Chapter 3
The next morning, I sat in my office reviewing quarterly reports when my assistant knocked. "Mrs. Burke? There's a package for you from TechSurv Solutions."
I'd placed the order the night before, using a shell company to maintain anonymity. The small black box contained what looked like an ordinary cologne atomizer—sleek chrome with elegant lines that would blend seamlessly with Mathias's grooming collection. The GPS tracker was embedded so precisely within the mechanism that even close inspection wouldn't reveal its true nature.
The accompanying app downloaded onto a burner phone I'd purchased with cash. Within minutes, I had full access to real-time location tracking, movement history, and alert notifications. Corporate espionage tools repurposed for personal warfare.
That evening, I waited until Mathias retreated to his study for his nightly ritual of checking emails and having a scotch. I slipped into our bedroom and approached his dresser, where his Tom Ford Oud Wood sat among other expensive bottles. My hands remained steady as I unscrewed the atomizer top and replaced it with the tracking device. The fit was perfect—identical weight, identical spray pattern. He would never notice the difference.
I tested the mechanism once, the familiar woody scent filling the air. Tomorrow, when he applied his cologne before work, he would unknowingly activate the tracker that would map every step of his betrayal.
The first week of surveillance felt like watching a slow-motion car crash. Tuesday morning, Mathias left for work at his usual time, his location pinging steadily from his office building. At 2:47 PM, the red dot began moving east through Manhattan traffic. I watched it navigate the familiar streets, my heart rate increasing as it approached the Hilton Hotel on East 54th Street.
My hotel. One of the crown jewels in my hospitality empire.
The tracker remained stationary for two hours and thirty-seven minutes before beginning its journey back to his office. Thursday brought an identical pattern—same route, same hotel, same duration. The precision of their schedule was almost insulting in its predictability.
By Friday, I had enough data to confirm what I'd already suspected, but seeing the evidence mapped out in stark digital clarity still felt like a physical blow. Red dots marking the coordinates of my husband's infidelity, time stamps documenting each betrayal.
I made the call to Marcus Chen, the Hilton's general manager, from my office that afternoon.
"Mrs. Anderson, what can I do for you?"
"I need to review guest registry data for Room 1247, going back two months. And I'll need access to security footage for the same period."
There was a pause. Marcus had worked for me long enough to know I didn't make frivolous requests. "Of course. I'll have everything ready within the hour. Should I ask why?"
"Personal matter. Discretion is paramount."
"Understood completely."
The data arrived via encrypted email an hour later. Room 1247—a junior suite with city views—had been booked every Tuesday and Thursday for the past eight weeks. Always the same credit card, always under the name "D. Harrison." Dior's pathetic attempt at subterfuge.
The security footage was harder to watch than I'd anticipated. There they were in grainy black and white—Mathias and Dior entering the hotel lobby together, her hand resting possessively on his arm. In the elevator, she pressed herself against him while he looked around nervously, still possessing enough shame to worry about being seen.
I fast-forwarded through weeks of identical scenes. Their body language grew more comfortable, more familiar. Dior's confidence increased while Mathias's caution decreased. They began arriving separately but within minutes of each other. They developed signals—she would text him when the coast was clear, he would wait in the bar until she gave the all-clear.
The most damning footage was from last Tuesday. I watched Dior trail her fingers down Mathias's chest as they waited for the elevator, watched him lean down to whisper something in her ear that made her throw her head back and laugh. The intimacy between them was unmistakable, carved into their gestures and stolen glances.
Seven years of marriage reduced to surveillance footage and GPS coordinates. Seven years of trust, sacrifice, and love betrayed in a junior suite that I owned, paid for with money from the empire I'd built.
I closed the laptop and stared out at the Manhattan skyline, the city lights beginning to twinkle in the gathering dusk. Somewhere out there, Mathias was probably heading home, cologne still carrying traces of Dior's perfume, preparing to kiss me hello with lips that had been on another woman.
The tracker had served its purpose. Now I had everything I needed to move to the next phase.
Revenge required patience, precision, and the perfect trap. And I owned the perfect location to spring it.
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