

"Matthew Channing carried on an affair during our marriage, fathered a child with another woman, and hid it right under my nose. His parents helped raise the baby, and neither of them felt an ounce of shame about it.

"If someone like that becomes a shareholder, what happens when this gets out? How far does the stock price drop? What will our partners think of us?

"As CEO, I am asking everyone here to review this evidence. I am formally requesting that Matthew's equity grant be revoked and that he be removed from all positions, effective immediately."

The smile froze on Matthew's face. All the color drained from it in an instant.