From the small, dusty basement window, I could see them through the villa’s large glass walls.
Evelyn was on the terrace, raising a glass of my finest cut crystal towards the moon.
“To the unity and prosperity of the family!” he exclaimed loudly so that everyone could hear his toast.
Everyone present applauded her, including Trevor, the man who once swore to protect and care for me.
In fact, he was celebrating the fact that his own wife had been kicked out of the bedroom and forced to hide in the barn.
I didn’t cry because I had already cried enough after three years of a very disappointing marriage.
I cried when Trevor left his so-called business and started living solely off my hard-earned salary.
I burst into tears when her mother called me bossy just because I refused to pay for a luxury vacation for her entire large family.
I even burst into tears when he said I was a cold person simply because I didn’t allow him to take advantage of my professional contacts.
That night, watching them from the shadow of the garden, I didn’t cry at all.
The villa was equipped with a very sophisticated smart system, which I designed and installed myself.
It was no ordinary house, as all its functions operated through private and encrypted access.
I was in charge of the locks, the closed-circuit television cameras, the lighting, the air conditioning system, and the heavy iron doors.
Trevor always bragged to his friends about all the high-tech stuff, but he never realized that I was the only one who had the master control codes.
First, I used my laptop to remotely turn off the loud music that was playing throughout the area.
I saw everyone in the living room looking around in confusion, and suddenly there was silence.
Then I locked all the main doors and the electronic exits that led to the garden.
Then I lowered the temperature in the house until the powerful air conditioner started blowing freezing air into all the rooms.
I had no intention of causing them physical harm, but I wanted them to experience the same discomfort they were trying to cause me.
A few minutes later, I saw Evelyn start banging her fists against the thick glass of the terrace.
“Trevor, open that door right now because it’s freezing in here!” he shouted.
Trevor pulled on the heavy glass door with all his might, but it didn’t budge an inch.
He frantically tapped the digital panel on the wall, but the screen only displayed a large red padlock icon.
Then I heard how her voice, initially confident, transformed into a tone of despair and fear.
“Allison, please open the door and stop playing these games with us!” he shouted towards the garden.
I ignored their requests and continued working on my laptop, accessing our financial documents.
I logged into our joint bank account, which contained almost three million pesos, which I had deposited for household expenses.
I also invested money in several of Trevor’s projects that never actually existed, except in his imagination.
With just a few clicks, I transferred every last penny to my personal business account.
This money was legally protected by a prenuptial agreement that he signed while mocking me for my lack of trust.
She once told me that only insecure women think about divorce, and laughed as she signed the documents.
Next, I blocked all credit cards and additional cards associated with my name.
I blocked my fuel and luxury store cards until the funds ran out.
Inside the house, the laughter soon gave way to shouts of anger and whispers of panic.
The little children were crying from the cold and the cousins were complaining about being trapped.
Evelyn screamed at the top of her lungs that I was crazy and that I should be in a psychiatric hospital.
At exactly 3:17 in the morning, I sent a securely encrypted email to my personal lawyer.
I am attaching all the security camera footage from that night, the audio recordings of his insults, and photos of my clothes in garbage bags.
I also included a video where Trevor explicitly stated that I could sleep in the closet while his family occupied my bed.
At six in the morning, the heavy main gates of the estate slowly opened with a creak.
