He dumped her for being plain and poor, severely underestimating the billionaire who was waiting to claim her. Jaws hit the floor in FROM BROKEN WIFE TO BILLIONAIRE'S FIANCEE when she arrives at her ex-husband's pathetic charity gala dripping in exclusive diamonds, casually buying out his failing company with a single black card. Feed your soul with this empowering short drama full series today! #FROMBROKENWIFETOBILLIONAIRESFIANCEE #glowup #ceorevenge #shortdrama #miniseriesfullepisodes #fullepisode #fullmovie #engsub #englishwebseries #trendingdramausuk #completeverticaldrama #viralshortfilm #bestromancedrama2026 #ReelShort #DramaBox #ShortMax #GoodShort #MoboReel #KalosTV #TopShort #full
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Short filmTranscript
00:03This is the third time my husband caught me cheating in bed.
00:07Sebastian stormed in, expecting me to fall apart like the last two times.
00:11Mrs. Caldwell, this is your third violation.
00:13Under the agreement, you waive any claim to marital assets and agree not to contest custody.
00:19Sebastian threw the divorce papers onto the table in front of me.
00:23First time, you claimed you didn't know the guy.
00:26Second time, you had no idea how you end up in that hotel room.
00:31Third time, Quinn. What's your excuse now?
00:34I picked up the pen and signed.
00:36No tears, no begging, no explanation.
00:40Just my name at the bottom of the page.
00:42I gave him everything he wanted.
00:45The divorce, the house, even our daughter.
00:49So why did he look like I was the one who had just destroyed him?
00:53It's done, Mr. Caldwell.
00:56Sebastian kept staring at me.
00:58Because last time, I had gotten on my knees and begged him.
01:02I grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go.
01:06Please, for Ava.
01:11Just believe me this once.
01:17I'll clear out my things as soon as possible.
01:19As for visitation rights...
01:21You don't deserve to be her mother.
01:22The agreement is clear.
01:23You have no rights to Ava.
01:25Not anymore.
01:27That's actually what I was going to say.
01:29I don't want visitation rights either.
01:31He couldn't figure me out, and it showed.
01:33For four years, Sebastian and Ava were my entire world.
01:37I used to fall apart just watching Ava reach for Kara's hand instead of mine.
01:42And now I was walking away without blinking.
01:45Even Sebastian could tell something was off.
01:51Typical.
01:52You'd throw your own kid away for some guy.
01:55But didn't you work so hard to trap me?
01:58Got pregnant on purpose just to lock me down?
02:01So what was all that about?
02:03I let him talk.
02:04I was done explaining myself to this man.
02:07I had been done for a long time.
02:09The first time Sebastian stormed in, my mind went totally blank.
02:13I didn't know that man.
02:15I had never seen him in my life.
02:17I cried.
02:18I begged.
02:19I swore I had no idea what had happened.
02:22Sebastian had always assumed I could never leave him.
02:26That arrogance worked in my favor.
02:28The guy had already disappeared.
02:30Nothing left on the security footage but a shadow.
02:32So Sebastian let it go.
02:35But he still took Ava from me.
02:37I got one visit a month, and even that had to be booked through Kara a week in advance.
02:43Every toy, every piece of clothing I bought for her had to go through Kara first.
02:47If Kara said no, Ava never saw it.
02:51I was falling apart, so I found a job just to keep myself together.
02:55Then the second time happened.
02:58I was on a work trip.
03:00I woke up in a hotel room I didn't book, next to a man I didn't know.
03:05Both of us barely dressed.
03:07I called the police immediately.
03:09The female officer examined me and confirmed I hadn't been assaulted.
03:13But Sebastian had already decided.
03:16To him, I was guilty.
03:18I just got caught before anything happened.
03:21After that, I wasn't allowed at Ava's school events.
03:24Kara went instead.
03:26I was told to stay home and stop embarrassing everyone.
03:29Our four-year-old looked me in the eye and called me a bad woman.
