Chapter 1

It was my son’s elementary school Field Day.

My husband, Marcus, had promised to join us, but he had been completely unreachable for the past two hours.

My son and I were left standing under the scorching sun, drenched in sweat.

Just then, my best friend, Sarah, sent me a dashcam video clip on Snapchat.

Sitting in Marcus’s passenger seat was his newly hired assistant, Chloe. The two of them were intimately sharing a peeled grape, leaning in incredibly close.

Right at that moment, a little student reporter from the school news team ran over and shoved a microphone right in front of my seven-year-old son’s face.

"Hey, Leo! Your dad didn't show up today. Are you really sad?"

Leo wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head. His voice echoed across the entire sports field through the giant speakers.

"I’m not sad. Because Daddy is doing something very hard."

"Yesterday, I secretly saw Daddy playing a game with a pretty lady in his car. “

“The lady was sitting on Daddy’s lap. Daddy must have been helping her check her teeth because she was hurting. He’s just too busy."

The music playing over the field suddenly stopped.

Hundreds of parents turned their heads in unison, staring directly at me.

I listened to my son's words with a blank expression, then looked down at him.

"Leo, Daddy broke his promise. What did Mommy tell you about people who break their promises?"

Seven-year-old Leo looked up at me. His cheeks were flushed red from his recent run.

He thought about it seriously, then spoke clearly into the reporter’s microphone: "We should never believe them again!"

The reporter, a fifth-grade girl, had clearly never dealt with a situation like this. She looked terrified, quickly pulled the microphone back, and turned to look at the supervising teacher.

The teacher coughed awkwardly, running over to smooth things over.

"Leo’s mom, you know how kids just make things up. Um, the award ceremony is up next."

I stood up straight and gave the teacher a polite nod.

"I’m sorry, Mrs. Gable. Leo got a bit of heat stroke after his fifty-meter sprint. We’re going to skip the rest of the events and head home."

"Of course, of course. Please take him home to rest."

I took Leo’s hand. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people, I walked him step-by-step off the field.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path for us. Whispers drifted into my ears.

"Oh my god, cheating so openly these days?"

"His wife has amazing self-control. I would have lost my mind right there."

Once we reached the car, I opened the door. Leo climbed into his booster seat, buckled himself in routinely, and stared at my face.

"Mommy, did I get us in trouble?"

I looked at him through the rearview mirror. His eyes were dark and clear. They didn't look like Marcus’s at all. They looked like mine.

"Did you really see Daddy and that lady in the car yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes," Leo nodded. "Yesterday afternoon, Daddy picked me up from tutoring. He said he had to wait in the car for a client."

"But then that lady showed up. Daddy told me to play with my iPad in the back seat, and she sat in the passenger seat."

Leo described the scene with perfect clarity.

"Then she got onto Daddy’s lap. Daddy had his arm around her waist. They were talking in very low voices, but they were super close."

Leo pouted. "They thought I was watching cartoons with my headphones on, but my iPad had actually run out of battery."

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. The anger that should have consumed me slowly turned into cold calculation.

Yesterday afternoon, Marcus had told me that a client had rescheduled at the last minute. He said he had to take them out for coffee and would pick up Leo on the way back.

It turned out the "client" was his new assistant, and the "coffee" was served in his car.

The woman my son mentioned was Chloe.

She had joined Marcus’s department just last month as his personal assistant.

A couple of weeks ago, I had dropped by their office. Since it was a hot day, I ordered thirty cups of iced coffee and had them delivered to Marcus’s department as an afternoon treat.

Everyone had thanked me politely. Except for Chloe.

Right in front of my face, she tossed her cup of coffee straight into the trash can next to her desk.

"Mr. Miller told me I shouldn't drink this kind of cheap coffee. It’s too bitter."

She had smiled sweetly, but her eyes held a direct challenge. "Jane, didn't Marcus mention that to you?"

Just then, Marcus had walked out of his office and rushed over to smooth things over.

"Chloe just graduated. She’s young and speaks without thinking. She actually has a weak stomach and can't drink coffee. Don't take it personally."

I was thirty-two years old and had spent eight years climbing the corporate ladder.

Before having Leo, I was a regional manager for a Fortune 500 company. Did he really think I couldn't see through a little girl's cheap provocation?

I just hadn't expected Marcus to be stupid enough to be this blatant.

"Leo," I started the car. "Today on the field, you said those things into the microphone on purpose, didn't you?"

Leo didn't say anything. He just looked down, fidgeting with his seatbelt buckle.

After a moment, he mumbled, "That lady is a bad person."