I Told My Husband He Could Leave If He Ever Wanted To Cheat. Then Our Supermodel Neighbor Moved In And He Became Her “Hero.” Now My Career Is In Ruins Because I Tried To Be The “Cool Wife.”

The Coordinated Attack

Thea touches my elbow and guides me toward the kitchen. She pulls out her phone and scrolls through more photos. These are from yesterday afternoon. Madison sitting at a coffee shop with two other people. One is a woman around 30 with dark hair pulled back. The other is a man who looks similar to the woman. They have papers spread across the table.

Thea zooms in and I can see building floor plans, security schedules, lists of names. My name is on one of the lists. Thea swipes to another photo showing Madison pointing at something on the floor plan. The woman is taking notes. The man is on his phone. Thea says they met for over an hour and left separately. She says her partner, Holden, followed Madison back to the building while Thea followed the other two to a hotel.

This wasn’t random. This was planned and coordinated. Madison had help and they targeted our building specifically. I look back at the living room where Madison sits with the officers. She looks small and scared but I know now it’s all performance. Everything about her was performance.

A new detective arrives and the officers brief him quickly. He’s older than the responding officers with gray hair and sharp eyes. He walks into our living room and introduces himself but doesn’t shake hands. He looks at the scene and asks the officers questions in a low voice.

Then he turns to me and asks what I do for work. I tell him I’m an attorney at a corporate firm downtown. He asks what kind of cases I handle. I say mostly high-asset divorces and business disputes. He asks if any of my current clients are particularly wealthy or have sensitive information. My stomach drops.

I think about my current caseload and three names jump out immediately. All three are tech executives going through complicated divorces. All three have given me extensive financial discovery documents, bank records, business valuations, investment portfolios, asset lists—everything someone would need for identity theft or corporate espionage. I keep copies of everything in my home office because I work late here several nights a week.

The detective sees my face change and asks what I’m thinking. I tell him about the three clients and their documents. He asks where I keep the files. I point toward my home office down the hall. He calls over the forensic technician and they head that direction together.

I follow them to my office and watch the technician photograph everything. My desk is neat like I left it, but my laptop is open. I always close it when I’m done working. The technician checks the browser history and finds searches I didn’t make. My client’s names, their companies, their spouses, divorce settlement amounts. Someone sat at my desk and researched everything.

The Security Breach

The detective asks if anyone else has access to this room. I shake my head and then stop. Kyle was home alone several times when Madison visited. She could have come in here while he was in another room. Or maybe he let her in. Maybe he showed her everything thinking he was helping her understand business or giving her advice. I feel sick.

The detective asks if I password-protect my files. I say yes, but my laptop auto logs in when it opens. Basic security that suddenly seems incredibly stupid. The technician finds more evidence. My desk drawer was opened. Files removed. Someone went through everything carefully and put it back almost perfectly. Almost.

The detective asks Kyle to come to the office. Kyle walks in looking miserable. The detective asks if Madison was ever alone in this room. Kyle says yes. He says she was in the apartment alone a few times when he ran errands. He gave her our door code 3 weeks ago in case of emergencies. The detective writes this down and his expression shows what he thinks about that decision.

Madison is still in the living room with the officers. When the detective returns, he sits across from her and starts asking questions. His voice is calm but firm. He asks about Alexia and Bertram. Madison’s face crumbles and she starts crying again. The detective waits.

Madison says Alexia is her wife and Bertram is Alexia’s brother. She admits Alexia sent Bertram to get the documents tonight. She insists she didn’t know the plan until this evening. She says Alexia became obsessed with making a big score and Madison was just trying to keep her happy.

The detective asks why Madison moved into this building. Madison says it was Alexia’s idea. The detective asks about Victor. Madison admits Victor never existed. The Instagram account was fake. The abusive husband story was fake. Everything was designed to gain sympathy and access.

The detective asks about the bruise on her face. Madison touches her cheek and says she did it herself with makeup. The cut on her lip is real but she did it on purpose. The detective asks how many other residents she targeted. Madison says she doesn’t know. Alexia handled the planning. Madison just did what she was told.

The detective doesn’t look like he believes her. Kyle is standing in the doorway listening to everything. His face looks destroyed. He believed every word Madison said. He thought he was helping someone escape abuse. He gave her our security code and access to our home. He let her into our lives completely.

The Arrest

The detective asks Kyle if he ever suspected Madison was lying. Kyle says no. He says she seemed genuinely scared and desperate. The detective asks if Kyle and Madison were physically intimate. Kyle says no loudly. He says they were just friends. He was helping her.

The detective asks if they spent time alone together frequently. Kyle admits they did. Morning hikes, afternoon renovation work, evening dinners when I worked late. Hours and hours over 6 months. The detective writes everything down. Kyle looks at me desperately but I look away. I can’t deal with his guilt right now.

My professional reputation is about to explode because my husband gave a con artist access to confidential client files. Everything I built is at risk because I trusted Kyle and he trusted Madison. The detective stands and makes a phone call. He speaks quietly but I hear him say something about arresting Bertram and detaining Madison.

Officers move to take Bertram into custody. He doesn’t resist. They read him his rights and cuff him. The detective tells Madison she’s being detained for questioning as a potential accomplice. She starts crying harder and says she didn’t know. The detective says they’ll sort it out at the station.

Officers help her stand and walk her toward the door. She looks back at Kyle and her expression shifts for just a second. It’s not scared or sad. It’s calculating, like she’s measuring whether he’ll still defend her. Then the mask drops back and she’s crying again.

They take her out and the apartment suddenly feels very empty. Just me and Kyle and my mother and Thea standing in our violated home. The forensic technician is still processing my office. Other officers are finishing their reports but the main action is over.