03:34Sebastian stood right there and said nothing.
03:37So the third time?
03:39I was done playing their game.
03:41I gave them exactly what they wanted.
03:44And now he had the nerve to ask me why I was walking away from my own child.
03:51Mr. Caldwell, in my years of practice, I have never seen a mother give up her child that quickly.
03:57She's been cheating multiple times.
03:59She probably planned this from the start.
04:02A baby was always just an inconvenience to her.
04:04Don't waste your breath.
04:06She glanced over at me as she said it.
04:08Something crossed her face.
04:09Just for a second.
04:10Then it was gone.
04:12I almost laughed.
04:13Because she seemed to forget.
04:14Four years ago, she was the one who drafted that prenup.
04:17The one that spelled out exactly how many times I'd have to cheat before losing everything.
04:22She wrote the rules of this game.
04:24Now she was shocked I was done playing.
04:26Sebastian looked at me like I'd just said something stupid.
04:30You better mean it.
04:31Don't come crawling back.
04:33I watched him disappear through the door.
04:35I won't, Sebastian.
04:36Not this time.
04:37I spent months talking myself into loving him.
04:40Ignored every red flag.
04:42Told myself it was meant to be.
04:44Funny how that turned out.
04:46Quinn.
04:47Wouldn't want to ruin your little reunion.
04:49The door clicked shut.
04:50The room went quiet.
04:51I looked down at the man still passed out in the bed.
04:54My stomach turned.
04:55I had woken up before him.
04:57I could have left before Sebastian ever showed up.
04:59But I was tired of running.
05:01Tired of being the mouse in this game.
05:03So I stayed.
05:04And I let them come.
05:05I grabbed my coat and walked out without looking back.
05:09The next evening I went back to pack my things.
05:12I pushed open the bedroom door and stopped.
05:15Everything was gone.
05:16My clothes.
05:17My shoes.
05:18All of it.
05:19Ma'am, your things were moved to the storage room out back.
05:22Ms. Ellick gave the instructions.
05:23She said the room needs to be ready soon.
05:25I smiled.
05:26Four years.
05:27And I didn't even get a proper goodbye.
05:30I walked out to the storage room and pushed the door open.
05:33Boxes stacked on boxes.
05:35Bags shoved into corners.
05:37I got down and started going through them one by one.
05:40Everything else could stay.
05:42I just needed one thing.
05:44Mom's antique enamel locket.
05:46Her grandmother had given it to her and she had passed it down to me.
05:49It was the only thing in this house that had ever truly belonged to me.
05:52I found it at the bottom of the last box.
05:55I pressed it into my palm and finally exhaled.
05:58I was reaching for a few pieces of clothing when a small voice came from the doorway.
06:03What are you doing?
06:05I turned around.
06:06Ava.
06:06Standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
06:09She had Sebastian's face, but that stance.
06:11That look down her nose.
06:13Pure Kara.
06:15Getting my things.
06:16I turned back and kept packing.
06:19Any other day I would have pulled her into a hug.
06:21Even if she squirmed away.
06:23Not today.
06:24Those aren't your things.
06:26Then she stepped directly onto the pile of clothes on the floor.
06:29Auntie Kara said everything in this house belongs to Dad.
06:32You can't take any of it.
06:37This belonged to me before I ever set foot in this house.
06:40You spent Dad's money.
06:42Dad paid for it, so it's his.
06:44You don't live here anymore.
06:46Don't touch it.
06:48Not family anymore.
06:50I looked up at her.
06:52Four years old.
06:53Standing in front of me like I was a stranger who had broken in.
06:57She looked at me the way Sebastian never could.
06:59I'm only taking one thing.
07:02Everything else can stay.
07:04No!
07:05Auntie Kara said you're a thief!
07:07Ava.
07:09Move.
07:10No!
07:11Auntie Kara said if you come back you're a bad person.
07:14You're a thief!
