The Wife Who Knew Too Much
Michele Campbell
For Jennifer Enderlin
Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to my editor, Jennifer Enderlin, who inspires me to do my best work. Every book is different, and the writing process for some goes more smoothly than for others. For whatever reason, this one was more of a heavy lift, requiring a lot of work to get right. Jen’s unerring editorial judgment, her creativity, and her honesty enabled me to see it through. I am incredibly fortunate to collaborate with her, and a much better writer because of her.
I am indebted to the amazing team at St. Martin’s Press for publishing, marketing, and publicizing my work so brilliantly. Thanks especially to Jordan Hanley, Brant Janeway, Sallie Lotz, Kerry Nordling, Erica Martirano, Lisa Senz, Jessica Preeg, and Jessica Zimmerman.
As always, the guidance, support, and friendship of my agent, Meg Ruley, not only makes it possible for me to do my job, but makes it fun. I am grateful to the wonderful team at Jane Rotrosen Agency, and especially to Rebecca Scherer and Chris Prestia for their hard work on my behalf.
Special thanks to Crystal Patriarche and her team at BookSparks, who are just so good at publicizing books in the digital age and have brought my work to the attention of countless new readers.
Finally, as always, I’m profoundly grateful to my family for their love, especially to my husband for his enduring support of my work.
When you run with the wolves, don’t trip.
—Proverb
1
NINA’S DIARY
July 4
I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death. This is hard to admit, even to myself, let alone to the world. My husband is planning to kill me. For obvious reasons. He’s in love with someone else. And he wants my money.
I’m sitting in my office in the tower room at Windswept as I write. I look out over the ocean. The waves pound the beach as dark clouds sweep in from the east. A storm is coming. This house belonged to my first husband, Edward. On the day we met, I was twenty-three, working in an art gallery, barely scraping by. Edward was fifty and one of the wealthiest men in New York. People said I was a gold-digger. But they were wrong. Edward might not have been the perfect husband, but I loved him. When he got sick, I nursed him. When he died, I grieved him. A year later, I met someone else and fell in love. And I married again.
That was Connor, my second husband. On the night we met, he was thirty. I was fifty and one of the wealthiest women in New York. Connor didn’t have a penny. People took that to mean he could only be after my money. I didn’t see it that way. People had been wrong about me. I assumed they were wrong about him, too.
But they were right.
I just finished meeting with the private investigator, and I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. A photograph sits before me on the desk, incontrovertible proof that the two of them are together—and have been for a very long time. I don’t know how far it goes, or what they’re capable of, but I fear the worst. As Connor well knows, we have an airtight prenup. The prenup says he gets nothing if he cheats. I can divorce him and throw him out on the street. Everything I gave him—the cars, the clothes, the expensive watches, that boat he loves so much, the jet—I can take away. And I will. He knows I will. How far would he go to prevent that from happening? I hope I’m being alarmist, but I fear he’d go to extremes.
I’d throw him out right this minute, but I’m expecting three hundred guests. I’ll be holding my annual Fourth of July gala tonight, here at Windswept. It was at that very same party two years ago that I first saw Connor. Infatuation at first sight. I should have slept with him and left it at that, but I’m too much of a romantic. Or just a fool. Well, I won’t be foolish tonight. I’ll be extremely careful. As soon as my guests leave, as the fireworks fade from the sky over the ocean, I’ll confront him. I’ll tell him it’s over and kick him off my property. I won’t do it alone. I’ll take precautions. I’ll have security with me, because I fear what Connor might do if he knows he’s about to lose everything. I’ll be careful. I’ll do it cleanly, quickly. And this marriage will be done.
It’s going to be so hard, though. I still love him. I love him so much that I have to fight the urge to give him another chance. To ask him to explain the things the investigator found. I can’t do that. It would be a terrible mistake. It could even put my life at risk. I don’t trust myself with him. That’s why I’m leaving this diary where it’s sure to be found. If something goes wrong, I want an autopsy. If I die unexpectedly, it was foul play, and Connor was behind it. Connor—and her.
2
SOUTHAMPTON, New York, July 5—Noted businesswoman and philanthropist Nina Levitt was found dead early this morning. She was 52.
Mrs. Levitt was discovered unresponsive, floating in the swimming pool at Windswept, her mansion in Southampton, where she had just thrown a lavish party attended by hundreds of guests. She was rushed by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Cause of death is believed to be drowning, to be confirmed by an autopsy, results of which are pending.
Mrs. Levitt was best known as the widow of real-estate tycoon Edward M. Levitt, the founder of Levitt Global Enterprises, Inc., which maintains offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Dubai. Mrs. Levitt served in various capacities at Levitt Global, including most recently as chairwoman of the board.