A New York heiress thought her marriage was solid. Then a stranger left a voicemail.

Flobelle "Belle" Fairbanks Burden had the world in her hands.

She came from old money, descending from railroad tycoon Cornelius W. Vanderbilt. Her grandmother was Babe Paley; a socialite whose only fault, according to Truman Capote, was that "she was perfect."

With silver spoons in her hand and a multimillion dollar empire at her feet, Belle's life was set up for success. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University before earning a law degree from New York University. 

The heiress went on to become an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a New York Law Firm. It was here, in 1988, that she fell in love with Henry Patterson Davis.

Just a year after meeting, the couple wed, in the home of Belle's stepmother, Susan L. Burden. The couple shared a beautiful Manhattan apartment, a holiday house in Martha's Vineyard, and three children.

Their life became predictable, idyllic, enviable.

Little did Belle know, 20 years later, one phone call would unravel the fairy-tale.

Watch: Why millennials aren't having affairs | Mamamia Out Loud. Post continues after video.

In March 2020, amid the height of the COVID pandemic, Belle and Henry were isolating with their two youngest children in their Martha's Vineyard home.

Belle worked remotely as a lawyer, while Henry had delved into the world of finance, becoming an executive at a hedge fund. 

In between emails, the couple cooked, took walks, and built fires.

"I felt safe and secure," Belle told Katie Couric.

But, just two weeks later, the lawyer's reality was shattered.

When Belle's phone lit up with an unknown number, she declined the call. But the stranger left a voicemail.

"I'm trying to reach Belle. I'm sorry to tell you this, but your husband is having an affair with my wife," the message allegedly said, according to an excerpt from Belle's upcoming novel, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.

The mother-of-three then confronted her husband, who allegedly admitted to having a workplace affair with a much younger woman.

At first, Henry was apologetic, insisting he was "embarrassed" about the infidelity. The financier assured his wife it had only been occurring for a few weeks, and the relationship was now over.

But the next day, he reportedly turned "ice-cold."

"He told me he wanted a divorce, walked out of our house, and left the island," Belle told Katie Couric. "I thought we were very happily married, so it was a terrible, horrifying shock."

Reportedly, Henry left without saying goodbye to his children. Later, he allegedly called Belle to wash his hands of everything they had built together.

"I thought I was happy, but I'm not," Henry supposedly told Belle, as per her memoir. "I thought I wanted our life but I don't.

"I feel like a switch has flipped. I'm done…. You can have the [Martha's Vineyard] house and the [New York] apartment. You can have custody of the kids. I don't want it. I don't want any of it," he reportedly added.

Belle with one of her daughters. Image: Instagram/@belleburden

According to Belle, she never received an adequate explanation as to why their marriage ended. She tried texting the man who had broken the news to her (the mistress' husband) for more details.

He speculated the alleged affair had been going on for about "a month," before shutting down further communication due to his wife's mental state.

Though Belle tried to get answers out of Henry, she claimed he simply stopped taking her calls.

"I'll answer what I want, when I want. I'll speak when I want. I'll decide when I want," he reportedly texted his ex-wife.

Belle also claimed that Henry's family initially spoke to her after the infidelity allegations, before suddenly cutting her off.

Stuck in quarantine, Belle's confronting new reality was only heightened by the isolation. Slowly, she began to rebuild from the wreckage, going on walks and meditating.

In the carnage, she managed to salvage pieces of her identity that she thought were gone forever.

"After 20 years of marriage and kids, I felt all these layers of comfort and security. It felt good, but you lose yourself underneath it," she told Katie Couric.

"When my husband left, the layers were stripped away, and I was able access pieces of myself that I thought I had lost for good — for me, one of those was writing."

Now, almost six years later, Belle is releasing a memoir and plans to explore fiction writing. She is also still working as a lawyer, specifically in pro bono immigration.

She has claimed that Henry sees their children occasionally for dinners and tennis matches, but isn't involved in co-parenting. She also said she is unaware of his current romantic status.

Belle is quick to acknowledge how privilege "cushioned the fall" of her marriage breakdown, but hopes her story shows that "money cannot protect anyone from heartbreak."

Feature Image: Getty

If you or anyone you know needs to speak with an expert, please contact your GP or in Australia, contact Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), all of which provide trained counsellors you can talk with 24/7.