The Homemaker's Ledger

Ten years of marriage ended with a divorce agreement sliding across a polished mahogany desk.

You've been a homemaker for a decade, Grace. You've contributed nothing to the company. My husband, Ethan, tapped a manicured finger next to the signature line. According to the prenup, you leave with nothing.
He paused, letting the weight of the word settle in the cavernous office. "Out of respect for what we had, I'm giving you this." He pushed a check toward me. "One hundred thousand dollars. Consider it ten grand for each year of your youth you wasted."

His eyes, the same ones that used to look at me with something like love, were now cold, flat stones. "Don't even think about coming after the company. Not a single penny."

I, a woman who had already lived and died once, simply smiled and signed my name.

It wasn't until the next day, with that check in my hand, that I made my move.

I took the hundred thousand dollars and walked into the headquarters of his greatest rival.

The man across from me, Cade Ryder, watched me with an almost predatory amusement.

"And why should I help you?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

I leaned forward, my voice barely a whisper. "Because I know every major decision his company will make for the next decade. And because I know about the son he's been hiding overseas."

1

"Sign it, Grace."

Ethan’s fingers drummed a bored rhythm on the tabletop. The divorce papers sat between us, a stark white tombstone for our marriage. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, the lights of the New York skyline glittered like a cold, distant galaxy. My own world had shrunk to a single point of light: the unnervingly bare skin on his ring finger.

He'd taken off his wedding band long before he'd decided to tell me.

"A hundred thousand dollars," I said, my voice surprisingly steady as I met his gaze. "That's all ten years are worth to you?"

A humorless smirk twisted his lips. He loosened the top button of his custom-tailored suit, a gesture of casual, arrogant dismissal. "What, you think you're worth more? A woman who can't even boil water without setting off the smoke alarm?"

The contempt in his voice was a perfect echo of the one I'd heard in my past life.

In that life, I had begged. I had cried. He’d had security drag me from the building. I ended up in a cheap rental, where a faulty gas heater ended my story quietly, pathetically, in my sleep.

This time, I just wanted to watch him burn.

I picked up the pen and signed my name with a flourish.

"Grace."

Ethan’s brow furrowed as he looked at my signature. My compliance seemed to unnerve him more than any fight would have.

I ignored him. I folded the check, slipped it into my purse, and turned to leave.

"Remember this, Ethan," I said, my hand on the doorknob. "You're the one who threw me away."

The door clicked shut behind me, followed by the satisfying shatter of a glass hitting the wall.

Do you really think I'm the same fool I was before, Ethan? I thought, the sound of my heels sharp and decisive on the marble floor. Your surveillance, your little tests… I’m ready for all of it.

The next day, I was on the top floor of Ryder Capital.

This was the den of Ethan’s biggest rival, Cade Ryder. The receptionist looked at me like I was a lunatic who had wandered in off the street.

I didn't waste time. I gave her Cade’s name directly.

"Tell him Ethan Sterling's ex-wife is here," I said. "And I've brought him a gift."

Five minutes later, I was looking at the man himself.

He was lounging on a leather sofa, legs crossed, his eyes sharp as he assessed me, as if trying to calculate my market value.

"Ethan Sterling's ex-wife?" he said, his voice deep and resonant.

I placed the hundred-thousand-dollar check on the coffee table between us.

"My opening bid," I said.

His eyes glinted with amusement, like a cat toying with its prey.

"And why should I help you?"

I leaned forward, closing the distance between us, and spoke each word with chilling clarity.

"Because I know every major corporate decision he'll make for the next ten years. And because I know about the illegitimate son he has stashed away overseas."

Cade’s pupils contracted.

He sat up straight, the lazy posture vanishing, replaced by the coiled energy of a predator.

"Go on."

