Divorced my husband, married his uncle

The plan.

JANE.

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“So, this is the last information we have on the Usher family.” Abby slammed a pile of papers onto the desk I was working on, the thud echoing through the cafe shop we normally stayed for coffee. “What next?” she asked, crossing her arms and fixing me with that sharp, questioning stare of hers.

I glanced up from the mug I’d been drinking from to stare at my best friend. the coffee inside had long gone cold. My fingers itched to dive into those pages, to rip open the final threads of the secrets we’d been building for three years.

Yes, three years.

It’s been three years since Leonard Usher divorced and left me, three years of pain and suffering. Three years of Abby and me digging, plotting, chasing and planning the perfect revenge plan.

The rage he’d left me with had made me into something horrible, and Abby, my best friend, had fueled the flames.

I’d been his secret back then… his quiet little housewife, locked away like a shameful stain, never worthy of meeting his precious Usher family. For six years I married and gave up everything for that man, I hadn’t met his family once. I was always ‘not good enough to breathe the same air with them’, just like Leonard would say it.

Now, that invisibility was my blade, and I’d carve it right through them, starting with even the smaller secret about them.

“Jane, what are you thinking?” Abby asked again, seeing how strong and willed my expression was.

I smirked, “Next? We destroy them. Loving him was my mistake, but this,” I picked up one of the papers, waving it in front of her. “This is the payoff.” My voice stayed steady, but my grip tightened on the paper as the memory of that night kept lingering in my mind.

I could still see it, Leonard’s hands sliding over that woman, his lips brushing her ear, the lazy “hey” he’d tossed at me like I was nothing. Like our four years together meant nothing to him.

“We’ve got everything we need now Abby,” I said resting my back on the chair, “It’s time to act.”

Abby grinned with a wicked spark in her hazel eyes. “Alright, let’s go through the bastards. We’ve got a whole list of Usher boys to choose from.” She yanked the top sheet off the pile. “Who’s first?”

I leaned forward, dropping the paper I held before and picking up another one. “The Usher family is a dirty swamp. Leonard’s parents, his uncles, the whole rotten crew. We’ve tracked them all, but the boys are our ticket in and four of them stand out.” I traced my sight on the paper, finally landing on my first target. “Let’s start with Julian.”

She flipped a page, nodding. “Julian Usher, 32, he’s the eldest cousin. What’s his deal?”

I tapped the desk, reciting from memory of the information I’ve gathered. “Julian is the family’s muscle. He runs security for their properties. Ex-military with a dishonorable discharge for smuggling on base. We found out he’s been rough handling tenants who complain, he broke a guy’s arm last year over late rent. He’s got a dive bar in Oakland he uses to fence stolen goods, $50,000 a month sliding through there. He’s Married with two kids, but he’s got a side piece in Sacramento he’s been bankrolling. We’ve got texts of him promising her a house if she keeps quiet.”

Abby snorted, scribbling a note. “Charming. Could we use him?”

I tilted my head, considering it for a minute. “Maybe, but he’s a man who likes control. We could play the damsel and get him to protect us, but he’s too paranoid. One slip, and he’d snap. Next please.”

She pulled another sheet, her grin widening. “Miles Usher, 29, the slick one. Go.”

“Okay, Miles is the salesman. He handles the family’s car dealerships,” I started, my voice dropping. “He’s been rigging odometers and flipping totaled wrecks as ‘certified pre-owned.’ We traced $300,000 in kickbacks from shady mechanics last year alone. Single, lives in a flashy condo downtown, throws parties every weekend with coke and drugs on the menu. We’ve got photos from a bouncer we paid off, photos of him snorting lines off a table with two girls draped over him.”

Abby raised a brow. “He’s a mess, do you think he’ll bite?”

I shrugged, taking a sip from my already cold coffee. “He’s a cocky man who loves attention. We could flirt our way in, play to his ego, but he’s too sloppy and there are too many eyes on him. He’d drag us down before we got deep. Next please.”

She flipped to a thinner file, her eyes glinting. “Tristan Usher, 26, the wallflower. Hit me.”

“So, Tristan’s the tech brain, he codes their online fronts,” I said, leaning closer. “Fake sites laundering cash, $15 million through sham stores last quarter. Lives alone in a loft, no girlfriend, but he’s hooked on oxy. Caught once for possession, but daddy’s lawyer buried it. We’ve got the arrest and the dealer's name.”

Abby tapped her chin. “He’s brittle. Could we snag him?”

I paused, trying to catch my breath. “He’s fragile, pills are a leash. I could pose as a supplier, reel him in, but he’s a mouse. One scare, and he’d vanish. Last please.”

She slid a page over, her grin fading. “Elliot Usher, 30, the lawyer. Lay it out.”

“Okay, Elliot’s the fixer,” I said, my voice hardening. “Covers their tracks, bribed two judges to kill eviction suits. We’ve got audio from a clerk of Elliot haggling over a $20,000 payoff. He’s Married, no kids, but he owes $80,000 to a Vegas bookie. We dug up the IOUs from his trash.”

Abby whistled low. “He’s drowning. Leverage?”