07:14Put it back!
07:15I'm going to say it one more time.
07:19Move!
07:20Put it down!
07:21She lunged at me and snatched the pendant hanging around my neck.
07:25I staggered back.
07:26The pendant slipped off.
07:29The antique enamel locket hit the hardwood floor.
07:32A sharp crack split the room.
07:34I stood frozen.
07:35Mom's voice echoed in my head from the day she gave it to me.
07:38Six generations.
07:40My grandmother to me.
07:42Me to you.
07:44And one day, your daughter.
07:47I did have a daughter.
07:48And she had just destroyed it.
07:50Six generations of history.
07:52Shattered on the floor by my own flesh and blood.
07:57Your fault.
07:59You wouldn't let go.
08:01I told you.
08:02That locket was your grandmother's.
08:05Do you even know why she's stuck in a care center right now?
08:09I don't have a grandma.
08:11Auntie Cora said she's just a leech draining daddy's bank account.
08:15The room went dead silent.
08:17I took one slow step toward her.
08:20Say that again.
08:21Ava flinched.
08:22She bit her lip.
08:23But she was too used to getting away with it.
08:25I said!
08:26Auntie Kara said she's just burning through daddy's money
08:29and she's never getting better.
08:31I shoved her.
08:32She stumbled.
08:33Went straight down on her backside.
08:37She sat there, blinking.
08:39One second.
08:40Two.
08:40Then she let out a wail.
08:42Daddy!
08:44I stood there, my palms numb.
08:46I watched my daughter kick her legs on the floor.
08:49A leech.
08:51A burden.
08:53That woman she was talking about was my mom.
08:55Her grandmother.
08:56The woman who spent months knitting Ava a blanket from that exact, useless bed.
09:01Her frail hands shaking the entire time.
09:04The woman who every single birthday made a nurse dial my number.
09:07Just to whisper,
09:09Happy birthday, baby girl.
09:11And that's all she was to Ava.
09:13A waste of money.
09:14A jagged piece of the broken locket bit into my palm.
09:18The pain pulled me back, just barely.
09:20Sebastian came charging in.
09:22He saw Ava on the floor crying and scooped her up instantly.
09:26Ava, hey.
09:28What happened?
09:29Ava buried her face in his chest, gasping between sobs.
09:32Daddy, she pushed me.
09:34Make her leave.
09:35I want Auntie Kara.
09:39Quinn.
09:40Have you lost your mind?
09:42She's four years old.
09:44I didn't hit her.
09:45I pushed her.
09:46Same thing.
09:47I looked down at the broken locket in my palm.
09:50No, hitting her would have been discipline.
09:52Pushing her?
09:53She earned it!
09:54Sebastian went still.
09:56He looked down at the little girl in his arms.
09:59Ava sniffled against his shoulder.
10:02I just told the truth.
10:04Auntie Kara said she's a broken old lady taking up space.
10:09She's a child.
10:10Let it go.
10:11Kara runs the household finances now.
10:13Ava overheard one comment and ran with it.
10:15Don't turn this into a whole thing.
10:16You know everything she does for this family.
10:18His eyes dropped to the broken locket in my hand.
10:22He went quiet for a second.
10:25I brought Ava here so you two could talk.
10:27But the other thing, not in front of her.
10:30I knew exactly what the other thing was.
10:32The divorce.
10:34I didn't say anything.
10:35Talk.
10:36About what exactly?
10:37Four years of marriage?
10:39The time Sebastian and Ava spent talking to me
10:41wouldn't add up to half the time he spent with Kara.
10:44And he had been the one who chased me.
10:47Back in college.
10:48Step by step.
10:49Pulling me in.
10:50Making me believe in something everyone around us
10:53had already given up on.
10:54I held onto that for so long.
10:57Waiting.
10:58Hoping.
10:59Until the day I finally got the answer I'd been waiting for.
11:02Maybe it was better.
11:03It never came.
