The funeral was over. The silence in the house was absolute, broken only by the grandfather clock ticking away the seconds of a marriage that had already died. I didn’t cry. The thirty unanswered calls had frozen my tears into ice.

Julian walked through our front door the next evening, smelling faintly of expensive cologne and sea salt, a breezy smile plastered across his face.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out, tossing his designer briefcase onto the entryway table. "You wouldn't believe how crazy Hawaii was—wait, why is the house so dark?"

He walked into the living room, loosening his tie. His eyes scanned the room, finally landing on the mantelpiece. The elegant white urn sat right in the center, flanked by two flickering white candles.

Julian froze. The color drained from his tanned face.

"Clarissa? What is... is that...?" He pointed a trembling finger at the urn.

I stepped out from the hallway, dressed in a sharp, obsidian-black Chanel suit. My posture was rigid, my expression completely unreadable.

"Your mother passed away three nights ago, Julian," I said softly.

Julian stumbled back, hitting the edge of the sofa. "Passed away? No—no, that’s impossible! She was fine when I left for Chicago!"

"You weren't in Chicago," I said, stepping closer. "You were in Hawaii. On an island. Drinking champagne with Chloe Vance."

Julian’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes bulged in absolute terror. "How... how do you...?"

"I called you thirty times, Julian," I interrupted, my voice dropping an octave, freezing the air in the room. "Thirty times while she took her final breaths in the emergency room. While her fingers grew cold in mine, you were laughing on a beach, ignoring your phone because some young woman was keeping you occupied."

Julian swallowed hard, panic warring with frantic desperation as he tried to claw his way out of the lie. "Clarissa, baby, listen to me, Chloe is just a—a client, it was a business trip, I didn't know, I swear to God if I had known—"

"Save it," I cut him off, walking past him toward the door. "Wear your best tuxedo tomorrow night. We have a very important party to attend. The Vanguard gala."