CHAPTER 2 – The Wife Who Hid Behind A Perfect Smile
I spent the entire night staring at the folder.
I didn't sleep.
I couldn't.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Emily tied to that bed.
I saw my children sleeping against her chest while she suffered.
But worse than that…
I saw Victoria's face.
The same face that had smiled at me that morning.
The same face that had kissed my cheek before I left for work.
The same face that had whispered, “Come home early tonight. I miss you.”
I had believed her.
God, I had believed every word.
For years, I thought I had built the perfect life.
A beautiful wife.
Two beautiful children.
A successful company.
A mansion overlooking the city.
People looked at me and saw a man who had everything.
They never saw the cracks.
They never saw the things hidden behind closed doors.
And now I wondered…
How long had those cracks been there?
How long had Victoria been pretending?
I looked at the document again.
The words were burned into my mind.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATION REPORT.
SUBJECT: ADRIAN COLE.
Someone had investigated me before I even met my wife.
Not casually.
Not because she was curious.
This was detailed.
My childhood.
My family.
My weaknesses.
My relationships.
My company.
Every mistake I had ever made.
Every person who had ever mattered to me.
Victoria knew everything.
But I knew almost nothing about her.
That realization hurt more than the betrayal itself.
Because marriage requires trust.
And I had given mine completely.
“Sir?”
Emily's voice pulled me back.
She was standing near the nursery door.
Her wrists were wrapped in clean bandages.
I had forced her to sit down while I treated her injuries myself.
She had argued.
She had said she was fine.
But I had seen her hands shaking.
She wasn't fine.
Not even close.
“You should go to the hospital,” I said.
She immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No, sir.”
Her voice became urgent.
“If I leave, Victoria will know I told you.”
I stared at her.
“She hurt you.”
“She will hurt me again.”
The fear in her voice was real.
Not exaggerated.
Not dramatic.
Real.
“Why are you still protecting her?”
Emily looked at the twins sleeping peacefully.
“I’m protecting them.”
I followed her eyes.
“My children?”
She nodded.
“Your children.”
A painful silence filled the room.
Then she said:
“Mrs. Cole is not the same person everyone thinks she is.”
I looked back at the folder.
“Tell me everything.”
Emily took a deep breath.
And this time…
She didn't hold anything back.
“Three months ago, I found something strange.”
I leaned against the dresser.
“What?”
“A locked drawer inside Victoria's office.”
I frowned.
“You went into her office?”
Emily looked guilty.
“I wasn't searching through her things.”
“Then why were you there?”
“Your daughter was playing near the stairs. She dropped her toy and it rolled into the office.”
I nodded.
“That sounds like something she would do.”
Emily continued.
“I went inside to get it.”
“And?”
“The drawer was slightly open.”
“What was inside?”
“Documents.”
My expression changed.
“What kind of documents?”
“Legal documents.”
She paused.
“About your company.”
My stomach tightened.
“Cole Industries?”
Emily nodded.
“She had copies of contracts. Financial reports. Private information.”
“That doesn't prove anything.”
“No.”
Emily looked at me.
“But then I found something else.”
“What?”
“A document with my name on it.”
I stared.
“Your name?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“It was a background report.”
“About you?”
“Yes.”
“Why would Victoria investigate you?”
Emily's answer came quietly.
“Because she chose me.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“She didn't hire me randomly.”
The room went silent.
“She selected me.”
I felt a chill.
“Why?”
Emily looked at the twins.
“Because my situation made me easy to control.”
I didn't understand.
“Explain.”
“My son was sick.”
Her voice cracked.
“I needed money.”
I slowly understood.
“She knew.”
Emily nodded.
“She knew I would accept anything because I needed the job.”
I clenched my jaw.
“So she hired you because she knew you couldn't fight back.”
“Yes.”
The anger inside me grew.
But Emily wasn't finished.
“She also knew something else.”
“What?”
“That I loved children.”
I looked at her.
“She knew I would never abandon your twins.”
Emily wiped her eyes.
“She knew I would endure anything for them.”
Those words hurt.
Because they were true.
I spent the next hour going through the documents.
Every page revealed another piece of a nightmare.
Victoria had tracked my life for almost two years before we met.
She knew about my father's death.
She knew about my relationship with my mother.
She knew the reason I hated being alone.
She knew my greatest fear.
That I would fail as a father.
And she used that fear.
The worst part?
She was good at it.
Victoria had always known exactly what to say.
When I doubted myself, she encouraged me.
When I struggled with the company, she stood beside me.
When my father died, she held my hand at the funeral.
I thought she was my support.
Now I wondered if she had only been playing the role.
“Why would she do this?”
I whispered.
Emily looked at me.
“Power.”
“That simple?”
“Yes.”
“She already had everything.”
Emily shook her head.
