For His Mistress, My Husband Made Me Strip on Dark Web

Chapter 2

Audrey woke in the hospital the following day with bandages covering much of her body.

"Mommy, you're finally awake." Noah leaned over the edge of the bed, his eyes swollen and red. "You've been asleep all day."

Audrey raised a hand and gently stroked his cheek.

"Noah, Grandpa and Grandma are gone now, and there's nothing else keeping me here. Will you come with Mommy and leave Daddy and this place behind?"

"Doesn't Daddy want us anymore?" Tears rolled down Noah's cheeks, but he scrubbed them away with his sleeve. "It's okay. I'm a big boy now. I can protect you, Mommy."

Audrey's eyes stung with tears. Noah was still so young, yet he understood far more than anyone realized.

She pulled him into her arms. "All right. Once Mommy gets divorced, we'll leave this place and never come back."

Noah didn't fully understand what divorce meant, but he nodded anyway.

After another day of rest, Audrey was strong enough to put her plan into motion. The first person she contacted was an attorney she trusted.

Years earlier, Audrey had quietly paid the tuition of a law student who had no ties to the Prescott family. The student, Daniel Evans, had since become a respected attorney.

He arrived soon after. Audrey asked Noah to wait outside so she could speak to him alone.

After hearing the full story, Daniel asked, "Ms. Lane, what outcome are you looking for?"

Audrey remained perfectly calm. "I want everything the Prescott family owns."

Daniel looked concerned. "The evidence of his affair will strengthen your divorce case, but it isn't enough to leave him with nothing."

"I know." Audrey nodded. "After Marcus cheated on me the first time, he begged me to remarry him and signed an agreement transferring all of his assets to me. It's in the safe in the study at the Prescott residence."

Audrey had been 2 months pregnant when she first discovered Marcus's affair. She had asked for a divorce without a moment's hesitation.

Marcus had threatened to kill himself. He had also signed a property transfer agreement and a divorce agreement in advance, promised her his entire fortune, and knelt outside the Lane residence while begging her to take him back.

For the sake of their unborn child, Audrey had finally given in. That decision had dragged her into this nightmare.

Now she was ready to walk away.

"The agreements are still at the Prescott residence. Once I have them, I want you to have Noah's and my current identification records canceled and arrange new identities for us. I want to disappear for good and leave Marcus with nothing."

"As long as you secure those documents, I can make that happen," Daniel said. "It will take 12 days to prepare the new identities. Until then, you need to keep Marcus calm and make sure he doesn't suspect what you're planning."

After they settled the details, Audrey signed herself out of the hospital and returned to the Prescott residence with Noah.

Marcus was already home.

Beside him, Megan sat quietly in a wheelchair, dressed in white. She looked delicate and beautiful, and nothing about her suggested that she had been unable to walk for years.

Marcus greeted Audrey with the same gentle smile he had always worn.

"Audrey, Megan is highly educated. Didn't you say Noah is 4 now and should start taking lessons? I've asked her to tutor him."

Audrey stared at him in disbelief.

He wanted his mistress to teach their son.

For the first time, she realized just how shameless Marcus could be. He presented the outrageous suggestion as though it were perfectly reasonable.

But none of it mattered anymore. Once Audrey recovered the agreements, Marcus would mean nothing to her. He could keep his mistress wherever he pleased.

Audrey nodded calmly. "Fine."

Surprise flickered in Marcus's eyes. She was far too calm. She didn't question him, burst into tears, or beg him to reconsider.

Her indifference unsettled him for reasons he couldn't explain.

He frowned. "Then I'll have Nora prepare a guest room for Megan. She can stay upstairs in the room beside the study."

The study was the most private room in the house and contained a great deal of confidential company information. Even Audrey had never been allowed to use the room next to it.

Marcus watched her, clearly expecting her to lose her temper and object.

She did neither.

"Do whatever you want. I'm going to lie down."

Audrey watched from her room until she saw Marcus lead Megan into the master bedroom. As soon as the door closed behind them, she hurried to the study and went straight to the safe.

Footsteps suddenly approached in the hallway.

Audrey recognized Marcus's footsteps immediately.

What was going on? Before coming here, she had specifically told Nora Porter to keep an eye on Marcus's room and report to her the moment he stepped out.

With no time to figure out why Nora had failed to warn her, Audrey slipped into the narrow space behind a floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

The study door opened moments later.

Marcus's low, breathless voice filled the room, mingling with a woman's soft moans.

Audrey knew his voice too well.

For years, Marcus had whispered her name over and over whenever they were together in bed. Now he was whispering Megan's name instead.

In the past, Audrey would have burst out of hiding, slapped them both, and caused a scene.

This time, she clenched her teeth and stayed hidden, swallowing her humiliation and disgust. Her feelings no longer mattered. All that mattered was securing the agreements.

She only needed to wait until they were finished.

More than 10 minutes passed, but they showed no sign of stopping. The cramped position soon became unbearable, and the wounds across Audrey's back throbbed with every breath.

She shifted her weight slightly.

At that moment, Megan's gaze met hers through a gap between the books.

Audrey silently mouthed, "Please don't say anything."

She still believed Megan had been trapped by Marcus and wouldn't expose her. After all, Megan had been the one who tearfully begged Audrey to send her overseas for treatment and help her escape from him.

A moment later, Megan lifted both legs and wrapped them around Marcus's waist.

The smug triumph in Megan's eyes exposed the helpless-victim act she had so carefully maintained.

Audrey went completely still.

Then Megan abruptly pushed Marcus away as though his touch had burned her. Tears welled in her eyes at once.

"No, please don't do this." Her gaze darted toward the bookcase in apparent panic. "Mrs. Prescott, please don't take pictures of me."

Marcus spun around. His gaze locked on Audrey in the narrow space behind the bookcase.

"You've been secretly filming us?"