Chapter 53

Chapter 53
MATT’S POV
By the time I drive back home, my head is clear in a way that frightens even me—not with fear, but with purpose. The kind that demands strategy instead of rage. Molly’s words echo in my mind the entire drive: “Start with the people she leans on.”
And the first person on that list isn’t Kat herself. It’s Melissa. My wife. My fragile, insecure, emotional wife who is already unraveling and doesn’t even realize it. If I want every piece in this game to fall exactly where I need it to, then Melissa has to be… open to guidance. I want her to trust me and to be dependent on me. Which means I need to be the man she desperately wants me to be.
I know she and Kat aren’t on good terms right now. But I plan to divorce Melissa. And if I want to do that without problems or her demanding for everything I own, I have to change certain things.
I push open the bedroom door quietly. She is still curled up on the bed, hugging a pillow tight against her chest. The sheets are a mess around her like she hasn’t slept properly at all. Her eyes are red and swollen, cheeks blotchy, hair sticking in different directions—she looks completely wrecked. Perfect.
 I force my expression to soften, force my shoulders to relax, force warmth into my voice the way an actor slips into character.
“Baby…” I say softly. “I brought you breakfast.”
Her head shoots up instantly. She blinks at me, confused then her eyes drop to the tray in my hands.
“Matt?” she whispers like she doesn’t trust what she’s seeing.
I don’t blame her. It’s been a while I did this for her.
I set the tray down gently on her lap. The tray is filled with pancakes, fruit, tea, even the stupid little honey she likes. I brush her hair back from her forehead and kiss her there softly.
 “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, her face crumbles again. Tears fill her eyes instantly, spilling down her cheeks as she covers her mouth with her hand. She almost folds in on herself like the apology alone breaks the last piece of strength she’s been clinging to.
 “Matt,” she breathes, voice cracking, “I - I thought you didn’t believe me. I thought you were taking her side again. I felt so alone.”
I sit beside her and pull her into my chest, holding her tightly. She melts into me without hesitation, clinging to the front of my shirt like she’s terrified I’ll vanish.
“I believe you,” I say, stroking her back in slow, comforting circles. “I believe everything you tell me. About Kat. About the sabotage. Everything.”
She sobs harder, her tears soaking into my shirt.
 “Thank you,” she chokes. “Thank you, Matt. I need you. I - God, I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
I make a soothing sound and kiss the top of her head.
“I’m here,” I whisper. “I’m not going anywhere. I should protect you better. I should believe you sooner.” Her fingers tighten on me like she’s holding on for dear life.
“I know she hates me,” Melissa says breathlessly. “I know she wants to ruin me. To take everything. And everyone keeps acting like I’m imagining it but I’m not- ”
“No,” I interrupt gently, “you’re not imagining anything.”
Her body shakes with another wave of sobs, and I hold her through it, rubbing her back, calming her just the way she always needs.
But behind the tender touches, behind the soft words, behind the slow motion of my hand on her spine… I am smiling. A cold, hidden smile she can’t see with her face buried in my chest. Because this is exactly where I need her to be: unsteady, fragile, emotionally dependent on me. Melissa is a storm of insecurity and desperation right now and storms are easy to redirect. Easy to guide. Easy to weaponize.
I speak into her hair, keeping my voice soothing and low.
“You’re not alone, Melissa. I’ve got you. I’ll always protect you.”
She nods against me repeatedly, whispering, “Thank you, thank you,” like a prayer she hopes I’ll hear.
“You’re the only one who understands,” she says shakily. “The only one who doesn’t think I’m crazy.”
Exactly.
Because if she believes I’m the only safe place she has left… she won’t question me. She won’t doubt my choices. She won’t even notice when I start pulling strings around her. And deep inside, darker than anything I’d ever admit out loud, there is a satisfaction in the control. The influence. The shaping of someone’s reality with nothing but words and timing.
Kat woke up something dangerous in me. Something calculating. Something dark. And I’m finally embracing it.
Eventually her sobbing slows. Her breathing steadies. She sags against me fully. I ease her down gently, letting her lie against me while I rest my back on the headboard. She looks up at me with swollen eyes.
“Do you really believe me?” she whispers.
I cup her face, wipe away one last tear, and say softly, “More than anyone.”
She sighs, shudders, and then closes her eyes. Within minutes, she’s asleep. She falls asleep curled against me like a child who finally finds safety again.
I stare at the ceiling, one hand still resting on her back. I don’t feel love. I don’t feel guilt. I don’t feel anything except cold excitement.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. I reach for it slowly, careful not to wake her. A message from Molly lights up the screen.
Molly: First target selected. We move soon.
I look down at Melissa sleeping peacefully. Her face is relaxed, trusting, vulnerable. She’s a   soft, easy victim in a game she doesn’t know she’s already part of. I stroke her hair once, gently, the way a husband should.
But inside, there is only ice.
The war against Kat has officially begun.
And whatever softness used to live in me… it is gone.