For fans of Kimberly Belle and Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, a domestic suspense explores the lengths a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage by an ironclad trust fund clause will go to in order to escape her greedy, gaslighting husband.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from One of Us Must Die by Zelly Ruskin, which releases on October 20th 2026.
She married for love. He married for trust. Specifically, her trust fund—the one with the iron-clad “no divorce, no matter the circumstances” clause her mother insisted on.
Sterling (not as good as gold) has always come second to her family’s wealth—but unlike her mother, she’ll do anything to protect her three children. For years, she’s kept up the perfect family illusion to shield them from their manipulative, gaslighting father. But now her husband is becoming more reckless, and her children more exposed. And when her daughter’s fiancé says he wants a marriage just like hers, Sterling knows her charade has gone too far.
To free herself, she must outwit her husband and the legal ties meant to trap her—before it’s too late. Because in this family, there’s only one way out: One of them must die.
EXCERPT
CHAPTER ONE
Her Daughter’s Wedding Day
The combination of champagne and outrage made it a struggle to stay within the blurry yellow lines as Sterling drove her husband’s precious Porsche around a sharp curve. She didn’t know which route he’d taken, but she was certain of his destination. She yanked the wheel to make another left. “When I find you, I’m going to kill you,” she muttered.
Up ahead, she could make out a person running out of the giant brick pillars that marked his mistress’s development. Despite the mimosas coursing through her, she recognized Keith’s lopsided gait. How predictably predictable.
The desire for vengeance boiled within her. Her ears rang. The building pressure in her head was near exploding. This is your chance. If you’re going to do it, do it now.
A dark, urgent sensation oozed inside her. Keeping a bull-like focus on Keith’s red shorts, she gripped the steering wheel and released a raw, guttural scream. All she had to do was press the gas pedal. He’d stand like a superhero protected by an invisible force field, watching her hurtling toward him. His mouth would drop open when he recognized the sapphire-blue metallic paint of his own car. He’d raise his arm to shield himself with powerless desperation.
That image brought a calming sense of clarity—her husband was a mere weakling of a man. She hit the gas.
Eight Months Earlier
CHAPTER TWO
The Proposal
Sterling leaned into her husband, feeling his hands clasp securely around her before he kissed her cheek. Witnesses of their finessed affection could never guess it was a show for their benefit. Together, as the proud parents, they watched their daughter, Ella, glow brighter with awe and optimism as Avery slipped the ring on her finger and rose from his knee. The charter boat’s engine whirred, and the wind gently swept through Ella’s hair as they glided along the Long Island Sound. With the sun beginning to set behind them, the sky turned an ombré of blue.
The crew passed around the champagne amid hugging, laughing, and endless selfies. Ella made Avery restage the moment to get the optimal “he popped the question” shot for her social media accounts, and he happily obliged. Harper, Sterling’s youngest, whooped excitedly while balancing a camera stick, so her brother, Mitchell, could be with them via FaceTime.
Through it all, Sterling showed the proper amount of happiness. With her back resting against the boat railing, she savored the joyous buzz coming from her beautiful family. She squinted to view them as if capturing their idyllic portrait for some “They-Have-It-All” magazine. She’d done a brilliant job.
Sterling thumbed the wedding rings on her finger. It was on the day of her own engagement that she’d vowed to never make her children feel an iota of the valueless insignificance her mother had imposed on her. Her children would have a mother who was present in their lives. Their mother would show up when they needed her, root for them in all they did, and celebrate every milestone and achievement. They would feel loved always. But now, as the leisurely wind brushed her face, her stomach roiled with the tartness of self-reproach.
People viewed her like they did her house. All they saw was the classy, well-polished elegance—never the years’ worth of clutter shoved in the closets, or the heavy weight of well-hidden truths.
Against a backdrop of candlelight and the celestial orange-purple twilight, Sterling watched Ella and her now fiancé embrace. She prayed her oldest daughter had chosen more wisely than she had for herself.
“There’s my perfect wife.” In one effortless motion, Keith handed her a fresh flute of champagne and kissed her. Aging had been generous with him, and his current state of elation magnified his alluring good looks. And he knew it. He grazed his smooth lips on her ear, a sensation that used to give her irresistible chills. He let his hand slide suggestively across her backside and whispered, “You outdid yourself, sweets.”
His luscious compliment made her prickle.
