Diversion

After a fire stole my family and my voice, my boyfriend Jermain promised to be my shield. I was the silent composer behind our band's success, fighting to speak again-for him. Then I overheard him call me "damaged goods, a millstone around my neck." His betrayal escalated. He let his new flame publicly humiliate me, then abandoned me-injured and deafened-in a storm, calling me a "liability." The boy who promised to be my voice was gone. In his place was a stranger who saw me only as a burden he was tired of carrying. So I vanished. Three years later, with my voice and hearing restored, I returned not as a victim, but as a celebrated artist. He's back, begging for a second chance, but he's about to learn that the "damaged goods" he threw away are now priceless.

I took a bullet for my husband, Colt, a decorated Delta Force operator. The injury left me barren, but he swore I was all he ever needed. Seven years later, I found him in a restaurant with another woman and a six-year-old boy who looked just like him. The boy called him "Dada." My world shattered when I learned his family, his friends, and even my own father knew about his secret life. They all watched as he paraded his mistress, Chelsey, and their son, Jemal, in front of me. He even admitted I was just a "means to an end" for his family's legacy. When Jemal went missing, Chelsey accused me of kidnapping him. Colt believed her. He locked me in our cellar for three days, a punishment for a crime I didn't commit. "He's not a bastard!" Colt roared when I questioned if the boy was even his. "He's my son! My blood!" But his eyes darted away, filled with uncertainty. As I stumbled out of the cellar, bruised and broken, my best friend arrived. "The divorce papers are filed, Em," she whispered fiercely. "It's done." I looked back at Colt, standing stunned on the porch. His empire of lies was crumbling, and I was finally free.

I stood just outside the glass patio doors, holding a tray of fresh towels. Tonight was a celebration of Coleton Barron' s full recovery, the tech world' s golden boy back on his feet after three years of my dedicated physical therapy. But then, his ex-girlfriend, Charly Mack, appeared. When a stray splash from the pool hit her dress, Coleton shoved me aside to protect her, sending me headfirst into the concrete edge of the pool. I woke up in the hospital with a concussion, only to see Coleton comforting Charly, who was faking tears. He didn' t defend me when she claimed we were "just friends." His mother, Esther Cotton, then sent me a text with a five-million-dollar check, telling me I didn' t fit into his world. Back at his penthouse, Charly accused me of poisoning Coleton with soup and breaking his father' s cherished wooden box. He believed her, forcing me to drink the soup and leaving me to collapse on the kitchen floor. I ended up in the hospital again, alone. I didn' t understand why he would believe her lies, why he would hurt me after everything I had done. Why was I just a temporary fix, easily discarded? On his birthday, I left him a text: "Happy Birthday, Coleton. I' m leaving. Don' t look for me. Goodbye." I turned off my phone, dropped it in a trash can, and walked toward a new life.

The email glowed on my screen, a full scholarship to MIT. A surge of pure joy, a feeling so unfamiliar it almost hurt. This was my ticket out, the thing that would finally make them see me. But when I ran downstairs, laptop clutched like a holy relic, my family was gathered around my younger brother, Caleb, celebrating his acceptance to a local community college. Their banner read, "Congratulations Caleb!" "I got in," I said, my voice softer now. "MIT. With a full scholarship." My father glanced at my screen, then back at Caleb, admiring a new, expensive watch. "That's nice, Ethan," he said, flat and dismissive. "But we're a little busy right now. It's Caleb's big day." My sister scoffed, "Always trying to steal the spotlight, aren't you?" Later, my printed acceptance letter and plane ticket for orientation were torn to unrecognizable pieces in the trash. It wasn't an accident. It was a message. My mother waved it off, "It's just paper. Stop being so dramatic." "Dramatic?" My voice rose, shaking. "This was my ticket to MIT! You destroyed it!" My father boomed, "Don't you raise your voice! You are upsetting your brother on his special night." Caleb smirked from behind him, admiring his new watch, a symbol of his victory. A cold clarity washed over me. It had always been like this. My one tangible hope of escape lay in the garbage. They hadn't just thrown away paper; they had thrown away my future, showing me my dreams meant less than protecting Caleb from his inadequacy. I was a stranger in my own home, a perpetual villain in their narrative. Was I too ambitious, too smart? Was my very existence an inconvenience? My throat ached with a dry sob. I felt like those scraps-torn, discarded, worthless in their eyes.

