I snapped back to myself and let go. "I'm sorry, Virginia Fox. How about Mommy buys you a little cake later, okay?"

Virginia tugged at the necklace around her own neck, then stared at mine. "I don't want cake. I want to trade necklaces with you, Mommy. Yours is redder and prettier than mine!"

My hand went to the jade pendant at my throat. In the large mirror behind the snake tank, I saw it clearly for the first time: the pendant, originally a pale pink, had turned a deep, unnatural crimson across nearly its entire surface. Only a sliver of pink remained.

Something was very wrong. I spoke deliberately, loud enough for the snakes to hear: "No, sweetie. Daddy had a Spiritual Master bless these necklaces for us. He told us we can never take them off, or the good luck won't work."

Virginia didn't fuss. She just grinned and teased me. "Mommy and Daddy are so in love! You do everything Daddy says!"

Right on cue, the red snake let out a shrill, hissing laugh. That's hilarious. This necklace is a death charm my man had made specifically for her, and she actually thinks he loves her? In my man's heart, I'm the wife. She's nothing but a concubine.

The black snake wound itself around the red one again. Don't be mad, Mommy. Once the pendant turns completely red, everything here will be ours...

I handed Virginia off to the nanny and went to Clement Sanchez's study alone.

The moment the door clicked shut behind me, my legs gave out and I sank to the floor.

Clement Sanchez had been nothing more than a low-level employee at a research institute I'd invested in. When I was trapped in a fire, he risked his life to save me.

With his persistent effort, we married quickly.

Our marriage was stable, and we had our daughter, Virginia.

I used to think I was the luckiest woman alive.

I never imagined that all of it was a lie.

Forcing myself to stay composed, I searched for evidence to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, I found a backup phone behind the bookshelf, no passcode set.

Back when we first got married, he'd left all his devices unlocked to put me at ease.

I'd been so moved by his openness that I never once checked them. It turned out the more loyalty he performed, the more he had to hide.

I took a deep breath, opened his messages, and typed in "babe" as a search term. A familiar profile picture popped up almost instantly.

It was my neighbor Dawn Henson.