Chapter 1

When I was doing my exit paperwork at HR, the lady stared at my marriage certificate three separate times. "Honey, this certificate is fake."

I froze. "That's impossible. We waited in line at City Hall on Valentine's Day. The AC was broken, and the paint smell was so strong it gave me a headache. I remember every second of it."

The HR lady sighed and pointed at the official seal.

"Go check it yourself. Besides, my sister just got married there last month. City Hall hasn't done any renovations in the past three years."

The smile on my face slowly froze.

Walking out of the office building, I drove straight to City Hall to verify it.

The moment I stood in the records department, I almost laughed out of sheer fury.

Not only was the marriage certificate fake.

The entire "City Hall branch" my husband Nathan had taken me to was just a staged film set he had thrown together with a temporary crew. Everyone in line that day had been hired actors.

All of this just so he could be with his first love, Mia, while playing me for a complete fool because I wasn't a local.

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and texted my lawyer:

"Quick question: If a woman believes she's legally married, but in reality she's single, does a lottery jackpot count as joint marital property?"

Yesterday, I bought a Powerball ticket. This morning, I found out I won the $300 million jackpot. I hadn't told a soul yet.

Did this mean Nathan wouldn't get a single cent?

On top of that, last month my brother invested fifty million dollars into Nathan's startup. He specifically added a clause to their agreement:

*Any change in the founder's marital status must be disclosed, or it constitutes a material breach of contract.*

Faking a marriage certificate to defraud me—didn't that count as a massive misrepresentation of his marital status?

I let out a cold laugh. Not only would he miss out on the three hundred million, but he was also about to lose his entire company.

I reread the lawyer's reply three times just to be completely sure.

Nathan had zero legal claim to this three hundred million.

Not only that, because he forged government documents and seals, he was looking at serious jail time.

Standing by the curb, I called my brother, Carter.

"Carter, that fifty-million-dollar deal you signed with Nathan's company—did it have a clawback clause?"

On the other end, Carter sounded relaxed. "Yeah. Why? Did he cross you?"

I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart.

"Our marriage certificate is fake. He hired actors to stage the whole thing. We were never legally married."

"And using his legal single status, he co-founded a brand-new company with his ex, Mia, just last month."

The line went completely dead.

A second later, I heard Carter slam his hand violently onto his desk.

"What did you just say?"

"That bastard dared to pull that kind of scam on you?!"

I gripped my phone tightly, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Carter, trigger the clawback clause. I want him stripped of everything. I want him drowning in debt."

Carter gave a chilling laugh.

"Don't worry. My legal team is heading to his office right now."

"If he wants to play games, I'll make sure it's the last game he ever plays."

I hung up and checked the notification on my phone.

It was the wire confirmation. After taxes, a clean two hundred and forty million dollars had been deposited directly into my personal bank account.

Looking at that long string of zeros, I was overcome with irony.

Nathan had plotted for so long, even breaking the law to forge documents.

In the end, his own scheme flawlessly blocked him from becoming the husband of a multimillionaire.

If he found out about this, he'd probably cough up blood right on the spot.

Right on cue, Nathan's name flashed across my screen.

I took a breath, composed my voice, and answered.

"Babe, why aren't you home yet?"

His voice was as gentle as ever, sounding like the most devoted, caring husband.

Now, it only made my stomach turn.

"Just running some errands. Heading back soon."

My tone was completely calm, without a trace of suspicion.

Nathan chuckled on the line.

"Perfect. Stop by that Italian restaurant downstairs from our place."

"Mia happens to be here too. Let's grab dinner together."

I raised an eyebrow. These two were really rushing to serve themselves up on a silver platter.

"Sure. Be there in ten minutes."

I hung up with a smirk.

Since you're both so eager to run off a cliff, who am I to stop you?