I'd heard that the latest girl to catch Maxwell Spencer's eye had been with her penniless boyfriend for eight years. Maxwell had forced her to break up with him, but she'd sworn she'd rather die than be with him. In the end, she'd been forced to stay by his side anyway. That night, fireworks lit up the sky above the Spencer family's seaside estate until dawn. The following day, cars from jewelry stores lined up outside the girl's apartment building, delivering one velvet box after another to her door. Nancy Clarke, my housekeeper, told me all this when she brought my winter clothes to the psychiatric hospital. My name was Vera Spencer, and I was Maxwell's wife. For refusing to turn a blind eye to his endless affairs, I'd been locked away in this facility for 16 months. Before I could say anything, Nancy took my hand, her eyes reddening, telling me about my brother, Nathan Lawson. "Vera, Nathan made a bad investment. His creditors seized the last house your family had left. He's still deep in debt, and Maxwell's the only reason those creditors are getting paid." My grip tightened around her hand. I wanted to ask how my brother was doing, but before I could get the words out, I coughed up blood and lost consciousness. When I woke, Maxwell was sitting beside my bed. It was the first time I'd seen him in four months. "Vera, promise me you won't cause trouble for her, and I'll take you home. You'll always be Mrs. Spencer." This time, I finally nodded. For my brother's sake, I would learn to look the other way.