I chewed my lip harder, doubt clawing at me. “He’s smart, but desperate. I could threaten him, play the savior, but he’s a snake… he’d bite us to save himself. God, None of them feel right.” I groaned.

She leaned back, crossing her arms. “You’re circling, Janet. We’ve got the whole damn family mapped, pick one already.”

I rubbed my temples, the weight of everything was pressing down on me. My chest tightened as I thought through their weaknesses again. Julian could crush me, Miles could expose me, Tristan could bolt, Elliot could betray me. I needed someone steady—someone I could sink my hooks into without them slipping free.

Then it hit me, as my eyes landed on a name on the paper. The perfect person for the job.

“Ambrose,” my voice almost came out as a shout.. “He’s the one. Ambrose Usher, 28, billionaire bachelor. He’s Leonard’s quiet god. The others are noise but he’s the pulse. He has never met me because Leonard kept me hidden as his dirty little secret he didn’t want the family to see. I was the wife he locked away while he worshipped them. Ambrose doesn’t know me. That’s our play.”

Abby’s grin faltered as her eyes narrowed on me. “Wait, Ambrose? The ghost billionaire bachelor? Jane, he’s a brick wall. We’ve barely scratched him.”

I took the thick folder she slid over, my heart thudding as I flipped it open. “He’s a shadow, lowkey, composed, a vault the media can’t c***k. He runs the Usher Holdings, a private firm laundering cash, $25 million through silent shell deals last year. We traced it to Luxembourg, all his work. He Lives in a townhouse in San Francisco, a cabin in Tahoe, a plane he keeps buried. He’s possessive, arrogant as hell and keeps everything locked down. Four exes we found. They were quiet women, no headlines. One of them named Lena, sold us a letter of him demanding she ditch her life, offering her millions to be his.”

My mind snagged on a memory I couldn’t forget. Two years in, Leonard had stumbled home late, his tie loose, his breath sour with gin. I’d been on the couch, wine trembling in my hand, when he’d dragged that blonde in red dress.

“Business associate,” he’d slurred, smirking at her while I sat there, invisible. He’d never taken me to his family, never let me near them. I’d begged once—asked to meet them.

“They’d laugh you out,” he’d snapped. “You’re not their kind.” I’d swallowed it, played the good wife, while he chased their approval and left me in the dark.

“He’s more,” I continued, shifting my mind away from the past. “Demure, controlled, hard to reach. No cameras, no social life.But he’s got a c***k… women. It is rumored that Ambrose falls when they play him right. He craves pity women he can own, and that’s how I’m coming in.”

Abby shook her head, her voice rising. “Jan, he’s a fortress! The hardest man to catch, you said it yourself. Ambrose? He’ll see through you in a heartbeat. This is nuts!”

I slammed the folder down, my temper flaring. “Nuts? You think I’d settle for scraps? The others are loose ends Abby, Ambrose is the core. He’s hard, yes, but that’s why he’s perfect. They’ll never see it coming. I’d play the broken girl, tears, a sob story and he’d bite it.

She scoffed, leaning forward. “He’s a steel trap, Jane! You’d be lucky to even get a glance, let alone a ring. We could work Miles, flash a smile, and be done in a month. Ambrose could take years… if he doesn’t crush you first.”

I glared, my voice low and fierce. “Miles would ruin us with his big mouth. Ambrose is slow, but he’s deep. I’d get in, bump into him at that gala meeting the family is hosting next week, the art auction he’s funding. I’ll throw in one of my art work and stand as a collector. I’d let my eyes water, tell him my ex broke me. He’d take the bait Abby, I’d make him. A relationship, maybe marriage. Then I’d gut them from the inside.”

Abby rubbed her face, groaning. “You’re stubborn as hell. Fine, Ambrose it is. But if he locks you out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I nodded, a grim satisfaction settling in. “He won’t. He’s never seen me. We’ve got this.”

She sighed, tracing her gaze back to the paper on the table before finally speaking. “Do you really want to do this, Janet? Why not just forget it. move on? Why drag yourself through their mud?”

My throat tightened, and I looked away, the question cutting deeper than I’d expected. “Move on? I’ve got nothing to move to, Abby. I’m an orphan girl, I would have gotten the same scholarship with my little sister and study abroad. But no, I wasted my life on him. I was sixteen when I met Leonard, Abby. alone, desperate, no one but him. He saw that and used it. He promised me a family, then made me his toy. Kept me locked away, broke me down, till I was nothing. He took my teens, my twenties, everything. I won’t let him take my fight too.”

“You know if you start this, there’s no going back?” Abby asked, her eyes were filled with uncertainty.

“What have I got to loose anyway?” I mocked, “The Usher family faked a pre- nup agreement in my signature. I have nothing to live for anymore.”

Abby’s eyes softened, her voice quiet. “s**t, Jane. I didn’t mean to… f**k, I’m sorry. Okay. We’re in. Ambrose it is.” She rushed to my side and hugged me.

“I-I’m so sorry but I feel so…” I broke down.

“Shh, it’s okay Janie. I’m with you in every step of the way.” She wiped the tears from my eyes and gave me a light kiss on the forehead.

“Let’s make them pay.”