Chapter 1

Liam Miller stared at the error message on the screen, a small, blinking cursor mocking him. "Invalid Certificate Number." He typed the string of digits again, carefully, checking each one against the crisp document in his hand. Their marriage certificate.

"It' s doing it again," he said, leaning back in his leather office chair. The city lights of downtown glimmered through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.

Chloe Davis walked over, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She peered at the screen, her brow furrowed with pretend concern. "That' s so strange. Maybe the government system is just having a bad day. Don' t worry about it, honey."

"But we need it for the foundation registration," Liam insisted. "The 'Miller-Davis Foundation for Hope.' It has a nice ring to it, doesn' t it?"

It was Chloe' s idea, born from their shared sadness. Five years into their marriage, after countless tests and procedures, the doctors had delivered the final word, Chloe couldn' t conceive. Liam' s heart had broken for her, for them. But Chloe, ever the optimist, had turned their private pain into a public mission. "If we can' t have a child of our own," she' d said, her eyes shining with what he thought was sincerity, "let' s help others who are struggling just like us."

He loved her for that. He loved her for everything.

"We' ll try again tomorrow," she said, her voice a soft melody that always soothed him. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Don' t let some silly computer glitch ruin your evening. I have to pack for my trip, remember?"

The next morning, Chloe was gone, off to a business conference in Monaco. Liam, still bothered by the registration issue, decided to handle it in person. He drove to the County Clerk' s office, a sterile, bureaucratic building that smelled of old paper and stale coffee. He felt a little foolish, wasting time on what was probably just a typo in the system.

He handed the certificate to the woman behind the counter. She had tired eyes and a name tag that read 'Brenda.' She typed the number into her computer, her fingers moving with practiced efficiency. She frowned. She typed it again.

"I' m sorry, sir," she said, not looking at him. "There' s no record of a marriage certificate with this number."

"There must be a mistake," Liam said, his voice calm. "Chloe Davis and Liam Miller. We were married five years ago."

Brenda finally looked up, her expression a mixture of pity and professional detachment. "I can search by name." She typed again. The silence in the room grew heavy. "I have a Liam Miller here, but he' s listed as single. And I have no marriage record for a Chloe Davis at all in our system." She slid the document back across the counter. "I' m sorry, sir. According to the state, this marriage never happened. This certificate is not a legal document."

The words didn't register at first. They floated in the air, meaningless sounds. A fake? How could it be a fake? He remembered the day perfectly. A small, intimate ceremony on a sun-drenched beach. Chloe had cried. He had cried. Her father was there. Their closest friends were there.

He stumbled out of the office and into the harsh sunlight, the useless paper clutched in his hand. He sat in his car, the engine off, the air growing thick and hot. He stared at Chloe' s looping, elegant signature next to his own. A forgery. A lie.

His mind flashed back through the years. Chloe decorating their first home, her laughter echoing in the empty rooms. Chloe nursing him through a bad flu, her cool hand on his forehead. Chloe celebrating his business triumphs, her pride in him so obvious and fierce. Was it all an act? Five years. Three hundred and sixty-five days, times five. A lie for every single one of them. It was impossible. It had to be a mistake, a massive, unbelievable bureaucratic error.

He needed to talk to her. He needed to hear her explain it.

He pulled out his phone, his hands shaking so violently he could barely dial. He booked the first flight to Monaco. He didn' t pack a bag. He didn' t call his assistant. He just drove to the airport, a single, desperate thought consuming him, I have to find her. I need the truth.

Hours later, the stale air of the airplane cabin was replaced by the warm, salty breeze of the French Riviera. A taxi sped him along the winding coastal roads, the sea a glittering, indifferent blue. He' d gotten the name of her hotel from her itinerary. He walked into the opulent lobby and asked for her, but the concierge informed him she wasn' t there. She was attending an event at a private villa down the coast.

He gave the address to the driver. The villa was perched on a cliff, overlooking the sea. Music and laughter drifted out from the grand, open doors. It was a party. A big one. Liam paid the driver and walked towards the entrance, a cold dread seeping into his bones.

He stayed in the shadows of the meticulously landscaped gardens, peering through a large arched window. And then he saw her.

Chloe. She was breathtaking in a white gown, not a business suit. She was walking down a makeshift aisle, flowers woven into her hair. Her face was radiant, glowing with a happiness he had never seen before. She wasn't walking alone. She was walking towards a man. Not him.

The man turned, and Liam' s heart stopped. Ethan Vance. The young man Liam had taken under his wing, the mentee he had personally coached, funded, and helped build a career. Chloe reached him, and they clasped hands, smiling into each other' s eyes in front of a small crowd of cheering guests. It was a wedding.

Liam stumbled back, gasping for air. His legs gave out and he sank to the ground behind a large hedge, the world tilting on its axis. He could hear the voices of two women who had stepped outside for a cigarette, their words drifting clearly in the night air.

"I can' t believe she finally did it," one of them said, her voice laced with amusement. "She' s been waiting for Ethan to grow up and take over his family' s company for years."

"Did she tell Liam?" the other asked.

"Are you kidding? She never even legally married the poor guy. Just kept him around for the money and the stability until Ethan was ready. She' s going to keep playing the devoted wife back home. Liam will never know."

The first woman laughed. "Chloe always gets what she wants."

A vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, his vision blurry with tears. A new text message. From Chloe.

"Miss you so much, my love. Wish you were here with me. Monaco is boring without you. xoxo"

The cruelty of it was a physical blow. He felt sick, the bile rising in his throat. He pressed call, a last, desperate need to hear her voice, to hear her lie to his face one more time.

She answered on the second ring, her voice sickeningly sweet and bright. "Liam, honey! Is everything okay? I was just thinking about you."

"What are you doing, Chloe?" he asked, his own voice a dead, hollow whisper.

"Oh, this conference is such a drag," she sighed. "Just sitting in a stuffy room, listening to boring speeches. I can' t wait to come home to you."

He looked through the hedge. He saw her, phone pressed to her ear, smiling as Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her neck. She laughed, pushing him away playfully, all while lying to the man she had destroyed.

Liam ended the call without another word. He watched them for another minute, a tableau of perfect happiness built on his shattered life. The love, the trust, the future he thought they were building, it was all smoke. A five-year illusion.

He stood up, his body feeling ancient and heavy. He turned his back on the wedding, on Chloe, on the entire lie. He walked away from the villa, down the dark coastal road, with no destination in mind. There was nothing left. He would liquidate everything. He would change his name. He would disappear. He would erase her from his life, just as she had erased their marriage.