Chapter 4: The Plan for Freedom

Lila, our long-lost friend, messaged me out of the blue. “Need any help?” she asked. Did we ever. I could’ve cried with relief.

With Lila on board, a plan started to form. Travis had no idea what was coming.

Even after the last beating, Autumn hesitated. To steel her resolve, Lila and I did a lot of pep-talking, reminding her she wasn’t alone.

“What about the kids after the divorce?” Autumn worried.

“They’ll stay with you,” I assured her.

“What if I can’t afford to raise them?”

“Use Travis’s money.”

She looked doubtful, but after I explained the plan, she started to believe.

“I can’t handle all the gossip in town,” she whispered.

“Buy a place in the city after the divorce,” I said.

“What about my parents?” she fretted.

“We’ll help you with them, too.”

No problem. As long as she left Travis, we’d handle the rest.

Travis never paid attention to Autumn’s friends. Aside from me, he’d never even heard of Lila. That was perfect.

After all the pep talks, Autumn was ready. She took the divorce papers to Travis and asked him to sign. He refused. She turned to us for help. We’d expected this.

Lila grinned. “I’ve got a plan.”

Let me tell you about Lila. She’s the real deal—a genuine rich girl, the wealthiest person I know. Back in elementary school, her family sent her to Maple Heights for a few years. That’s how we became friends.

Back to Travis. He’s a classic small-town big shot. Owns a few shops and a clothing factory, makes over a hundred grand a year. With a little money, he thinks he’s the center of the universe.

At a dinner, Lila made sure to catch his eye. She flirted, laughed at his jokes, gave him just enough attention to make him think he had a shot.

Travis, for all his flaws, isn’t ugly. Early thirties, decent hairline, a bit overweight but nothing drastic. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, convinced his mistress is with him for his looks.

When Lila started flirting, he took it as proof of his “charm.” His mistress got jealous, gave him the cold shoulder, expecting him to buy her gifts to make up for it. But next to Lila, she didn’t stand a chance.

Soon, Travis dumped the mistress and started avoiding her. She didn’t go quietly—she showed up at his family home, looking for a fight. She found Autumn and me waiting instead.

She tried to boss Autumn around, demanding to know where Travis was. But Autumn wasn’t the same pushover anymore. She ignored her, scrolling on her phone.

The mistress shoved her. “Hey, are you deaf? I asked you where Travis is!”

Autumn replied, cool as ice, “This is my house. He’s my husband. Why should I tell you where he is?”

The mistress sneered, “You think you’re worthy of being his wife? To him, you’re nothing but a dog!”

Slap, slap, slap. Autumn landed three perfect slaps, one for every insult. The mistress’s face turned bright red. She stood there, stunned, before bursting into tears.

Even I was surprised. Autumn looked at me, grinning. “Those slaps felt so good.”

Damn right. I was proud of her.

After that, the mistress disappeared for good. Autumn kept pushing for a divorce, pressuring Travis until he started avoiding home. He ditched the mistress and chased after Lila instead.

When he found out Lila was rich, he lost his mind. He dreamed of marrying into money. Lila played along, pretending to want to invest in his factory. Travis was over the moon.

Looking back, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. He never saw it coming.

Lila finally agreed to have dinner with him. She played her part, expressing her “feelings,” painting a rosy future. Travis was ecstatic, but nervous—he still had a wife. If Lila found out, his dream would be over. So he decided to get rid of Autumn.

But after so many years, he hesitated. Lila nudged him along, proposing to buy a 35% stake in his factory. Travis agreed, feeling safe since he’d still have control.

He rushed back to Maple Heights, ready to finalize the divorce. But Autumn, coached by us, refused. “I don’t agree.”

That threw Travis off balance. He tried to threaten her, but she stood her ground. With a cold wife and a shot at marrying rich, he chose the latter. But to do that, he had to make concessions. He caved.

After several rounds of negotiation, Autumn “reluctantly” agreed. She asked for custody of the kids and a small share of the assets—two shops and 12% of the factory. Travis thought he was getting off easy, trading a little equity for a shot at the big time. He had no idea.

He signed the papers without a second thought. But that small share would be his undoing. He never saw it coming.

He still tried to haggle over the kids. To him, they were a burden, but his parents wanted the grandson for the family name. Autumn wanted to fight, but I stopped her. “Don’t worry, you can get your son back later. I have a plan.” Trust me.

She nodded, and we took her daughter and left. Lila kept stringing Travis along, promising big things. He ate it up.