11:05Mom was still at the care center waiting for me.
11:07I grabbed my bag and walked out.
11:09In the living room, Kara was crouched in front of Ava, murmuring softly.
11:14Why won't she look at us?
11:16She's so mean!
11:18She was used to me caving.
11:19Used to me coming back red-eyed.
11:21I'm sorry, baby.
11:22Mommy was wrong.
11:23So when I didn't even glance back,
11:25it felt like the cruelest thing I'd ever done to her.
11:28Sebastian said nothing.
11:29But I felt his stare like ice on the back of my neck.
11:32I kept walking.
11:33My hand touched the front door.
11:35Then he finally snapped.
11:36Don't you dare walk out that door!
11:39I stopped.
11:40Get over here.
11:41Apologize to Ava.
11:42You pushed her.
11:43You scared her.
11:44I stood there for a moment.
11:45This was probably the last time I'd ever see her.
11:48I had nothing left to fight about.
11:50I'm sorry.
11:51Mommy shouldn't have pushed you.
11:53Ava sniffled.
11:54And then she spat in my face.
11:56I felt it land on my cheek.
11:58Warm.
11:59Sliding down slowly.
12:00You're disgusting.
12:02You got what you deserved.
12:03Even a four-year-old knows trash when she sees it.
12:07I raised my hand and wiped my cheek.
12:10A smile crossed my face.
12:12I'm the one who's been cheating?
12:13Every setup had been sloppy.
12:15Obvious.
12:16Either he didn't see it, or he didn't want to.
12:18Fine.
12:19Four years, Sebastian.
12:20You had her in our lives for every single one of them.
12:23You put her in my home.
12:25You let her raise my daughter.
12:27So who's really the problem here?
12:30We're done pretending.
12:31We both know it.
12:33Kara's face drained.
12:34Her eyes filled instantly.
12:36How dare you say that?
12:38Sebastian, I swear, I never-
12:40Four years, Quinn.
12:42Are you done?
12:43You want to go there?
12:45Fine.
12:45Let me show you what that actually looks like.
12:48He told the nanny to take Ava out.
12:51Then he grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the bedroom.
12:54The door shut behind us.
12:56He used his tie to bind my wrists and shoved me to the floor.
13:02Then he turned, jerked her close, and buried his face in her neck.
13:08You want this?
13:09Kara hesitated for just a second.
13:12Then she wrapped her arms around him.
13:13Sebastian, I've been waiting so long for this.
13:17He pulled her in and they crashed together, hands everywhere.
13:21Clothes hit the floor.
13:23Sebastian.
13:24My voice scraped out of my throat.
13:26We're already getting divorced.
13:28Did you have to do this right in front of me?
13:33Humiliate you?
13:34Quinn, you think you're still worth that much to me?
13:37Kara curled around him from behind.
13:39She looked at me over his shoulder.
13:41Don't get distracted, baby.
13:43I closed my eyes.
13:44The tears came without a sound.
13:47Then the phone buzzed against the floor.
13:49Mom's number.
13:50Ms. Bennett, you need to come now.
13:51Your mother found out about the divorce.
13:53She's completely hysterical.
13:54She's out of her mind.
13:56She's on the roof.
13:57What?
13:58She said she wants to-
13:59The line went dead.
14:01Sebastian, something happened to my mom.
14:04Please, let me go.
14:05Funny timing, Quinn.
14:07A second ago, you wanted proof.
14:09Now you're desperate to run.
14:10I'm not making it up.
14:11That was the care center.
14:12She found out about the divorce and she's on the roof.
14:15She's going to-
14:16Enough!
14:17We just signed the papers today.
14:19How would she even know?
14:21You knew she couldn't handle stress.
14:23If you told her, that's on you.
14:25He turned back to Kara.
14:28Sebastian, I never told her.
14:30Please, just let me go.
14:32There's still time.
14:33She's the one who got hit by that car for you and Ava.
14:36Please don't do this.