“People like Victoria don't want everything.”
“What do they want?”
“They want control.”
At 3:17 in the morning, I heard the front door open.
Emily froze.
My body immediately reacted.
“She's home.”
Victoria.
I closed the folder.
“Go to the nursery.”
Emily looked at me.
“What?”
“Take the babies.”
“But—”
“Now.”
She nodded quickly.
She moved carefully, picking up the twins.
I watched her disappear.
Then I waited.
Seconds later…
The sound of heels echoed through the hallway.
Slow.
Confident.
Almost arrogant.
Exactly like always.
Victoria entered the room.
She stopped when she saw me.
Then she smiled.
A perfect smile.
A beautiful smile.
A fake smile.
“Adrian.”
Her voice was soft.
“You're home.”
I stared at her.
“Yes.”
She walked closer.
“You look exhausted.”
“I am.”
She touched my arm.
“Long day?”
I looked at her hand.
The same hand that had hit Emily.
The same hand that had tied her up.
And I felt nothing.
No warmth.
No love.
Only disgust.
“Where were you tonight?” I asked.
She blinked.
“At dinner.”
“With who?”
Her smile remained.
“Friends.”
“Which friends?”
A tiny change appeared on her face.
Almost invisible.
But I saw it.
Victoria was always calm.
Always controlled.
But for a fraction of a second…
She was nervous.
“Why are you asking me questions like this?”
“Because I found something.”
Her expression hardened.
“What?”
I reached for the folder.
And watched her face change.
Not much.
Most people wouldn't notice.
But I knew her.
Or I thought I did.
The color drained from her face.
“Where did you get that?”
There it was.
Fear.
Real fear.
I stared at her.
“So you know what this is.”
She recovered quickly.
“Adrian, I can explain.”
“Good.”
I stepped closer.
“Explain.”
She sighed.
Then laughed softly.
“You're upset because of the nanny?”
My eyes narrowed.
“The nanny?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Emily is manipulating you.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She always wanted more.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“She was tied to my bed.”
Victoria looked away.
“She probably did it herself.”
For a moment…
I couldn't speak.
The woman standing in front of me was my wife.
The mother of my children.
And she was lying without hesitation.
“You expect me to believe she tied herself up?”
Victoria stepped closer.
“Adrian, think logically.”
Her voice became gentle.
“You're tired. You're emotional.”
She touched my face.
“You're letting a servant come between us.”
I stepped away.
“Don't call her that.”
Victoria's eyes changed.
“You're defending her?”
“No.”
I looked directly at her.
“I'm defending the truth.”
The room became silent.
Then Victoria whispered:
“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.”
The words sounded like a threat.
Not a warning.
A threat.
“What does that mean?”
She smiled again.
But this time, there was nothing loving about it.
“You think I'm the villain because a frightened nanny told you a story.”
She walked toward the door.
“But tomorrow…”
She stopped.
“You'll learn who Emily really is.”
I stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Victoria turned back.
“I found out something about Emily before you did.”
My heart sank.
“What?”
She smiled.
“The reason her son is sick.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What about it?”
Victoria opened the door.
Then said:
“Ask her where Noah's father is.”
And she left.
The next morning, I searched for Emily.
I found her sitting beside the twins.
Watching them sleep.
“Emily.”
She looked up.
Immediately, I saw fear.
“What did she tell you?”
I sat across from her.
“She said I should ask about Noah's father.”
Emily went completely still.
The silence lasted too long.
“Emily.”
Her face changed.
Like someone had opened an old wound.
“Sir…”
“Who is Noah's father?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I didn't want you to know this.”
“Know what?”
She looked down.
Then whispered:
“Noah's father is the reason Victoria knows me.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Emily took a shaky breath.
“Because before I worked here…”
“I worked for him.”
“For who?”
She looked at me.
And said a name I never expected.
“Your brother.”
I froze.
My brother.
The man I thought disappeared from my life five years ago.
The man everyone believed was dead.
The man whose betrayal nearly destroyed my family.
Emily's voice trembled.
“Your wife didn't choose me because I was easy to control.”
“She chose me because she knew my secret.”
“What secret?”
Emily looked toward the nursery door.
Then whispered:
“Noah is not just my son.”
“He is the child Victoria has spent years trying to hide.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What are you saying?”
Emily looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Sir…”
“Your wife knows Noah's father.”
“She has known him all along.”
A cold wave passed through me.
Because suddenly…
The folder.
The investigation.
Emily.
The lies.
The perfect marriage.
Everything connected.
And I realized something terrifying.
Victoria wasn't afraid because I discovered what she did to Emily.
She was afraid because I was getting close to discovering why she did it.
And whatever the truth was…
May you like
It was much bigger than a cruel wife and a broken nanny.
It was a secret that could destroy my entire family.