The world snapped back into focus, not with the acrid smell of my own burning flesh, but the sterile scent of the ER. Just moments ago, flames engulfed me as my colleagues stood by, fire extinguishers in hand, watching me die. Now, I was whole, unscarred, alive. Then I saw her: Dr. Emily Hayes, the newly arrived resident, her eyes wide and eager. I knew that innocent smile hid poison. I had lived through it-I had died because of it. Her first "prediction" came quickly: a critically injured patient whose life she calmly declared over. Dr. Peterson, our attending physician, was furious, but her chilling words echoed when the patient died on our table, despite our best efforts. Then came the second "vision" -an ambulance crash she foresaw, just as I volunteered to take the call. My fiancé, Dr. Ryan Chen, the man I thought I knew, pulled me aside, telling me I was reckless and Emily was right. He sided with her, not me, in front of everyone. I saved that patient, defying her "prophecy," but then the ambulance Emily warned us about was found with cut brake lines. And the patient I saved died, unexpectedly, of an aneurysm. Emily' s twisted predictions found their way, solidifying her power and painting me as the one who defied fate. She whispered, "As long as Sarah Miller is working in this ER, she puts everyone in danger. Her energy, it attracts disaster." They all stared at me, their faces not with suspicion, but raw terror. They had let me burn once. Not again. This time, I would expose her.

My name is Ava Hayes, and according to the little gold-embossed placard next to the painting, I was the artist. But tonight, my real title was "trophy," paraded at the Vance Gallery, a glittering cage built by Ethan Vance. He' d bought my family' s gallery, swooping in like a vulture when my father' s business teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Then, my younger sister Lily got sick, a rare autoimmune disease with astronomical medical bills. Suddenly, Ethan wasn' t just a bitter ex-fiancé; he was the only lifeline, holding Lily' s future-and mine-in his cruel hands. He made me beg for it, forcing me into a contract: his "protégé," his grateful, reclaimed stray. I was trapped, my art and my soul enslaved, all to save Lily and my father' s legacy. He wanted to break my spirit, to own the one thing that had walked away from him. Today, he pushed me too far, forcing me to play servant at his lavish party, publicly humiliating me. He paraded Lily on his arm, giving her the diamond necklace I had desired, right in front of my face. Watching Lily' s fragile adoration for him, her innocence twisted into a weapon against me, something inside me snapped. If he wanted to destroy me, I would burn my own life to the ground and make sure he was standing in the middle of the fire with me.

The last thing I remembered was freezing to death in my garage, alone. My fiancée, Jenny, had taken all our savings, not for us, but for her lover Mark Todd's son, Leo. She didn't even seem sad when she found me, just annoyed my death inconveniently interrupted Leo's birthday plans. I gasped, my eyes flying open to a warm morning sun in my own bed. The date on my phone was a full year before my demise. A second chance. My old auto shop teacher called, offering a full scholarship to an automotive engineering program in California. In my first life, I turned him down, sacrificing my dreams to stay with Jenny in our small Ohio town. But this time, a cold, hard resolve filled me. "I'll take it," I said, my voice firm and clear, my heart an ice block. Just then, Jenny walked in, laughing with Mark and Leo, acting like they owned my house. Leo, the spoiled kid, demanded I make him mac and cheese, and Jenny instantly defended him, whispering, "He's just a kid! Don't be so petty." I watched her doting on them, making them dinner with practiced ease, completely ignoring me and my own cold meal. Why did I let her walk all over me, drain my bank account, and destroy my future? This time, I felt nothing but a powerful decision. I was already gone. They just didn't know it yet.

My world shattered when our first son, Noah, "died" after my C-section. My husband, Ethan, seemed heartbroken, convincing me a new baby would heal our shared sorrow. I truly believed he was my solace. Then, at a prenatal visit, I overheard Ethan's chilling confession: "Noah is thriving with Cassandra." My son was alive! And our unborn daughter, Olivia, was also promised to his childhood sweetheart. Ethan's grief was a monstrous lie. My marriage was a cold, calculated deception; I was a mere incubator. His "care" became suffocating control, revealing Noah's happy life with Cassandra. The ultimate horror: he plotted a non-consensual hysterectomy during Olivia's birth to silence me permanently. My tears turned to icy fury. How could the man I loved steal my children, fake their deaths, and plan to mutilate me? The profound injustice consumed my soul. When Olivia was "born" and "died" in his vile narrative, followed by my forced hysterectomy, I refused to crumble. Playing the grieving victim, I secretly honed a fierce resolve. Amy Walker, no longer just a victim, was now armed with their dark secrets, ready to ignite their world.

