Wolf Bitch Took PapaI Took Her Crown

I was scrolling through a local forum, a mindless habit, when a post titled "A Warning to a Woman in Tech" caught my eye.

It described two people plotting at a cafe I knew: a man complaining about his "tech executive" girlfriend, and a woman suggesting they "get her to relax" by putting something in her drink.

They wanted her money, her inheritance, planning to stage an "accident."

My fingers went cold, but the nausea passed-it was too generic. Then, the final detail: "The man… wore a very distinctive watch, a vintage chronograph with a dark green face."

My phone clattered to the floor. Not Liam. Not the watch I bought him for our anniversary.

The man who brought me soup when I was sick, who supported my career, who spoke of being my equal. He was a lie. All of it.

Every sweet gesture replayed, tainted, a calculated part of his long con. The anger, hot and sharp, consumed me.