As they returned to the dock in Mamaroneck, her future son-in-law looked at her with glistening eyes. “Thank you for helping me set all this up. It was a perfect night.” He hugged her, and with a voice crisp with anticipation, he added, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure my marriage to Ella will be just like yours and Keith’s.”
Sterling dug her nails into her palms to hide her displeasure. Her painstakingly cultivated masquerade was spreading like an infection.
It was her mother’s doing, really. She was the one who’d orchestrated the airtight terms of the trust that had sucked Sterling into this existence. Some mothers express love through feeding, and some through shopping. Sterling’s parents were protectors, not of their children, but of their Durham family money.
Once upon a time, before Sterling developed a mind of her own, she’d seemed destined to be her mother’s favorite. Her mother had paraded her around in dumb, fashion-savvy hairdos. She’d bragged about the starchy Bergdorf outfits no normal child could play in. She’d shown off the proper manners her genius toddler displayed. Her mother’s pleasure for her was gratifying until she hit middle school and realized other kids’ mothers were openly affectionate with their children. They encouraged their daughters to be their best selves. Because that’s what mothers do. They didn’t publicly criticize their children or angrily pluck them from the pizza place when they hung out with classmates after school. Sterling could still see the astonished faces and hear their esteem-killing snickers as her hatred toward her mother intensified.
As the never-fading humiliation her mother caused rose like a blistering flame, Sterling’s dangling costume diamond earrings jangled as she shook off the sensation. She had to tamp it down and exude nothing but joy for Ella’s engagement.
After everyone disembarked the boat, the kids planned to take the party to a nearby bar. Sterling hugged her children and her daughter’s new fiancé goodbye. She’d see them again in a few hours—they were spending the weekend at her house—but she got those hugs in whenever she could.
The farewells and continued congratulations echoed around the docks as she followed Keith to their car. He held the door open until she was safely in her seat. Once he was in the driver’s seat and started the engine, he picked up her hand and pressed it to his lips. His deep copper-brown eyes looked up into hers hungrily. Sterling bristled. He expected sex when they got home. Warmth rose between her legs. She detested herself for wanting it, for needing the physical closeness, even if it was a poor substitute for genuine love.
Keeping his eyes on the road, Keith grazed his hand on her thigh for the thirty minutes it took to get to their home in Briarcliff. Sterling might have reciprocated in the old days when she still believed he was everything as great as he’d led her to believe. His once soft, rose-tinged cheeks had matured into a sexy chiseled look. The hair he used to over-slick with pomade in college was now full-bodied, with a tinge of salt to his pepper. The man could sell himself, though with his sweet smile and twinkling eyes, it wasn’t hard.
If Sterling hadn’t been such a wild teen, her mother would never have created that goddamned trust. If she’d conformed to the family traditions and her socialite mother’s uppity etiquette, would her life be better? What if she hadn’t come home drunk so often, or gotten caught in the basement making out with her high school boyfriends? She would never forget the ghastly look on her mother’s face when she drove the final dagger into her family’s traditional, elite expectations—she was going to be a photographer.
Her parents had taken her passion as a spit in the face. Despite their demands, and cut in allowance, Sterling refused to major in business, and rejected the idea that she would one day join the family real estate empire. Then she’d taken that knife and twisted it deeper, callously telling them she’d never get married or have children. She’d known how much they’d wanted grandchildren.
Keith pulled into their driveway and pressed the garage door clicker. He inched his hand closer to her crotch as the door slowly lifted.
What if she’d stuck to her principles? What if she hadn’t married Keith and had his children? There wouldn’t be a condition of Sterling’s trust saying if she left her marriage, she and her children would lose their inheritance. By striving to be the perfect, enviable wife and best mother, had she perpetuated her parents’ misguided meaning of love? Were Ella and Avery doomed to repeat the cycle because of it? Because of her?
Sterling and Keith made it as far as the living room couch before they hurriedly peeled away each other’s clothes, exploring each other’s naked bodies until they fit together as one. Their heat rose in anticipation of some philharmonic crescendo about to sweep them away. But it didn’t—at least not for Sterling. It rarely did anymore.
Afterward, Keith lay on top of her, appearing sated and sleepy. She held him and caressed his neck.
“I love you,” Keith whispered.
“I love you too,” she replied. She wished she meant it.