14:37What is it this time, Quinn?
14:38Your mom again?
14:40You always pull the same card.
14:42Every time.
14:43Either it's that Ava is too young,
14:44or it's what your mom sacrificed for us.
14:47This is real.
14:48Please.
14:49Everyone knows your mother only jumped in front of that car because of Ava.
14:53Would she have done it for you alone?
14:56You've more than repaid that debt, Sebastian.
14:59Don't let her ruin this.
15:01Something shut off behind his eyes.
15:03He wasn't going to help me.
15:04I knew that now.
15:05I threw myself at the door.
15:07My head hit the wood.
15:08Something split open at my hairline.
15:10He crossed the room in three strides and grabbed me.
15:13You wanted proof.
15:14Fine.
15:15You're not going anywhere.
15:17He tore off a strip of tape and pressed it over my mouth.
15:20Then he picked me up and shoved me into the closet.
15:23Listen closely.
15:24This is what the truth sounds like.
15:27The last sliver of light disappeared.
15:29In the dark, I listened.
15:31Once and again.
15:35The next evening, Sebastian came home late.
15:38He stood in the living room for a moment, pressing two fingers to his temple.
15:41Quinn, I've got a headache.
15:43Can you make something for me?
15:44Silence.
15:45He frowned.
15:46Turned to the housekeeper.
15:47Where is she?
15:48Mr. Caldwell, I was about to ask you the same thing.
15:51Ava's been running a fever since this morning.
15:53A hundred and two.
15:54She keeps calling for her mom.
15:55And the care center called last night.
15:58Your wife's mother jumped from the roof.
15:59Her body is still there.
16:01No one has come to claim her.
16:02What did you just say?
16:03Did you let her out?
16:05Let her out of what?
16:06He was already moving.
16:07Up the stairs.
16:08Faster with every step.
16:10He threw open the closet door.
16:12Staggered back.
16:13The tape ripped apart.
16:15Blood smeared the door hinges where I had literally sawed myself free.
16:20He thought I'd been playing him.
16:23The whole time.
16:25The tears.
16:26The screaming.
16:27My mom on the roof.
16:28All of it.
16:29Nice performance.
16:31Mother and daughter running the same con.
16:33All of this just to squeeze money out of me.
16:36He pulled out his phone.
16:37Called me.
16:39Straight to voicemail.
16:40Keep an eye on Ava.
16:41I want to see exactly what game these two are running.
16:44Yes, sir.
16:45The morgue.
16:46A few nurses recognized Sebastian the moment he walked in.
16:50Their expressions shifted.
16:52You're Quinn's husband?
16:53Where have you been?
16:56She didn't come here?
16:58If she'd come, her mother wouldn't be dead.
17:00Last night, that woman stood on that roof for 30 minutes.
17:03We talked her down.
17:04Told her she had to see her daughter one last time.
17:06That worked.
17:07She stepped back.
17:08We called Quinn.
17:09We kept calling.
17:10She never picked up.
17:11Not once.
17:13Last night.
17:14He had thrown me into that closet.
17:16My phone had been on the floor across the room.
17:19Out of reach.
17:20I had heard every call and couldn't answer a single one.
17:24Her mother jumped because she found out about the divorce.
17:26It completely broke her.
17:28She went into a state of shock and wandered up to the roof.
17:30Came all the way down from that height.
17:32And her own daughter couldn't even show up for the last goodbye.
17:35What kind of person does that?
17:37Sebastian said nothing.
17:39He wanted to explain.
17:40But the words wouldn't come.
17:42The body can't stay here.
17:43You're her family.
17:44Sign the paperwork.
17:46And tell your wife this.
17:47Her mother's last words were,
17:49Tell my Quinn I love her.
17:50It wasn't her fault.
17:52She died defending her daughter.
17:53Make sure Quinn knows that.
17:55Who told her about the divorce?
17:56I never even signed.
17:57We don't know.