I didn’t answer right away. For a second, the memory of my last life threatened to overwhelm me. After I died, my soul had lingered, weightless and invisible. I watched Ethan throw a lavish birthday party for his secret son. I watched him wrap his arm around another woman and call me the biggest mistake of his life. I watched him use the last of my family’s connections to absorb my parents' company, bankrupting my brother and driving him to jump from his office building.

The all-consuming hatred was a fire in my veins. It was the only thing keeping me going.

Cade narrowed his eyes, skeptical.

"Talk is cheap."

"Next week," I said, giving him the first taste, "Ethan has a secret meeting with the CEO of Innovatech to discuss an acquisition. The deal will fall apart at the last minute over a data patent dispute."

I leaned back. "Is that enough to verify my value?"

Cade’s fingertips tapped a silent rhythm on the arm of the sofa. He was thinking.

Three days later, one of his people called me.

"Ms. Sterling. You were right."

When we met again, his demeanor was entirely different.

"Now," he said, all business. "Let's talk about the Southbridge property."

I laid out the entire plan for him.

2

"Ethan's going to bid on the Southbridge property next week," I explained. "His ceiling is three hundred million."

Cade raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"He'll win the bid," I continued. "But three months from now, a Native American burial ground will be discovered on the site. The project will be shut down indefinitely, and his three hundred million will be locked up." I let that sink in. "And while his capital is tied up, you'll execute a hostile takeover of his weakest asset: Horizon Logistics."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Interesting."

He opened a drawer and slid a debit card across the desk. "There's half a million on this. Consider it your startup capital." His eyes hardened. "But don't think you can just take the money and run. Your life is my collateral now."

This was my chance, but it was also a test.

I took the card and stood up. "A pleasure doing business with you."

Walking out of the Ryder Capital building, I felt the sun on my skin but no warmth. The road to revenge was just beginning.

With Cade's money, I rented a small apartment. I bought a brand-new laptop and deliberately used it to leak false information, feeding the digital breadcrumbs I knew Ethan would be following.

I knew that in one week, Horizon Logistics would be hit with a scandal involving the transport of illegal materials, causing the stock to plummet. This knowledge, this information arbitrage from my past life, was the second part of my gift to Cade.

Everything was going according to plan.

I was practically counting down the seconds on a stopwatch. The minute before the scandal was set to break, I poured all my capital into shorting the stock.

But the stock didn't crash.

Instead, a mysterious influx of cash forced it upward, turning my sure bet into a devastating loss.

I stared at the screen, my blood running cold. Of course.

You're even more cunning than I remembered, Ethan.

My phone rang. His name flashed on the screen.

I took a deep breath and answered.

"Grace," he began, his voice dripping with condescending amusement. "Did you really think you could make a new life for yourself without me?"

The line was quiet for a beat.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice your little schemes?" he purred. "I knew something was off with you the week before the divorce. Did you really think that new laptop of yours could hide from the monitoring software I had installed?"

Every keystroke, every stock you researched, every search history item was sent directly to my email in real-time. That 'scandal' was bait I laid out just for you. And you took it."

A chill washed over me, but I kept my voice even. "I see."

The burning desire for revenge had made me careless, but I wouldn't make that mistake again.

"And Cade Ryder," Ethan continued, "you think he's some knight in shining armor? He's just using you, Grace. You're a dog he's siccing on me. When he gets bored, what do you think will happen to you?"

I didn't say a word. I just ended the call.

The apartment was deathly quiet. I looked at the crimson numbers on my screen, a testament to my failure, yet my mind was clearer than ever.

You think you're in control, Ethan. But you don't realize this is exactly what I wanted to happen.

Just then, my phone rang again. It was the landlord, his voice sharp and angry.

"Ms. Sterling, I'm afraid I can't rent this apartment to you anymore. I need you to be out by the end of the day."

"What? Why? I signed a year-long lease."

"Mr. Sterling just purchased the entire building. He said he doesn't want to see you here."

Ice spread through my veins.

He was backing me into a corner, cutting off every possible escape. No money, no home. An outcast.

