He framed his wife and got her locked up, but she was one step ahead.
Emily was staring hard at the door. The day had finally comethe day shed settle the score with her husband.
Her eyes burned with quiet fury. Two whole years shed waited for this moment.
Then she heard the door swing open, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
Her belongings were laid out on the beda small pile next to a bag she was meant to pack. A prison officer stepped inside.
“Time to go, love!” Emily stood, stuffed her things into the bag, and strode out of the cell without looking back.
“Eager to see your bloke, are you?” the guard snickered as she trailed behind.
Emily didnt react. She kept her chin up. She was past caring what anyone thought. Shed suffered enoughnow it was her turn to make them pay.
She marched forward, but memories from three years ago flashed through her mind.
Back then, Emily and James were a power couplesuccessful, wealthy, the envy of everyone. But money changed things. James started having affairs, and though it stung, Emily swallowed her pride for the sake of the business.
Shed loved him onceback when they were just two kids with nothing but dreams. But time had turned love into habit, then habit into resentment.
She trusted him blindly. Signed every document he put in front of her without reading. And that was her downfall.
One day, she was arrested for fraud. Her own husband had set her up, forging papers to pin the blame on her.
The trial was a joke. James testified against her. The lawyer was uselessprobably bribed. The judge barely glanced at the evidence before slamming her with a five-year sentence.
But prison changed her. Two years in, she wasnt the same woman whod walked in. She was stronger. Harder.
And now, thanks to good behavior, she was out earlyand hungry for revenge.
James had no idea what was coming.
The guard handed her her things. “Good luck out there, love,” she said, slapping Emily on the back.
As soon as Emily stepped past the prison gates, she froze. For two years, shed planned this momentand now, suddenly, fear gripped her. What if she couldnt go through with it?
Then she saw him.
Her whole body relaxed. *Thank God.* She sprinted toward him, and he quickened his pace to meet her. A second later, his arms were around her.
“Emily, I cant believe youre finally here.”
She buried her face in his shoulder, laughing shakily. Hed waited just as long as she had.
This was DanielJamess best friend.
Hed been visiting her since day one. Hed never believed she was guilty. Knew James wasnt the saint he pretended to be. And, well hed always had feelings for her.
It took a year of visits before he admitted it. By then, Emily felt the same. They fell in loveher behind bars, him on the outside. Now, nothing could pull them apart.
“I was scared you wouldnt come,” she whispered.
He tightened his grip. “Like Id ever leave you. Never again.”
She breathed in his scent and sighed. While shed been locked up, theyd uncovered something huge.
Daniel was close to Jamesknew all his dirty secrets. Turned out, James had framed her because of his mistress. She wanted Emilys share of the business, and James was happy to hand it over.
But Emily wasnt letting him get away with it. And Daniel? He was more than ready to help.
James had no clue. Hed divorced Emily the second she was convicted and never looked back. He didnt even know Daniel visited her.
“Lets get out of here,” Emily muttered. “I need a shower. Probably smell like a prison cell.”
Daniel laughed. “You smell perfect.” He kissed her forehead and let her go.
Emily grinned, savoring the sound of her own laughter in the open air. No more guards yelling at her. No more rules.
Freedom.
They drove to his place. Emily showered, wrapped herself in his robe, and curled up with a coffee. The first sip was heaven.
Then she set the mug down. “Show me the papers. I need to see it for myself.”
Daniel studied her. This woman had owned his heart for years. Hed loved her in silence, watching her in boardrooms, in meetings, never daring to hope.
And now here she wasin his home, wearing his clothes.
He pulled a stack of documents from his safe and handed them over. Emilys smile was razor-sharp.
This was it. James was finished.
“Tell me everything,” she said, tugging him down beside her.
Daniel grinned. “My sister works at the company. She never believed you were guilty, so she helped. I got her to slip some papers into Jamess pilepapers he signed without reading.”
Emily closed her eyes, savoring the victory. James had gotten cocky. Thought he was untouchable.
Now hed learn otherwise.
She opened her eyes and looked at Daniel. Fate had given her this man when shed lost everything else.
She leaned in, hugging him tight. “I love you,” she whispered. “When this is over marry me?”
Daniel cupped her face. “*I* should be asking you.” He kissed her. “Will you marry me?”
Emily laughed. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
The next day, she walked into Jamess office like she owned the placebecause, as of today, she did.
He was on the phone, cooing to some woman, when he spotted her. His face went white.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he hissed.
Emily crossed her legs, placing a folder on her lap. “Im the owner. Or did you forget?”
Jamess fists clenched. “Get out. Youre nothing to me.”
“Oh, Im *everything* to you now,” she said coolly. She slid the papers across the desk. “Read these. And dont bother tearing them upmy solicitor has the originals.”
James scanned the documents, then looked up, stunned. “This is a joke.”
Emily smiled. “You taught me life isnt funny. I was an excellent student.”
Six months later, she married Daniel. The courts ruled in her favorshe got the company, the house, even Jamess flashy car.
James vanished, left with nothing.
And Emily? Shed won.
Now she was celebrating with the man whod stood by her when the world turned its back.
