Chapter 4 - The 74-Day TrapThe doctors kept me in the hospital for two weeks.
During that time, Daniel worked quietly.
He didn't confront Thaddius.
He didn't contact Clarice.
He didn't reveal that I had survived.
Instead, he built a case.
And I recovered.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Every day, I walked a little farther.
Every day, I regained a little strength.
Meanwhile, Thaddius continued his European vacation.
Photos appeared online.
Paris.
Rome.
Monaco.
Lake Como.
Champagne.
Luxury hotels.
Clarice smiled in every picture.
Genevieve posed beside expensive cars.
And Thaddius looked happier than I had ever seen him.
People assumed he was enjoying life.
They didn't know he was spending money stolen from me.
I watched everything.
Silently.
Then Daniel showed me something.
A flight itinerary.
Thaddius planned to return to New York after exactly seventy-four days.
“Why seventy-four?”
Daniel placed a document in front of me.
“Because your husband's attorney told him the legal process would be easier after seventy days if you were presumed incapacitated.”
I stared at him.
“He expected me to disappear.”
“Yes.”
“He expected my body to be found eventually.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Then he would inherit everything.”
I sat silently.
That night, I made a decision.
I would not return to my penthouse.
I would not confront him.
I would not reveal myself.
Instead, I would let him believe his plan had worked.
We established a secure residence under a corporate trust.
My doctors continued treatment.
My legal team began freezing assets.
But we didn't freeze everything.
We left enough untouched for Thaddius to continue his deception.
For seventy-four days, I became a ghost.
No social media.
No public appearances.
No phone calls.
No emails.
Nothing.
The world thought Seraphina Vale was either critically ill or dead.
And Thaddius became increasingly careless.
He started telling people I had “passed away.”
He began referring to my company as “our inheritance.”
He even hosted a dinner for investors.
At the dinner, he raised a glass.
“To new beginnings.”
I watched the recording.
I felt nothing.
Then I heard Clarice say:
“Once everything is transferred, you can finally marry Genevieve's friend.”
I paused the video.
Thaddius had been planning to replace me before I was even dead.
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because I finally understood.
I had never lost a husband.
I had lost an illusion.
On the seventy-third day, Daniel walked into my office.
“Tomorrow.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Are you ready?”
I closed the folder in front of me.
“I've been ready since the night he locked that door.”
“What do you want?”
I looked out over Manhattan.
“I want him to open that door.”
Daniel smiled.
“And then?”
May you like
I turned around.
“Then I want him to see me.”
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