The corner of my mouth curved upward.
"Transfer it to the offshore account immediately. Then call the police and report the company for suspected illegal fundraising. File for bankruptcy protection."
Back at the apartment Sarah had set up as our marital home, I swept every matching couple's trinket she'd prepared into the trash. Then I booked the earliest flight out of the country.
I was about to walk out the door when it slammed open.
Sarah charged in, seized me by the throat, and pinned me against the wall.
"Roland, you played me!"
A vein throbbed at her temple. Her eyes were wide, blazing.
"You moved the money? And filed for bankruptcy yourself?"
My head was forced back against the wall. The pressure on my windpipe was suffocating, but I kept my gaze locked on hers.
"That's right."
"Your money, Ms. Delgado. I found it too dirty to keep."
Her grip tightened.
"You're asking to die!"
I forced a smile through the choking.
"Then kill me."
"Kill me, and you'll never see that money again."
Sarah released me.
I slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, clutching my throat, coughing violently.
She crouched down and gripped my face between her fingers.
"Roland, you think you can run?"
"Your father's ashes are still at the cemetery. Try me. I'll have someone scatter them by tomorrow."
I couldn't stop shaking.
In my last life, she'd used my father's ashes as leverage to force me into donating bone marrow to Simon.
I lunged forward and slapped her across the face as hard as I could.
"Sarah, you're an animal!"
Her head snapped to the side. She ran her tongue along the inside of her struck cheek.
When she turned back to me, her face was a mask of fury.
"Good hit."
"Since you refuse to behave, don't blame me for what comes next."
She stood and made a call.
"Cancel Roland's flight. Freeze every bank account under his name."
"And send someone to the cemetery. Keep watch."
After she hung up, she looked down at me from above.
"Starting today, you don't go anywhere without my permission."
I was placed under complete house arrest. She confiscated my phone and all my documents.
Every day, I was locked inside the villa with nowhere to go.
She went to the office during the day and came home at night to torture me in new and creative ways.
At meals, she had the housekeeper prepare dishes she knew made me sick. At night, she cranked the air conditioning down to its lowest setting and let me freeze.