Chapter 1

My husband had a ruptured brain aneurysm, but his parents thought he was just putting on a show.

They were secretly plotting to have him fake his death, scam me out of all my money, and then run off with his pregnant mistress.

But before they could even launch their little scheme, his condition took a sudden, fatal turn. He was in critical danger.

Yet, his parents genuinely believed he was just starting the "fake death" plan ahead of schedule.

They violently blocked me when I tried to call 911.

"You worthless jinx! You do nothing but wish death on my son! He just fainted!"

"Get the hell out of here! We’re staying right here to watch him. Nobody is calling anyone!"

I looked down at my husband, who was convulsing in agony on the floor.

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

Fine. Let’s see who touches a phone first.

Looking at Ethan’s symptoms, a wave of panic washed over me—or rather, a thrill.

His neck was stiff as a board, his entire body was shaking violently, and his eyes had rolled back. He was slipping into a coma.

These were the textbook signs of a ruptured brain aneurysm.

My in-laws noticed it too and rushed over.

But their small, greedy eyes kept darting toward me, sparkling with a poorly concealed, triumphant glee.

I knew exactly what they were thinking. They thought the "fake death" plan had been moved up.

Three days ago, I had intercepted Ethan’s medical report.

A 20-millimeter brain aneurysm. Extremely high risk of rupture, highly complex to treat, and overall life-threatening.

I had walked home with a heavy heart, desperately trying to figure out how to break this devastating news to him.

Instead, I ended up overhearing their little family meeting.

The front door wasn’t fully latched, and through the crack, my father-in-law, Arthur’s, sneering voice drifted out:

"What is there to plan? That stupid woman Chloe won’t suspect a thing. Just transfer all the assets, dump her, and run off to start a new life with Luna. Simple as that."

"I wish it were that easy, Dad," Ethan’s voice replied, sounding frustrated. "But Chloe controls the finances. If we divorce, she gets half by law. Luna is pregnant now, and I need every penny of Chloe’s money for my kid! Why should that bitch get to keep half of what’s ours?"

Ethan sounded disappointed, but his tone quickly turned excited again:

"Don't worry, Mom, Dad. I’ve got it all figured out. Luna is a nurse, right? She’s going to forge a terminal diagnosis for me. I’ll tell Chloe I need expensive, experimental treatments and drain our joint accounts dry."

My in-laws practically cheered at the idea.

But that wasn't all. Once the money was safely moved, Ethan planned to "die" and leave a forged will, letting his parents battle me for the house.

Then, while I was drowning in grief, they would use a proxy to trick me into buying a massive life insurance policy, squeezing the very last drop of value out of me.

In the end, I would be left completely bankrupt, while they lived like royalty on my dime.

Once the plotting wrapped up, my mother-in-law, Martha’s, shrill voice rang out: "It’s past dinner time. Why isn't Chloe back yet to cook for you? Is this how she takes care of my son?"

Ethan snorted in disgust. "That brainless pig doesn't know the first thing about keeping me happy. She can't hold a candle to Luna. Let’s go grab takeout, Mom. Ignore her."

I quickly stepped back into the shadows of the hallway, my blood running cold.

This level of sheer malice... Was this really the man I had loved for ten years, the one I had built a life with since college?

A burning fury surged straight to my head.

I slowly tore Ethan’s real medical report into tiny, microscopic shreds.

Fine.

You want to fake your death?

Then let’s make it a reality.