Minsu

My husband is handcuffed in our hotel room, so I can only spare a few minutes for this meeting.

Even though I'm in a hurry, I still take the time to fix my makeup and choose a proper business outfit. I opt for a long-sleeved brown blazer dress, cinched with a ribbon above my waist, paired with custom Jimmy Choo stilettos—mules designed with a metallic gold finish.

Jae-sang complained that I couldn't stop working even during our honeymoon, but I pretended it was a family matter related to my father's health, and he swallowed his impatience. I left him with the TV on, and to my surprise, he insisted on remaining cuffed.

The rooftop lounge of the hotel offers a breathtaking view of the Burj Khalifa and the vast sea of illuminated buildings surrounding it.

As soon as I step into the cool evening breeze of early spring, an employee guides me to the reserved table where my private investigator is waiting.

"Good evening, Kang Minsu," Kyungho greets me, standing as I take my seat at a table tucked away from the other customers. A waitress approaches, but I waste no time with pleasantries.

"I don't have to tell you that our conversation will need to be brief."

"Once again, I apologize for disturbing your honeymoon, but in light of the new information I've uncovered regarding your sister's passing, I felt the need to communicate my findings in person."

From his briefcase, he pulls out a thick manila envelope and slides it across the table toward me. My heart begins to race as I reach for it.

I hired Kyungho four months ago to investigate any suspicious events surrounding Haeyoon's unexpected death. The only lead I had was a secret lover she'd mentioned in her letters to me.

It surprised me that someone as conservative as my sister would have an extramarital affair, but I never judged her for it. After her second miscarriage, she'd been struggling in her marriage, and apparently, it was her husband who'd suggested they open the relationship.

I knew that decision had broken Haeyoon's heart, but she agreed—to make him happy. She would've done anything for that man, who didn't even bother to attend her funeral.

Sometimes I wonder if he discovered Haeyoon's affair and grew jealous that she'd found a connection through the very arrangement he'd suggested.

I pull out the contents of the envelope—screenshots of emails, places, and dates circled in red. Most of these places are quiet luxury resorts on Jeju Island.

"You recovered the email address my sister used to communicate with her secret lover."

Kyungho had previously informed me there was no trace of such correspondence on any of Haeyoon's devices. She undoubtedly had another phone, but we never found it—only a sales record confirming she'd purchased one.

"She logged into this private email once on her office desktop," Kyungho explains. "She must've thought she erased the evidence, but nothing is ever truly gone."

"Looks like they were careful never to be seen together in Seoul," I murmur, skimming through their conversations. She met this mystery man on weekends, traveling to Jeju Island each time.

"Indeed. For the past few weeks, my team and I visited every location where they met. We tried to secure CCTV footage to identify the man, but every time, the tapes from those specific dates were missing."

He's clearly covering his tracks. Either he knows someone's looking for him, or he anticipated the need to hide something from the start.

"I suppose you didn't book a flight from Seoul to Dubai just to tell me you've hit a dead end."

Kyungho exhales deeply, his expression darkening. "I've discovered the identity of your sister's paramour."

He reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a smaller white envelope. I already know what's inside—photos of my sister with the man she was involved with.

But I remain frozen, staring at it, unable to reach out and uncover the truth I've been searching for.

It's been fourteen months since Haeyoon died in a car crash. The drunk driver she collided with was caught and sentenced to prison. I thought I'd found closure—until I received an anonymous package with information about that driver.

His family had suddenly relocated from South Korea, now living lavishly in the Caribbean. These were people who'd been drowning in debt, hiding from loan sharks. Something didn't add up.

I hired Kyungho four months ago to dig deeper. Not long after he started poking around, the drunk driver committed suicide in prison. That's when I knew—Haeyoon's death wasn't an accident.

The fact that Kyungho flew ten hours to meet me during my honeymoon, barely able to meet my gaze, tells me whatever's inside that envelope is about to shatter my world.

"They stopped at a service station near one of the secluded resorts where they spent a weekend for her birthday. We were lucky—he didn't think to cover his tracks there."

There's no use delaying the inevitable.

Even as my trembling fingers pull out the photos, I try to maintain a semblance of composure. We're in public, after all, and even though we're not in South Korea, I'm still recognizable enough to avoid drawing attention.

In one photo, the man steps out of a car while Haeyoon remains in the passenger seat. In another, he's filling the gas tank. Then there are several others—him and my sister, kissing in the car, laughing together.

Kyungho remains silent as I look at the photos again and again, naively hoping my eyes are deceiving me. But the truth is undeniable.

The man my sister was having an affair with before her death... is my husband.

"Is this all the information you have?" I ask, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

"My team reviewed all the messages exchanged between Kang Haeyoon and Park Jae-sang. Oddly enough, their correspondence abruptly stopped around the time your father announced he'd be stepping down as chairman of Nexus Group. That's when he planned the press conference to introduce the heiress returning to South Korea to take the reins."

Kyungho walks me through the timeline of their affair, which began around the time rumors of my father's health issues leaked to the press. He shows me documents detailing Jae-sang's business moves during that period—acquiring small shares of Nexus Group, gradually positioning himself as a primary contractor.

"His actions suggest he was climbing the ladder with your sister's help, likely aiming to become a partner. Maybe he thought if her marriage failed, he could step in, marry her, and secure even more power within Nexus Group."

"But he didn't expect my sister wasn't the heiress."

That information had been deliberately kept from the public. Even though Haeyoon was older, she wasn't my parents' biological daughter.

"Your sister reported a break-in shortly before her accident. The police report mentioned a jewelry box among the stolen items—it contained letters and postcards you'd sent her."

I find it strange she never told me about the break-in, but perhaps she didn't want me to worry. This new revelation, however, adds another piece to the puzzle.

If Jae-sang stole those letters, he gained access to my most intimate thoughts. I never held back when writing to Haeyoon—I confided in her like she was my personal diary.

Later, when Jae-sang and I started working together through the partnership between Nexus Group and Orion, our one-on-one meetings gradually grew more personal.

Whenever I was with him, it felt like we were telepathically connected. He understood me in a way no man ever had. I fell for his charm, his quick wit. But now I understand—he knew me so well because he'd already studied me, dissected me through those stolen letters.

Now more than ever, I'm convinced—Haeyoon's death was no accident. Fate didn't bring Jae-sang and me together. He orchestrated everything, calculating every move to trap me, to secure his place within Nexus Group.

This vile scumbag deserves to rot in hell.

And I will make sure he begs for death before I'm through with him.