OMG My 'Perfect' Marriage Was a Murder Setup!

"You've got one hour to come up with twenty million dollars," the kidnapper snarled into the phone. "Leave the cash under the Central Bridge. No cops, or they're dead."

I hit the speaker button, letting my husband, Shane McClure, hear every word.

His face darkened as he turned to me with a scoff. "Natalie Swanson, how desperate can you get? Did you rope my parents into this pathetic stunt just to push Hailey out of the picture?"

No tears. No hysterics. Just cold, steady clarity. "This isn't a game. Your parents have been taken, and we need twenty million—now. Go get the money."

His glare could have frozen hell. "You think you can scam me after failing to win me over with this sham of a marriage?"

We'd known each other for twenty years. Once, long ago, I'd saved his life, and our families had sealed our fate with an arranged marriage.

But I wasn't blind. Shane had never hidden his disdain for my modest roots—or his lingering feelings for Hailey Crosby, his first love, who'd been overseas all this time.

Before the wedding, I'd given him an out. Walk away. Go back to her. I won't stop you.

His answer had been flat, detached. "I'll marry you. Willingly."

After the vows, he turned to ice. Never a glance, never a kind word. I'd lied to myself, pretending his indifference was just his nature—that somewhere, he still cared.

Then Hailey came back.

The way his face lit up for her shattered every delusion I'd clung to. From the start, he'd never been on my side.

My gaze turned to steel. "I don't need your money, and I'd never sink this low. Believe me or not, your parents are in danger. If you trust me, we go to the police. If not, get out of my way. I have lives to save."

He looked stunned—maybe by how composed I was, or maybe because this was the first time I'd ever let my frustration show.

I turned to go, brushing past Hailey with barely a touch. But then—she crumpled to the floor like a dropped doll.