For five long years, I was Jane Doe, Alexander Sterling' s quiet, unassuming assistant, secretly working tirelessly to save his company from the brink of collapse. I poured my life, and even our family' s legendary Westbrook Star diamond, into the anonymous investment that kept him afloat, all for the man I deeply loved. Day in and day out, I remained by his side, hoping he would finally see past the "Jane" I presented and recognize the woman who sacrificed everything for him. But then, Isabelle Vance, all wide eyes and soft sighs, arrived, and suddenly, I was invisible, my every effort unacknowledged, my devotion unseen. His attention, his genuine laughter, the warmth I once cherished, was entirely for her, the new favorite who simply had to ask. I watched silently as Isabelle and her cruel assistant mocked me, sabotaged my work, and ultimately framed me for a ridiculous attack, turning him completely against me. In a horrifying public spectacle, Alexander, blinded by Isabelle' s lies, ruthlessly fired me, branding me a dangerous troublemaker without a second thought. Left bleeding on the sidewalk after his security guards physically coerced me out, my reputation was systematically shredded, every sacrifice I had made for him now spitting in my face. The ultimate betrayal left me numb, the years of silent devotion to a man who couldn't see me crushing my spirit beneath the weight of his callous disregard. Wasted years, unacknowledged love, and now, public humiliation – the bitter taste of utter betrayal mingled with the cold drizzle on my face, solidifying my decision. Yet, a strange clarity settled over me as the five-year term for the Westbrook Star ended. Jane Doe was dead, irrevocably gone. As the Westbrook Star returned to my possession, a cold, unyielding fury replaced the pain, signaling Seraphina Westbrook was finally coming home, ready to build a new life with the steadfast Ethan Hayes and leave Alexander Sterling to the bitter regret he so richly deserved.

The Hamiltons' garden party was a symphony of social graces, too sweet with expensive perfume and the forced laughter of people I barely knew. My fiancé, Captain Alex Hamilton, looked sculpted from a dream, charming everyone as usual. Our future, everyone believed, was perfectly laid out. But something had been off. His phone always angled away, his eyes distant. Then, from the old conservatory, I heard voices drift– Lex' s and Bree Evans' . "She can't find out, Bree. Not about us, not about the baby," Lex whispered. Baby? My breath caught in my throat. Bree whined about "their son," and Lex replied about securing "Sarah' s substantial trust fund" after marriage. Disgust rose hot and choking. He wasn't just cheating; he was planning to use my fortune to fund his entire secret life with another woman and his child. My world tilted violently. The man I was about to marry, the hero everyone admired, was a vile, calculating fraud. This wasn't a mistake; it was a meticulously planned betrayal, a monstrous financial scam camouflaged as love. How could I have been so utterly blind to such cold, professional deception? A sudden, cold calm settled over me. I walked back into the party's noise, slipped the gaudy engagement ring from my finger, and faced him. "I believe this belongs to you," I said, my voice clear. "Our engagement is off. I overheard you. About your son." His face drained. The fight was just beginning. I was going to marry Ethan Cole.

Our third anniversary. Olivia, CEO of AuraTech, championed integrity, given her father's public betrayal. She'd even insisted on an ironclad infidelity clause in our prenup – "my guarantee." Loyal to my Yale sweetheart, I flew to San Francisco, planning a perfect surprise. But the surprise was brutally mine. Pushing her office door, I found Leo Maxwell, the obsessed artist she claimed to despise, half-dressed on her sofa, draped in my gift: her favorite cashmere throw. His insolent smirk confirmed my deepest dread. Olivia rushed in, panicking to quietly usher him out, not horrified by his presence. She later kept that throw, carefully folded, reeking of betrayal. A love bite on her neck, secret messages, and security footage of their intimacy in our marital bed followed. Twice, she abandoned me in life-or-death situations, always choosing him. The woman preaching integrity was a brazen, convincing liar. Her hypocrisy was a vile taste. My trust, shattered. I wouldn't be humiliated like her mother. Could her own "armor" against betrayal truly be my weapon now? Cold, hard resolve ignited. This marriage, a complete lie. I retrieved the prenup: Section 3, Paragraph B – the infidelity clause. It was time for devastating consequences. I dialed Maya Sharma, Olivia's fiercest rival. My proposition would interest her greatly.

