Chapter 1
On our wedding night, my husband slapped me because I refused to wash his family’s dirty clothes, while his mother poured a basin of filthy water over my white wedding dress. Neither of them knew I controlled the $200 million company keeping their entire family wealthy.
Only three hours earlier, everyone had been calling me the luckiest bride in Chicago.
I had married Ethan Walker in a ballroom filled with flowers, champagne, and nearly two hundred guests.
His mother, Margaret, smiled for every photograph.
But the moment we reached the Walker family estate, her smile disappeared.
She pointed toward three overflowing laundry baskets beside the kitchen.
“Before you go upstairs, wash those.”
I stared at her.
“I’m sorry?”
“Ethan’s shirts, his father’s clothes, and mine.”
I actually thought she was joking.
I was still wearing my wedding dress.
Margaret folded her arms.
“A wife needs to understand her place from the first night.”
I looked at Ethan, waiting for him to laugh and tell his mother to stop.
Instead, he loosened his tie.
“Just do it, Claire.”
“No.”
The room went silent.
Margaret stepped closer.
“What did you say?”
“I said no. I’m not spending my wedding night washing your dirty laundry.”
Ethan’s expression changed immediately.
“Don’t embarrass my mother.”
“I’m not embarrassing anyone.”
He slapped me.
My head snapped sideways.
For several seconds, I couldn’t even process what had happened.
Then Margaret picked up the basin of dirty water beside the laundry sink.
“Maybe this will teach you some humility.”
She dumped it over me.
Cold gray water soaked my hair, my face, and the wedding dress my father had helped me choose.
I heard Ethan laugh under his breath.
That hurt worse than the slap.
Margaret looked at my ruined dress and smiled.
“Now you look more appropriate for the work.”
I slowly removed my wedding ring.
Ethan stopped laughing.
“What are you doing?”
I placed it on the counter.
“You should call your attorney.”
He scoffed.
“Over one little argument?”
“No.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone.
“Because tomorrow morning, your family may have a much bigger problem.”
Margaret rolled her eyes.
“You think threatening us will scare me?”
My phone rang before I could answer.
The screen showed the name of our company’s chief financial officer.
Ethan saw it.
His face tightened.
“Why is Richard Coleman calling you at midnight?”
I answered.
Richard didn’t even say hello.
“Claire, I need your authorization before we freeze the Walker accounts.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
Margaret’s smile disappeared.
I looked directly at my husband.
“What accounts?”
Richard paused.
Then he said, “All accounts connected to the two-hundred-million-dollar holding company you inherited from your father.”
Margaret grabbed the kitchen counter.
Ethan stared at me like I had become a stranger.
“You told me your father left you nothing.”
“I never told you that.”
His face slowly drained of color.
Then Richard said something over the phone that made even me freeze.
“Claire, there’s another problem. Someone from the Walker family tried to transfer thirty million dollars out of your company this afternoon.”
I looked at Ethan.
May you like
He looked at his mother.
And Margaret whispered, “You weren’t supposed to find out until after the honeymoon.”
