The Vitamin Protocol

Emma arranged the supplements on the kitchen counter in perfect alignment—a silent rebellion against chaos. Vitamin D for the winter darkness. Vitamin C for immune support. Vitamin B complex for the stress she couldn't quite name. The ritual anchored her mornings, a small ceremony of control in a marriage that had become increasingly impossible to understand.

The cat, a Bombay named Shadow, watched from the windowsill with gold-rimmed eyes that seemed to know everything. Shadow had stopped sleeping at the foot of their bed six months ago, choosing instead to curl in the guest room—the room where Marcus now kept his locked filing cabinet.

"You're overthinking again," Marcus had said last night, turning away from her in bed. But Emma wasn't overthinking. She was finally thinking clearly.

The vitamin bottle in her hand shook slightly. Not from weakness—from clarity.

Three weeks ago, she'd found the encrypted drive in his coat pocket while doing laundry. Two weeks ago, she'd discovered the burner phone in his gym bag. One week ago, she'd noticed the Shadow's wary behavior around Marcus—the same wariness the cat had shown during her first marriage, the one that ended because some secrets should stay buried.

Marcus was a spy. Not the glamorous kind—the corporate variety, selling biotech research to competitors. His "business trips" coincided perfectly with data breaches at rival companies. His "consulting work" aligned with proprietary formulas appearing in overseas markets.

She placed the vitamin back on the counter. The morning light caught her reflection in the window—not a victim's face anymore. A survivor's.

Shadow meowed, stretching elegantly, and walked to the door. The cat had already chosen its side.

Emma picked up her phone. There was no drama in the decision, only the quiet certainty of someone who had finally stopped pretending not to see what was right in front of her. She dialed the number she'd found on the encrypted drive—the contact for corporate security at the firm whose secrets Marcus had been selling.

"Hello," she said, her voice steady. "I have information about the leak in your research division."

Shadow purred as Emma spoke, winding between her legs like a familiar blessing. Some vitamins were for your health, she thought. And some marriages were for your survival.