Chapter 1 - The Perfect Marriage
Three Years Earlier
Everyone in New York called them the perfect couple.
Rebecca Lawson, the only daughter of billionaire entrepreneur Richard Lawson, had fallen in love with a charming financial consultant named Trevor Hayes.
Society magazines adored them.
Television hosts invited them onto talk shows.
Business journals praised Trevor as the self-made man who had won the heart of America's most eligible heiress.
Richard Lawson never believed the image.
During their first dinner together, he watched Trevor more than he listened.
Trevor laughed at every joke.
Complimented every servant.
Remembered everyone's names.
Too perfect.
After dinner, Richard poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"I've met thousands of businessmen," he told Rebecca.
"The dangerous ones aren't arrogant."
Rebecca smiled.
"You don't like him because he isn't rich."
Richard shook his head.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because he watches people before speaking."
Rebecca laughed.
"That's called being thoughtful."
Richard stared out the window.
"No," he murmured.
"That's called calculating."
Rebecca refused to listen.
She believed love could overcome suspicion.
Six months later they were married in a ceremony attended by presidents, celebrities, and royalty.
Trevor cried during his vows.
Guests called him devoted.
Richard noticed something else.
Trevor never cried after the cameras stopped filming.
Late that night, after the wedding guests had left, Richard called his private investigator.
"I want everything."
"The past twenty years?"
"No."
"The next twenty."
The investigator chuckled.
"You think he'll become dangerous?"
Richard stared at the wedding photograph on his desk.
May you like
"I think he already is."
Neither man realized how right he was.