My hand shaking, I made the one call I never wanted to make.

"Ethan. My things are still at the house. I need to come get them."

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Of course," he said lightly. "Come back and beg me."

Half an hour later, I was standing at the front door of the house that was once my home.

3

The door was opened by Ethan's new girl, a college student with a face as fresh as it was smug. She was wearing my silk robe. Her eyes raked over me with a mixture of pity and triumph.

Ethan was on the sofa, sipping coffee as if it were any other morning.

"You're back," he said, glancing up. "Came to your senses?"

"Where are my things?"

"Oh, that junk," he said, gesturing with his coffee cup toward a few black trash bags piled by the door. "It's all right there. Pick it up and get out."

I looked at the bags, filled with the discarded artifacts of my ten-year life, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise.

The college girl giggled, draping herself over Ethan’s shoulders. "Oh, Ethan, she's so pathetic. Like a little stray dog you kicked out."

Ethan squeezed her cheek, his eyes full of doting affection. "You're right, baby."

He stood up and walked over to me, looking down his nose. "Grace, get on your knees and beg me right now. If I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll give you another chance."

The household staff stood with their heads bowed, but I could hear their suppressed snickers, each one a needle prick against my skin. My dignity was being ground into dust under his expensive shoes.

I didn't kneel.

I just looked at him, my expression unreadable, and said each word slowly.

"Ethan, you are going to regret this."

He laughed as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world.

"I'm waiting."

I bent down and began silently gathering the trash bags. Inside was the scarf I had knitted for him, the shattered frame from our first photo together. I packed them all, my movements methodical, and dragged them out of that house, a place that now felt toxic.

Their mocking laughter followed me out the door.

I dragged the heavy bags down the street with no destination in mind. Dusk was falling, city lights blinking on one by one, but none of them were for me.

My phone buzzed. A text from Cade Ryder.

Get to my office. Now.

I took a cab to Ryder Capital. The lights in Cade’s office were still on.

He tossed a file onto the desk in front of me.

"Explain this."

It was the trade record from my failed attempt to short the stock. A loss of over three hundred thousand dollars.

"Ethan knew beforehand," I said, my voice low.

"And this is your 'value'?" Cade’s tone was glacial. "Your information was wrong. Your execution failed. My patience is limited, Grace."

The emotions I’d been suppressing all day threatened to erupt. But I held them back.

I lifted my chin and met his gaze directly.

"Give me one more chance."

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to see Ethan Sterling destroyed even more than you do."

The look in my eyes must have been terrifying, because he stared at me for a long moment.

"The Southbridge auction is in three days," he said finally. "This is your last shot."

His voice dropped, lethal and low. "If you fail again, you know the consequences."

I walked out of Ryder Capital drenched in a cold sweat.

I had no way out.

I had to win.

For the next two days, I locked myself in a cheap motel room, obsessively replaying every detail I could remember about the Southbridge project from my past life. How did Ethan know what I was going to do? Where was the leak?

I went over everything, again and again, searching for any inconsistency.

Then, the night before the auction, I remembered someone.

Ethan's executive assistant, Linda.

In my previous life, after Ethan’s empire fell, Linda was imprisoned for embezzlement. It was she who told the police about many of Ethan's darkest secrets. Including the fact that she had been the one helping him monitor all of my communications from the very beginning.

Of course.

My phone. My computer. They had always been under his watch.

4

He was playing God, watching from on high as I, his little clown, performed my clumsy tricks for his amusement.

A deep, visceral chill started in my feet and spread through my entire body. He didn't just want to humiliate me; he wanted to control me completely. He wanted me to understand that I could never, ever escape his grasp.

I threw away my phone and laptop. I went to a payphone and called Cade.

"The plan is the same," I told him. "Just have your people there on time."

There was a pause on the other end. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

I hung up and stared out at the dark city.

The game of cat and mouse is over, Ethan. Now, the real hunt begins.

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "250061" to read the entire book.