I feigned illness to avoid returning, while secretly investigating. The recording pen my mother gave me became my lifeline. She had whispered at my wedding:

“There are worse things than poverty. Keep this—you may need it.”

Pretending to visit Mrs. Lewis, I placed the recorder near the sitting room. That night, I listened in horror: Mrs. Harper sneered, “Once she’s gone, the papers are ready.”

David laughed coldly, “Tonight she drinks, tomorrow we’re free.”

This time, I had proof.

With my mother’s help, I contacted the police. They told me to return and act normal. That night, dressed again in my gown, I waited in the bridal room.

David entered with a glass of wine.

“Drink, darling. To celebrate tonight.”

I only wet my lips. Then came pounding at the door—the police burst in, catching him with poisoned wine and transfer papers.

Mrs. Harper went pale. David raged as they dragged him away. Tears blurred my sight, but I felt free at last.

Both were convicted of calculated murder. The whispers about the first wife were confirmed. Mrs. Lewis, freed from fear, entered witness protection and chose to spend her last years in peace.

My mother held me, weeping:

“See? Wealth tied to cruelty is a prison. Better a simple life than one built on blood.”

I resigned from the family business and used my savings to open a small shop with her. When people asked why I gave up being “the CEO’s wife,” I only smiled:

“If it costs your life, riches are just chains.”

That wedding night held no roses, only danger. But from its darkness, I found the strength to reclaim my life—and eternal gratitude for the maid who saved me.