Manhattan Mistress

By Roman St. John

When the socialite wife of a prominent New York City stockbroker leaps to her death from the balcony of their lavish Park Avenue penthouse, her family and friends are shocked.

The beautiful and polished, Lydia Young, had everything going for her, which made her death even more tragic and unexpected.

Her husband, Calvin Young, is successful and has everything that money can buy. As he adjusts and navigates his new life without his wife, he quickly marries his mistress, Tracy, who gives him much more than he bargained for. From the busy streets of Manhattan to rural North Carolina, to a ritzy hotel rooftop bar in Atlantic City, Tracy Young weaves a wild web of deceit that wreaks havoc on all of those around her. Will those affected be brought down by Tracy’s schemes or will good ultimately triumph over evil?

Manhattan Mistress is a tale of suspense, thrilling intrigue, and cold-blooded obsession.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roman St. John
• Release date: May 19, 2021

Roman St. John

Roman St. John is a writer of mystery, suspense and romance fiction. His works consist of novels, novellas, and short stories. St. John, who also goes by the name Jonathan Ross, lives in Los Angeles.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Lydia Young was furious. Her face was red with rage, and her entire body shook with anger. She had never been this incensed. A tall, beautiful woman with fair skin, blonde-hair, and high cheekbones, Lydia looked extremely good for the age of forty-five. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel as good as she looked. She felt like a train wreck whose life was quickly spinning out of control.

Lydia took another sip of her wine and paced back and forth across the living room of her opulent Park Avenue penthouse. She couldn’t believe that her husband had put her in this situation again. She felt so humiliated. She didn’t understand how he could be cheating on her again. Last time, he had promised her that he would change his ways. Well, here they were. He had done it again. Apparently, this time he was sleeping with the new executive assistant at his office. The wife of one her husband’s coworkers had called Lydia earlier in the day to inform her.

The executive assistant’s name was Tracy. Lydia remembered having met her at the company holiday party last month. She recalled her being stunningly beautiful, with a sexy, slender body and dark black hair. Lydia guessed that she also must be good in bed. That combination must be what attracted Calvin to her.

Lydia sighed as she continued to gulp wine and pace around the penthouse. She reflected on the last twenty-five years. Her marriage to Calvin had had so many ups and downs. The main strain on their relationship was the long hours he worked. Calvin was a day trader on Wall Street, and an extraordinarily successful one at that. He had made millions for himself and for his clients. He was an excellent financial provider, which was one of the main things he had going for him. One of the other main things he had going for him was his stellar looks. At the age of fifty, he was still very good-looking, and he knew it. He also dressed in the latest fashion and was cultured.

Calvin had bought Lydia almost everything she ever wanted in life. She did not have to work at all because she was so well-taken care of. Her closet was filled with designer clothes and shoes. Her days were spent shopping in Manhattan and lunching with her girlfriends at the priciest restaurants in the city. She also treated herself to daily massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures. Her children had attended the best private schools and enjoyed all the privileges that money could buy. All of this was thanks to her husband’s exceptional earning power on Wall Street. Lydia’s life was enviable, and she knew it. Calvin was the type of man every woman desired, and that was part of the problem.

Throughout their marriage, Calvin had had countless affairs. He was a womanizer. That was the best word to describe him. Even though he often strayed from their marriage bed, he had never left her. Lydia knew that the other women were just fun for him. She knew that she was his true soulmate, and she felt that Calvin realized this. Even though she felt this way and had often turned a blind eye to his indiscretions, Lydia knew she could no longer do this. She had to put a stop to his behavior this time. It was the only way she would be able to go forward.

In that moment, a plan hatched in Lydia’s mind. She suddenly knew what she had to do to ensure her husband stopped seeing this Tracy woman. It was time to take drastic action to ensure her husband changed his wandering ways. As she thought about what she was going to do, she gulped more wine. She was now hopelessly drunk. She couldn’t help but wonder if she would be this upset about the situation if her children were still young and living at home. Ever since they had gone off to college, Lydia’s anxiety had increased exponentially. Three years ago, her son, Asher, had moved to New Haven, Connecticut where he was now studying pre-law at Yale. Having him leave the house had been hard enough. Now her daughter, Kelly, had moved away as well. She had moved to California a few months ago and, was in her freshman year at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Lydia knew that she was suffering from empty nest syndrome. In the past, she had always