After Discovering Max's Affair, I Divorced Him

The first anomaly appeared at 2:17 PM.

I was reviewing the daily security logs when my custom monitoring system flashed red. Just a tiny blip at first, easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. But I was always looking.

"Unauthorized access attempt on primary investment server," my system alerted, synthetic voice calm despite the severity.

I leaned forward, fingers already flying across my keyboard. "Display threat signature and origin."

The screen filled with code, elegant and vicious in its precision. My breath caught. This wasn't some random hacker poking around. This was sophisticated—military grade.

"Origin traced to three separate IP addresses," my system reported. "Routing through Singapore, Moscow, and—"

"And a residential address in Manhattan," I finished aloud, my heart sinking as I recognized the pattern. "They're using a local node to hide their tracks."

I grabbed my phone, pulling up the Jensen Investments infrastructure map. The attackers were targeting the core servers that managed the family's primary hedge fund accounts—over eight hundred million dollars in assets.

"Estimate breach timeline?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Current rate of encryption cracking: seventy-eight percent complete. Estimated full access in seventeen minutes, forty-two seconds."

The room seemed to tilt around me. Seventeen minutes. I watched as new attack vectors opened like blooming flowers of destruction across my monitor.

"This isn't random," I whispered to myself. "They know exactly what they're doing."

I reached for my encrypted phone—the one Maximus didn't know about—and dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.

"Maximus, this is urgent. The investment servers are under attack. Advanced threat signatures. We need to implement emergency protocols immediately."

I hung up and sent a text: *CYBER ATTACK IN PROGRESS. NEED YOU AT HOME NOW.*

No response.

I tried calling again. Nothing.

"Where is he?" I muttered, watching precious seconds tick away on my screen.

I sent another text, more desperate this time: *MAX! SERVERS UNDER ATTACK! MILLIONS AT RISK!*

Still nothing.

My phone buzzed with incoming messages, but they weren't from Maximus. They were alerts from my monitoring system.

"Encryption breach at sixty-three percent," the system announced calmly.

I was sweating now, my fingers trembling as I implemented emergency containment protocols. But without access to the main servers, my efforts were limited.

"Maximus!" I shouted into the phone when his voicemail picked up again. "This is not a drill! The attackers are using a modified version of the Black Widow protocol. They'll have full access within minutes!"

I sent another text: *PLEASE ANSWER! EMERGENCY!*

Then I remembered. Today was Amora's birthday.

A cold realization washed over me. He wasn't ignoring me—he was deliberately avoiding me.

I tried calling his office. His assistant put me through to James Thornton instead.

"Aliyah? What's wrong?" James asked, his voice concerned.

"The servers are under attack," I said quickly. "Have you seen Maximus?"

"He left about an hour ago," James replied. "Said he had to pick up something special for Amora's birthday celebration tonight."

My stomach twisted. "Did he say where?"

"Some jewelry store on Fifth Avenue, I think. He's been there a few times lately."

Of course he had.

I hung up and returned to my monitors, watching helplessly as the attack progressed. The code was beautiful in its brutality—each line designed to bypass the very security measures I'd implemented years ago.

"Encryption breach at eighty-seven percent," my system announced.

The front door opened downstairs.

"Aliyah?" Maximus's voice called out, followed by the sound of high heels clicking on marble.

"We're home!" Amora's voice sang out, bright and carefree.

I took the stairs two at a time, nearly colliding with them in the foyer.

"Maximus, we need to talk now," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "There's a cyber attack—"

"Not now, Aliyah," he cut me off, his arm around Amora's waist. "We're celebrating."

Amora giggled, leaning into him. "Sorry to interrupt your... gaming session," she said, making air quotes with her manicured fingers.

"It's not a game!" I insisted, stepping closer. "The investment servers are under attack. Millions could be lost in minutes!"

Maximus sighed heavily, setting down the small bag from Tiffany's. "Aliyah, not tonight. Can't you see we're trying to have a nice evening?"

"Max, please," I begged, pulling out my phone to show him the alerts. "Just look!"

He glanced at my screen and shook his head. "I don't know what you're showing me. It looks like your usual gaming stuff."

"It's not gaming!" My voice rose despite my efforts to stay calm. "These are actual attack signatures! The real thing!"

Amora rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, come on. You're being ridiculous."

"Aliyah," Maximus said firmly, "we're celebrating Amora's birthday tonight. Whatever game you're playing can wait."

As if on cue, my phone buzzed with another alert: *Encryption breach complete. System compromised.*