My name is Éléonore Morel. In the eyes of my husband, Laurent Dubois, I am nothing more than a simple housewife: no job, no ambition, and, according to him, no value.

What Laurent doesn’t know is that I am the secret owner of Horizon Global Holdings Group, a five-billion-euro empire, with shipping lines along the French Mediterranean coast, luxury hotels in Nice and Cannes, and technology companies based in Paris, Lyon, and other major European cities.

Why did I hide it? Because I wanted Laurent to love me for who I am, not for my money. When we met in Lyon, he was kind, hardworking, and full of dreams. But when he was promoted at the company where he worked—without knowing it was also one of my subsidiaries—he changed. He became arrogant and dismissive, and I lost the man I had fallen in love with.

The night of his graduation celebration had arrived. He had just been named Vice President of Sales for France.

I was getting ready, holding my evening gown, when Laurent walked into the room with a hanger in his hand.

“What are you doing, Eleanor?” he asked coldly. “Why do you have that dress?”

“I’m getting ready for your celebration,” I replied with a forced smile.

He laughed contemptuously. He snatched the dress from my hands and threw it on the floor.

“You’re not a guest,” he said harshly. “At this banquet, I need people who serve. We’re short on staff.”

Then he tossed the hanger at me. On it was a black server’s uniform, complete with a white apron and headband.