17:58Quinn hadn't been here in days.
18:00But a woman came to see her recently.
18:02Said her name was Kara.
18:04After that visit, she wasn't with the same.
18:06Kara.
18:07She came here.
18:09Of course she did.
18:10I never brought bad news home.
18:13Never.
18:14My mom was the last person I'd tell about the divorce.
18:17But Kara would.
18:19He took one step back.
18:21And Quinn's voice came back to him.
18:24My mom got hit by that car because of you and Ava.
18:28Please don't do this.
18:29Three years ago.
18:30Father's Day.
18:31He'd been walking with Ava along the sidewalk when the truck lost control.
18:35My mom had shoved them both out of the way.
18:37Took the full impact herself.
18:39Six steel pins in her leg.
18:42A permanent limp.
18:43Long-term care for the rest of her life.
18:45Mom.
18:46I'll take care of you.
18:47I promise.
18:48And at first, he had.
18:50But then the visits got shorter.
18:52Then stopped.
18:53He told himself the care center was no place for a child.
18:57The truth was simpler than that.
18:59He just forgot.
19:01The lights were on when he got home.
19:03Ava was on the couch.
19:04Cheeks flushed red.
19:06Daddy.
19:07Where's mommy?
19:09Why isn't she back?
19:11Mom's dealing with something.
19:12I don't care.
19:14I'm sick.
19:15I want mommy.
19:16She always stays with me when I'm sick.
19:18She tells me stories and gives me my medicine and holds me all night.
19:22She's so mean.
19:24Why won't she come back?
19:26Mommy.
19:28I want my mommy.
19:30It hit him all at once.
19:32The woman Ava cursed and the mother she was crying for were the same person.
19:36Every time Ava got sick, I had shown up.
19:39No matter what.
19:40I'd stay up all night watching her, holding her until the fever broke.
19:44Ava knew it without ever being told.
19:46Good days?
19:47Fun days?
19:48She ran to Auntie Kara.
19:50Sick days?
19:51Scared days?
19:52Nightmares in the dark?
19:53She called for mom.
19:54And now mom was gone.
19:56He picked her up, whispered something, and handed her to the housekeeper.
20:00He walked to the study and closed the door.
20:03The divorce papers were on the desk.
20:05My signature already on the line.
20:07His side still blank.
20:08He'd never intended to sign.
20:10He'd been furious when I signed so easily.
20:13More than furious.
20:14He thought I was the one who cheated.
20:16That I blew this apart.
20:17So why was I the one walking away clean?
20:20The first two times, I begged.
20:22Cried.
20:23Told him I couldn't do it.
20:24That's how it always went.
20:26Not this time.
20:27I signed without blinking.
20:29Left without looking back.
20:30Didn't even fight for Ava.
20:32And now, I couldn't even show up for my own mother's body.
20:36Four years.
20:37And I walked out like none of it happened.
20:40Like there was nothing left worth taking.
20:42He stared at my name on the paper.
20:44It made him sick.
20:46He opened our chat.
20:47Typed slowly.
20:48I took care of your mom's arrangements.
20:51No reply.
20:52He typed again.
20:54Ava has a fever.
20:55She keeps asking for you.
20:56Nothing.
20:57The study was quiet.
20:58Just the clock on the wall.
21:00Then the housekeeper screamed from down the hall.
21:02Well, Ava's having a febrile seizure.
21:05Sebastian burst into Ava's room.
21:08He scooped her up and ran.
21:09In the car, Ava was barely conscious, mumbling against his chest.
21:14Hera said mommy was horrible.
21:17She said just pull the plug and the old lady dies.
21:21Ticara said if I pulled the tube, the old lady would die.
21:25But grandma wasn't bad.
21:27She made things for me.
21:29Mommy, I'm sorry.
21:32Don't leave me.
21:34He looked down at her.
21:35Pull the plug.
21:37It came back to him.
21:38He remembered the night my mom's oxygen got disconnected.
