Chapter 1

The day I took my wedding ring to the jeweler to get it resized, the appraiser stared at it through his magnifying glass for a long time.

He looked up, frowning. "Sir, is the name engraved inside this ring your wife's?"

I froze.

I had worn this ring for five years. I never knew there was anything written inside.

Three years ago, an accident left me deaf in both ears. My right hand was ruined, too.

Because the ring was swollen onto my finger, I could never take it off to look.

"What does it say?" I asked, my voice slightly raspy.

He slid the ring off---a painful process---and pointed to the inner band. "Adrien."

My name is Julian Vance.

Adrien Hayes was my student.

For years, I funded his tuition at the Royal College of Music. I paid for his life abroad. I treated him like my own brother.

My fingers trembled. I could barely stand.

When I got home, the study door wasn't fully closed. I heard Victoria's voice coming from inside. She was on the phone, her tone sickeningly sweet.

She had no idea that just last week, I had secretly gotten a cochlear implant.

I could hear everything now.

"Just wait a little longer," Victoria whispered into the phone, giggling. "Once that deaf cripple dies, his estate, his music catalog, his connections---it will all be ours."

I stood in the hallway, my blood running cold.

Our five-year marriage was nothing but a calculated scam.

Slowly, I pulled out my phone, opened Snapchat, and hit the voice recorder.

Over the next few days, I quietly gathered every contract Victoria had signed using my name, and every single dollar she had transferred behind my back over the last three years.

I packed them all into a secure folder.

And sent it directly to my attorney.