I was just an art student from Philly, trying to build a new life. A small, hopeful spark ignited when Julian Vance, from prestigious Blackwood University, reconnected with me after years. He seemed different, quieter, and even asked me out to a party. But I never made it to that party. Instead, I was ambushed in the school woods by Marcus, Kevin, and Dave – Julian’s friends – a night that became a blur of pain and terror. And through my agonizing tears, I saw Julian himself, standing at the edge, watching. Then, he walked away, joining them as they left me shattered. Years later, the nightmare returned as Julian violently dragged me into his car. I was held captive in a secluded lake house for months, enduring his baffling accusations and escalating abuse. He tortured me, broke my leg, and chained me like an animal, claiming I’d betrayed his family and taunted his deepest secrets. His sister, Olivia, joined the torment, kicking me, sneering, amplifying my suffering. Even my desperate attempt to end it all was thwarted; they wouldn't even grant me that peace. What unthinkable crime had I supposedly committed to deserve such barbaric cruelty? What kind of twisted debt did they believe I owed, justifying months of physical and psychological torment? How could the Julian who once seemed genuinely kind twist into this monstrous captor, especially when his friends were the true architects of my long-ago trauma? My world was a vortex of agonizing confusion and terror. Then, Julian's powerful mother, Eleanor Vance, offered an unexpected lifeline: marry Julian and be bound to him, or disappear forever with a new identity. Without a moment’s hesitation, fueled by a visceral need for freedom, I chose to vanish. I had to escape, at any cost.

On the tenth anniversary of our marriage, I received a photo of my husband in bed. The mistress flaunted it in front of me, boasting, "The one who is not loved is the real third party." I laughed uncontrollably. She may not know that besides her and other mistresses, my husband also has a "moonlight" hidden in his heart for ten years. In order to be with the "moonlight", he even made up stories like the "moonlight" being his cousin.

Everyone knew Kristine loved Colton. Still, his heart clung to a woman overseas-someone he spent most days with, now pregnant with his baby-and Kristine still asked him to marry her. On their registration day, however, he never came; his "true love" had flown back. Seven years of loyalty later, Kristine walked away, blocked him, and left his city. Colton didn't blink-until he saw her at the courthouse, arm-in-arm with another man, and the proud CEO went pale. He went after her, desperation overtaking him. "I'm sorry. Please give me another chance." She snapped, "Could you stop? I'm already married."

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

I stood at my mother’s open grave in the freezing rain, my heels sinking into the mud. The space beside me was empty. My husband, Hilliard Holloway, had promised to cherish me in bad times, but apparently, burying my mother didn't fit into his busy schedule. While the priest’s voice droned on, a news alert lit up my phone. It was a livestream of the Metropolitan Charity Gala. There was Hilliard, looking impeccable in a custom tuxedo, with his ex-girlfriend Charla English draped over his arm. The headline read: "Holloway & English: A Power Couple Reunited?" When he finally returned to our penthouse at 2 AM, he didn't come alone—he brought Charla with him. He claimed she’d had a "medical emergency" at the gala and couldn't be left alone. I found a Tiffany diamond necklace on our coffee table meant for her birthday, and a smudge of her signature red lipstick on his collar. When I confronted him, he simply told me to stop being "hysterical" and "acting like a child." He had no idea I was seven months pregnant with his child. He thought so little of my grief that he didn't even bother to craft a convincing lie, laughing with his mistress in our home while I sat in the dark with a shattered heart and a secret life growing inside me. "He doesn't deserve us," I whispered to the darkness. I didn't scream or beg. I simply left a folder on his desk containing signed divorce papers and a forged medical report for a terminated pregnancy. I disappeared into the night, letting him believe he had successfully killed his own legacy through his neglect. Five years later, Hilliard walked into "The Vault," the city's most exclusive underground auction, looking for a broker to manage his estate. He didn't recognize me behind my Venetian mask, but he couldn't ignore the neon pink graffiti on his armored Maybach that read "DEADBEAT." He had no clue that the three brilliant triplets currently hacking his security system were the very children he thought had been erased years ago. This time, I wasn't just a wife in the way; I was the one holding all the cards.

Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."

