Every In-Game Gift He Sent Became Evidence Against Him Chapter 2

"And what if I refuse?" I asked.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, a heavy threat lacing his words. "Evelyn, we are a financial unit. If I don't get tenure, my salary stagnates. How exactly do you plan on paying for Tom's private prep school and his math tutors?"

He stood up, walking over to place a heavy hand on my shoulder, forcing his voice into a softer, sickeningly sweet register.

"Honey, I know being a stay at home mom is stressful and makes you overthink things. But this really is a massive misunderstanding. Just help me get through this disciplinary hearing, and I promise I will hand my entire paycheck over to you from now on."

I looked at his hypocritical face, swallowing the bile rising in my throat. I took a deep breath and lowered my head, playing the part.

"Fine. I will write it. But this is the last time. And from now on, I get open access to all your electronics."

A gleam of triumph flashed in Arthur's eyes. He instantly switched to a beaming smile. "Not a problem at all. A clear conscience fears no accusations. You are the best wife a man could ask for."

He hummed a cheerful little tune as he walked into the master bathroom.

The moment I heard the shower running, I grabbed the iPad he had left on the coffee table.

My fingers flew across the screen, inputting a string of bypass commands. Within seconds, a hidden, encrypted photo vault materialized.

The folder was innocently named "Supplementary Coursework."

When I tapped it open, the blood in my veins turned to ice.

The gallery was flooded with pictures of Allie, his graduate student, wearing an array of highly revealing cosplay outfits.

Every single photo was captioned with a game level milestone.

"Level 100 Clear Reward: Black lace."

"Level 300 Clear Reward: Call me Daddy."

"Level 500 Clear Reward: All night private tutoring at the Marriott."

The most recent photo was taken yesterday at dawn. Allie was wearing a string bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Around her neck hung a blue lanyard.

It was Arthur's university faculty ID.

The caption read: "Professor, this level is too hard. I want to solve it with my body."

My hands turned freezing cold. I stared dead eyed at the glowing screen.

The shower water turned off.

I rapidly exited the vault, wiped the access logs, and placed the iPad exactly where I found it.

Arthur walked out drying his hair with a towel. He saw me sitting at my laptop typing lines of code and nodded approvingly. "That is the spirit. Husband and wife tackling problems together."

I stared at the "Forged IP Routing Map" generating on my screen, a razor sharp smirk curving my lips.

The next day, Arthur took the fabricated forensic report I wrote to the university.

It worked like a charm. Armed with pages of dense, impenetrable cybersecurity jargon, he successfully completely bewildered the disciplinary committee. He even managed to subtly point the finger at a rival professor.

That evening, he walked through the front door with a girl trailing behind him.

She wore a pure white sundress, her long hair falling perfectly over her shoulders.

It was Allie. The SweetStrawberry.

"Good evening, Mrs. Shen!" Allie's voice dripped with artificial sweetness. She bowed deeply the moment she stepped inside, making sure the plunging neckline of her dress was on full display.

I stood holding a silicone spatula, watching the performance with dead eyes.

Arthur kicked off his shoes and offered a smooth explanation. "Allie's thesis is bottlenecked on the final data model. I brought her over to use the high performance desktop in the study to run the numbers."

"You could have given me a heads up. I didn't prep enough dinner for guests."

Allie immediately put on the face of a kicked puppy, biting her lower lip as she looked up at Arthur. "Professor, maybe I should just go back to the dorms. I don't want to inconvenience your wife."

Arthur instantly scowled. "Don't be ridiculous. Academic research waits for no one. Evelyn, go cut up some fruit and cook two more dishes with heavy protein. Allie is still a growing girl."

I gripped the handle of the spatula so hard my knuckles turned white.

"Alright. You two get to work."

I turned my back and walked into the kitchen. I could hear their muffled, conspiratorial giggles trailing behind me.

They went into the study, leaving the door cracked open.

I sliced a watermelon, the sharp steel slicing through the red flesh, juice bleeding onto the cutting board.

Holding the fruit platter, I walked to the study. Just as I reached out to push the door open, my hand froze in midair.

"Unbelievable!" The signature combo sound effect from Sweet Crush blared from the room.

It was immediately followed by Allie's sickeningly sweet whine. "Professor, this stage is just too hard. My fingers are so sore from swiping."

Arthur's voice was dripping with a nauseatingly tender affection I hadn't heard in a decade. "Fingers sore? Come here, let your professor massage them. You can't just brute force this game. It is like solving a complex equation. You have to find the most sensitive variables."

"Oh stop it, Professor, you are so bad. Where are you touching me..."

"Just helping you relax your tense muscles. How else are you going to clear the level?"

The unmistakable sound of rustling fabric drifted through the crack in the door.

I stood in the hallway, my stomach violently churning.