The bride hid under the bed as a prank, but she overheard her mother-in-law say, “In a year, we’ll take everything from her.” That night, she realized her marriage was a trap. — Part 2

Third, we had to address Brenda.

I returned to the hotel room at dawn and laid down beside Elias, pretending to be fast asleep.

“I just went downstairs for a walk,” I whispered softly.

He turned his back to me without a second thought.

“How beautiful you are, Ella,” he lied, his voice thick with fake affection.

I just smiled into the darkness, knowing exactly how this would end.

Over the next few weeks, I became the clumsy, ditzy wife they expected me to be.

I accidentally shrank his favorite tailored shirts in the dryer, I put too much salt in his morning coffee, and I forgot to pay the internet bill right before he had a very important virtual meeting.

I also accidentally ruined one of Cynthia’s incredibly expensive cashmere coats by tossing it in the washing machine.

She screamed as if she had lost a massive inheritance.

“You are absolutely useless, Ella!” she yelled.

“That was a designer piece that cost more than your monthly salary!”

I cried fake, exaggerated tears while looking at the floor.

“I am so sorry, Cynthia, it is just that I really do not know anything about expensive, high-end clothing.”

Elias gritted his teeth, but he forced a hug on me.

“It is perfectly okay, my love, it was just an honest accident.”

His eyes told a different story, one that screamed: “Just hang on for one more year.”

That night, I took out the paperwork Rebecca had prepared.

“Honey, I feel so terrible about ruining your mother’s coat,” I said, putting on my best act.

“I want to make it up to you, and this document from the apartment insurance company just arrived.”

“If you sign this here, they will lower our monthly payments significantly.”

Elias did not even bother to read the legal jargon carefully.

He saw the word insurance, he saw the word discount, and he signed his name on the dotted line.

The trap was officially closed.

Meanwhile, my father’s investigators confirmed exactly what we had suspected all along.

Elias was not just cheating on me; he was embezzling money from the company on a massive scale.

He had created fake vendors, inflated invoices, and diverted payments to an offshore account linked directly to his mother.

The total sum stolen already exceeded a million dollars.

But the final piece of the puzzle was Brenda.

That was the reason I decided to host a dinner at our apartment.

“I really want to get along with your family,” I told Elias over dinner.

“Let’s invite your mother, your aunts, and Brenda too, since she is your best friend.”

He clearly thought I was going to humiliate myself and provide him with more ammunition for his plan.

On the night of the dinner, Rebecca had installed small, discreet cameras in the living and dining rooms.

I deliberately prepared a terrible meal consisting of dry, overcooked meat, mushy rice, and sauce that was far too salty.

I bought the cheapest wine I could find and served everything with a bright, fake smile on my face.

Cynthia arrived dressed like she was attending a gala, eyeing every corner of the room with obvious disdain.

“At least you finally managed to vacuum the floors,” she said, looking around the living room.

Brenda arrived later, arm in arm with Elias.

She was wearing a loose dress, but her hand kept drifting toward her stomach.

“You look absolutely radiant,” I said, staring directly at her slight baby bump.

She stiffened immediately, looking at Elias with a worried expression.

During dinner, the entire family took turns making fun of me.

“Some women are just born to be perfect wives,” Brenda said while laughing.

“Others are simply not cut out for that kind of life.”

“You are completely right,” I replied calmly.

“Some people are born to be wives, while others are born to mess with other women’s husbands.”

The silence that fell over the room was heavy and suffocating.

“What did you just say?” Elias asked, his face turning bright red.

“Nothing at all,” I smiled.

“Please, pass me the wine.”

Then I stood up and intentionally tripped near the table.

The large pitcher of red wine fell completely over Brenda, soaking her dress.

She stood up screaming, and the wet fabric clung to her body, revealing a curve that was impossible to hide any longer.

Elias ran toward her, his instinct taking over.

“Be careful, are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

Nobody breathed as the confession hung in the air.

Elias’s face turned deathly white when he realized what he had just admitted.

Cynthia stood up suddenly, trying to do damage control.

“He meant… he meant if she is okay from the fall, Ella, you are being incredibly rude tonight!”

I placed my napkin on the table and looked at her.

“Sit down, Cynthia.”

“How dare you speak to me like that?”

“I told you to sit down right now.”

My voice was not loud, but everyone obeyed because of the absolute authority in my tone.

I walked over to the sound system and connected my phone to the speakers.

“For weeks you all called me useless, common, and a starving secretary,” I said to the room.

“Today, I want everyone to hear exactly what I heard on our wedding night.”

The recording began to play.

Cynthia’s shrill voice exploded throughout the dining room.

“We have Ella tied up.”

“Elias will last a year.”

“Brenda and the baby will move in later.”

Brenda started to sob into her hands.

Elias put his head in his hands, defeated.

Cynthia tried to grab my phone, but Rebecca walked into the room at that moment accompanied by two state police officers and a thick black folder.

“Elias Rivas,” one of the officers said, stepping forward.

“You are under arrest for corporate fraud, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds.”

“What?” he shouted, looking at me with pure shock.

“This is just a simple marital dispute!”

“No,” I said, looking him in the eyes.

“This is a criminal investigation regarding the Wilson Group.”

Elias looked at me, completely confused.

“The Wilson Group?”

I took a deep, steady breath.

“My full name is Ella Aranda Wilson.”

“Jonathan Wilson, the owner of the massive company you were robbing, is my father.”

Elias’s face finally fell apart as the reality of his situation set in.

Cynthia had to grip the edge of the dining table to keep herself from collapsing to the floor.

“No… your father has been retired for years,” she whispered.

“Yes, he is retired,” I said.

“Retired from trusting people exactly like you.”

Elias fell to his knees on the rug.

“Ella, please, you have to forgive me, my mother pressured me and Brenda just confused me, I did love you.”

I looked at him with absolute indifference.

“No, Elias, you loved my money when you thought it was a little bit, and then you tried to steal everything I had.”

The officers handcuffed him, and the metal clicked loudly in the quiet room.

Brenda stood trembling by the wall, her dress stained with red wine, her pregnancy exposed, and her long-term lie shattered into pieces.

But before they took him away, Elias looked up and said something that froze everyone in their tracks.

“Ella… there is something else you need to know.”

“Something my mother did so that you would never have a child of your own.”

At that moment, I realized that the truth had not even fully come to light yet.

CHAPTER 3: THE FINAL TRUTH

I did not let Elias speak another word that night because he did not deserve to hurt me again in front of the people I had invited.

The police officers dragged him away in handcuffs while Cynthia screamed that she knew powerful people and that this was a massive injustice.

Brenda ran out of the apartment without looking back, her dress still soaked and the shame of her actions clinging to her like a second skin.

I stood in the middle of the dining room surrounded by broken ceramic plates, wine spilled across the floor, and years of fake, hollow love.

Rebecca hugged me tightly.

“It is finally over,” she said softly.

But it was not true, because this was only the beginning.

The divorce was quick and surprisingly simple.