21:42She had nearly died.
21:44I was so devastated that he finally caved and let Ava move back in with me.
21:49But shortly after that, he caught me in bed with another guy.
21:52That was the third time.
21:54And just like that, I gave up the kid.
21:57Walked away without a fight.
21:59Yesterday, Ava spat in my face.
22:01And somehow, that had become normal in his house.
22:05When?
22:06When did that become normal to her?
22:09They reached the hospital.
22:11The doctors rushed Ava into the ER.
22:14Sebastian leaned against the wall in the corridor, hands still shaking.
22:18He pulled out his phone and stared at the messages he'd sent.
22:21If Ava's fever couldn't bring me back, nothing would.
22:24The hallway was quiet.
22:25He closed his eyes.
22:27All he could see was me.
22:29Crying.
22:30Begging.
22:31The first time.
22:32The second time.
22:33The night my mom collapsed.
22:35Kara came rushing down the corridor, face tight with panic.
22:38How is she?
22:39Is Ava okay?
22:40Sebastian opened his eyes and looked at her.
22:42Kara basically grew up in his house.
22:44Her dad managed their money.
22:46He trusted her.
22:47He swore she cared about his family.
22:49But what Ava mumbled in the car changed everything.
22:53What have you been telling her?
22:54What?
22:56My daughter.
22:57Waste of money.
22:59Pull the plug.
23:00Was that you?
23:01I was just looking at the facts.
23:04The facts?
23:05She's four.
23:07You taught a four-year-old to spit at her own mom because of facts?
23:10Sebastian, listen.
23:11Get out!
23:13I'll pay you for last night.
23:14After that, you're done here.
23:16Don't ever come back.
23:17Kara's eyes filled with tears.
23:19Years of playing the long game.
23:20Just for it to end like this?
23:22She didn't say another word.
23:23Just turned and left.
23:25Sebastian leaned back against the wall.
23:27Sure, he let Kara cross some lines.
23:30But they never slept together.
23:32Honestly, he didn't realize she was throwing herself at him until yesterday.
23:35He pulled out his phone and called his assistant.
23:40Pull everything.
23:41January last year, the 8th of last month, and the hotel.
23:44I want every single detail on those three guys.
23:47Okay.
23:47Kara used to handle these background checks.
23:49But if she was setting me up this whole time?
23:52He opened our chat and typed,
23:54Quinn, I'm sorry.
23:56Five minutes.
23:58Ten minutes.
23:59Nothing.
23:59He tried again.
24:01Ava is asking for you.
24:02Please come back.
24:03He dropped to the floor, head in his hands.
24:05He couldn't stop thinking about last night.
24:08Me trapped inside that closet, hands bound, mouth taped shut.
24:12Forced to lie there in the dark and listen to him and Kara going at it right on our bed.
24:16He remembered me screaming that my mom was on the roof.
24:19And he just told me to stop acting crazy.
24:22His stomach violently heaved.
24:24For the first time in four years, he realized,
24:27he might be the monster in this story.
24:30Sebastian's phone buzzed against the floor.
24:32It was his assistant.
24:34What did you find?
24:35Mr. Caldwell.
24:36The men from the second and third incidents both received large transfers from the same account.
24:41Sir, it looks staged.
24:45He stared at the screen, his grip tightening around his phone.
24:48He thought back to the first affair.
24:51I was on my knees crying, swearing I didn't know the guy.
24:54He refused to believe me.
24:56The second time, I said I had no idea how I ended up in that hotel room.
25:00He still didn't believe me.
25:02The third time, I didn't say a single word.
25:05And he took my silence as guilt.
25:07Every single time, he let Kara handle the investigation.
25:11The evidence was always too perfect.
25:13He had his doubts, but he needed an excuse.
25:16He wanted to punish me for that pregnancy trap.
25:19For forcing him into this marriage.
25:21Back then, having Kara draft that prenup was just a sick way to humiliate me.
