Chapter 4

Their anniversary approached, a date Ethan usually marked with some extravagant public display.

This year, he announced a last-minute "emergency" business trip to Zurich.

"Crucial deal, babe. Can' t be helped. We' ll celebrate when I get back, I promise. Bigger than ever."

His eyes didn' t quite meet hers.

Sarah, already numb from the confrontation, felt a cold certainty.

She nodded, playing the understanding wife.

That evening, as she packed a small, symbolic suitcase, Chloe Vance' s Instagram story popped up.

A perfectly manicured hand holding a champagne flute.

In the background, the unmistakable plush interior of a private jet lounge.

On her wrist, a new designer watch, a distinctive rose gold model Sarah had seen Ethan admiring in a magazine just weeks before.

Chloe' s caption: "Off to conquer new heights. 😉 #ZurichBound."

The wink emoji felt like a personal insult.

Sarah closed her eyes, the image seared into her mind.

The betrayal was so blatant, so arrogant.

She finished packing her bag, not with clothes for a trip, but with essentials for an escape.

Later that night, the doorman buzzed. A legal courier.

He handed her a thick, cream-colored envelope.

The return address was a prestigious Boston law firm.

Inside, a formal letter.

Her maternal grandmother, Eleanor Ashworth, a woman she barely knew, a name whispered with awe in stories her mother had rarely told.

The letter stated that Eleanor Ashworth had named Sarah Miller, her granddaughter, the primary beneficiary of a substantial family trust.

And Eleanor wished to meet. Urgently.

Sarah stared at the elegant script, the weight of the Ashworth name.

Her mother, an Ashworth, had been largely estranged from her wealthy family after marrying Sarah' s father, the history professor.

This was it. The catalyst.

The universe, it seemed, had finally offered her a way out of the gilded cage.

A way to stop being Sarah Hayes, the CEO' s wife, and become someone else.

Someone real.