Today is October 14th, my birthday. I returned to New York after months away, dragging my suitcase through the biting wind, but the VIP pickup zone where my husband’s Maybach usually idled was empty. When I finally let myself into our Upper East Side penthouse, I didn’t find a cake or a "welcome home" banner. Instead, I found my husband, Caden, kneeling on the floor, helping our five-year-old daughter wrap a massive gift for my half-sister, Adalynn. Caden didn’t even look up when I walked in; he was too busy laughing with the girl who had already stolen my father’s legacy and was now moving in on my family. "Auntie Addie is a million times better than Mommy," my daughter Elara chirped, clutching a plush toy Caden had once forbidden me from buying for her. "Mommy is mean," she whispered loudly, while Caden just smirked, calling me a "drill sergeant" before whisking her off to Adalynn’s party without a second glance. Later that night, I saw a video Adalynn posted online where my husband and child laughed while mocking my "sensitive" nature, treating me like an inconvenient ghost in my own home. I had spent five years researching nutrition for Elara’s health and managing every detail of Caden’s empire, only to be discarded the moment I wasn't in the room. How could the man who set his safe combination to my birthday completely forget I even existed? The realization didn't break me; it turned me into ice. I didn't scream or beg for an explanation. I simply walked into the study, pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted months ago, and took a black marker to the terms. I crossed out the alimony, the mansion, and even the custody clause—if they wanted a life without me, I would give them exactly what they asked for. I left my four-carat diamond ring on the console table and walked out into the rain with nothing but a heavily encrypted hard drive. The submissive Mrs. Holloway was gone, and "Ghost," the most lethal architect in the tech world, was finally back online to take back everything they thought I’d forgotten.

For three quiet, patient years, Christina kept house, only to be coldly discarded by the man she once trusted. Instead, he paraded a new lover, making her the punchline of every town joke. Liberated, she honed her long-ignored gifts, astonishing the town with triumph after gleaming triumph. Upon discovering she'd been a treasure all along, her ex-husband's regret drove him to pursue her. "Honey, let's get back together!" With a cold smirk, Christina spat, "Fuck off." A silken-suited mogul slipped an arm around her waist. "She's married to me now. Guards, get him the hell out of here!"

"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."

Rain hammered against the asphalt as my sedan spun violently into the guardrail on the I-95. Blood trickled down my temple, stinging my eyes, while the rhythmic slap of the windshield wipers mocked my panic. Trembling, I dialed my husband, Clive. His executive assistant answered instead, his voice professional and utterly cold. "Mr. Wilson says to stop the theatrics. He said, and I quote, 'Hang up. Tell her I don’t have time for her emotional blackmail tonight.'" The line went dead while I was still trapped in the wreckage. At the hospital, I watched the news footage of Clive wrapping his jacket around his "fragile" ex-girlfriend, Angelena, shielding her from the storm I was currently bleeding in. When I returned to our penthouse, I found a prenatal ultrasound in his suit pocket, dated the day he claimed to be on a business trip. Instead of an apology, Clive met me with a sneer. He told me I was nothing but an "expensive decoration" his father bought to make him look stable. He froze my bank accounts and cut off my cards, waiting for the hunger to drive me back to his feet. I stared at the man I had loved for four years, realizing he didn't just want a wife; he wanted a prop he could switch off. He thought he could starve me into submission while he played father to another woman's child. But Clive forgot one thing. Before I was his trophy wife, I was Starfall—the legendary voice actress who vanished at the height of her fame. "I'm not jealous, Clive. I'm done." I grabbed my old microphone and walked out. I’m not just leaving him; I’m taking the lead role in the biggest saga in Hollywood—the one Angelena is desperate for. This time, the "decoration" is going to burn his world down.

I went to the City Clerk’s office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk’s pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray’s text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we’re done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray’s life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

The heavy thud of the release stamp was the only goodbye I got from the warden after five years in federal prison. I stepped out into the blinding sun, expecting the same flash of paparazzi bulbs that had seen me dragged away in handcuffs, but there was only a single black limousine idling on the shoulder of the road. Inside sat my mother and sister, clutching champagne and looking at my frayed coat with pure disgust. They didn't offer a welcome home; instead, they tossed a thick legal document onto the table and told me I was dead to the city. "Gavin and I are getting engaged," my sister Mia sneered, flicking a credit card at me like I was a stray dog. "He doesn't need a convict ex-fiancée hanging around." Even after I saved their lives from an armed kidnapping attempt by ramming the attackers off the road, they rewarded me by leaving me stranded in the dirt. When I finally ran into Gavin, the man who had framed me, he pinned me against a wall and threatened to send me back to a cell if I ever dared to show my face at their wedding. They had stolen my biotech research, ruined my name, and let me rot for half a decade while they lived off my brilliance. They thought they had broken me, leaving me with nothing but an expired chapstick and a few old photos in a plastic bag. What they didn't know was that I had spent those five years becoming "Dr. X," a shadow consultant with five hundred million dollars in crypto and a secret that would bring the city to its knees. I wasn't just a victim anymore; I was a weapon, and I was pregnant with the heir they thought they had erased. I walked into the Melton estate and made an offer to the most powerful man in New York. "I'll save your grandfather's life," I told Horatio Melton, staring him down. "But the price is your last name. I'm taking back what's mine, and I'm starting with the man who thinks he's marrying my sister."