25:26Even he thought the clause about losing everything after three affairs was ridiculous.
25:30How could he ever let me cheat three times?
25:32He wouldn't even tolerate it once.
25:34But in the end, he was the one who practically set me up for it.
25:38He had destroyed his wife over a crime I didn't commit.
25:41Call the cops.
25:42Give them everything.
25:43And add everything you can on coaching a child to tamper with medical equipment.
25:47For the next few days, he stayed by Ava's hospital bed.
25:51Waiting for just one message from me.
25:55Ava kept waking up, mumbling,
25:58Where's mommy?
26:01He never had an answer.
26:03I had really done it.
26:04I had wiped them from my life.
26:06Not long after that, he got an urgent call from her kindergarten.
26:10When he rushed over, he found Ava huddled in a chair in the nurse's office.
26:14Busted lip.
26:15Bruised cheek.
26:16What happened?
26:17Ava refused to talk.
26:19Some kids said she didn't have a mom.
26:21Ava fought them.
26:26On the drive home, Ava looked at him in the rearview mirror.
26:29Daddy, did mommy throw me away because I spit at her?
26:34She wiped her nose.
26:35Auntie Kara told me if I spit at her, mommy would get scared and stay.
26:40She was packing her bags.
26:42I didn't want her to leave.
26:44Sebastian's hands gripped the steering wheel.
26:46He wanted to tell her.
26:47Mommy didn't abandon you.
26:49Daddy pushed her away.
26:50But his throat just locked up.
26:52It took two weeks to nail Kara.
26:54Not for the setup.
26:55There wasn't enough proof for that.
26:57So he set a trap.
26:58He had her dad investigated for cooking the books on the Caldwell accounts.
27:02Embezzlement.
27:03Millions.
27:04And Kara, as his lawyer, helped forge the documents.
27:07Slam dunk.
27:08When the cops kicked her door in...
27:10I gave you years of my life.
27:12This is how you treat me?
27:16You think locking me up brings her back?
27:18You're dreaming.
27:20Her mom is dead.
27:21She's never gonna forgive you.
27:23The cop cars drove off.
27:25He pulled out his phone and opened my chat.
27:27Hundreds of texts over the last two weeks.
27:30I'm sorry.
27:31Ava misses you.
27:32I was wrong.
27:33Not a single reply.
27:35Not blocked.
27:36Just ignored.
27:37He shoved the phone in his pocket and went to pick up Ava.
27:40She held his hand, their shadows stretching on the sidewalk.
27:43Daddy, did I make Mommy mad because I liked Auntie Kara better?
27:50No, baby.
27:51Daddy drove her away.
27:52Then just say sorry and bring her back.
27:55When Tommy broke my eraser, he said sorry and we were friends again.
28:00Sebastian didn't answer.
28:02He wanted to say sorry now, but I wasn't listening anymore.
28:07His mind flashed back to college.
28:09I was gorgeous, but I kept dodging him.
28:13Said our backgrounds were too different.
28:14He told me he'd handle the rest if I just gave him a chance.
28:18Then came graduation night.
28:20He drank a glass of wine, blacked out, and woke up in bed with me.
28:24Our clothes everywhere.
28:27He thought it was a trap.
28:28He thought I played the innocent card just to drug him and force a marriage.
28:33Then I got pregnant and his parents pushed hard for the marriage.
28:36That only made him resent me more.
28:39He hated me for it.
28:40For four years, he punished me.
28:43But after seeing how desperate Kara was to get in his bed last week,
28:47a sick realization hit him.
28:49A detail he'd ignored for years.
28:52That glass of wine on graduation night?
28:55Kara was the one who handed it to him.
28:57It wasn't me trying to trap him.
29:00It was Kara.
29:02I just walked into the wrong room at the wrong time.
29:05I took the fall.
29:07He had spent four years punishing the wrong woman.
29:10He had spent four years in prison.
29:10But he had to depression.
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