Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
The Night My World Ended
Three years earlier.
The night my life fell apart, I was wearing a white dress.
It was my twenty-first birthday.
I had spent weeks imagining how the evening would unfold. There would be music, laughter, champagne glasses clinking together, and Daniel's arms wrapped around my waist as he whispered how much he loved me.
I had even imagined him proposing.
We had been together for three years, and I was foolish enough to believe that love meant loyalty.
I was wrong.
"Mia, darling, you look beautiful tonight."
My stepmother's voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned toward her and smiled.
"Thank you, Victoria."
She adjusted the diamond necklace around her neck. It had belonged to my mother before she died.
Seeing it there made my chest tighten.
"That necklace looks familiar," I said quietly.
Victoria's fingers immediately closed around the pendant.
"Does it?"
"It belonged to my mother."
Her smile never changed.
"Your father gave it to me."
Something about the way she said it made my stomach twist.
Before I could respond, my stepsister Isabella appeared beside her, wearing a red satin gown that hugged her figure.
"Honestly, Mia, you should be grateful," she said. "Victoria has done so much for you."
I stared at her.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"Isabella," Victoria warned softly, though there was no real disapproval in her voice.
My stepsister shrugged.
"I'm just saying. Some people don't appreciate what they have."
I forced myself to smile.
It was my birthday. I refused to let them ruin it.
Not tonight.
Across the ballroom, Daniel stood beside my father, dressed in an expensive black suit. He looked handsome enough to make my heart ache.
When he noticed me watching him, he smiled.
I smiled back.
That smile would haunt me for years.
Because less than an hour later, I would discover that the man I loved had been sleeping with my stepsister.
And that was only the beginning.
At exactly 10:17 p.m., I went looking for Daniel.
I had a small gift for him. Inside the box was a silver wristwatch I had spent months saving for. It wasn't particularly expensive, but I had chosen it because he once told me he wanted something simple he could wear every day.
I wanted him to know that I listened.
The ballroom was crowded, so I walked upstairs toward the private lounge.
As I approached the door, I heard Isabella laugh.
Then Daniel spoke.
"She still doesn't suspect anything?"
I stopped walking.
My fingers tightened around the gift box.
"Of course she doesn't," Isabella replied. "Mia is too busy believing everyone loves her."
My heart began to pound.
I should have walked away.
I should have told myself there had to be another explanation.
Instead, I pushed the door open.
And there they were.
Daniel's hands were wrapped around Isabella's waist. Her lipstick was smeared across his mouth, and his jacket lay carelessly across a chair.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
I stared at them, waiting for someone to explain.
Waiting for Daniel to tell me this was a misunderstanding.
Waiting for Isabella to laugh and say it was a joke.
Daniel stepped away from her.
"Mia."
My name sounded like a curse on his lips.
I looked at Isabella.
Then at him.
"How long?"
Neither answered.
I swallowed hard.
"Daniel, I asked you a question. How long has this been going on?"
He dragged a hand through his hair.
"It isn't what you think."
A laugh escaped me, small and broken.
"Really? Then tell me what I'm supposed to think when I find my boyfriend kissing my stepsister."
Isabella folded her arms.
"Stop being dramatic."
I turned toward her.
"How could you?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please. You always get everything, Mia. The attention, the praise, the perfect little daughter treatment. For once, I wanted something that belonged to you."
I looked at Daniel.
"Did you love me?"
His silence answered before his mouth did.
Then he said the words that shattered the last piece of my heart.
"I was going to end things with you."
"When?"
He looked away.
"Eventually."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Eventually?"
He exhaled impatiently.
"Mia, we're young. Things change. You shouldn't make this bigger than it is."
I looked down at the gift box in my hands.
Months of saving.
Months of believing.
Three years of loving a man who apparently thought my heart was something he could discard whenever it became inconvenient.
I placed the box on the nearest table.
"Happy birthday to me," I whispered.
Then I walked out.
Nobody followed.
I made it halfway down the staircase before I heard my father's voice coming from his study.
The door was slightly open.
I would have kept walking if I hadn't heard my name.
"Mia cannot find out about the documents," Victoria said.
I froze.
My father answered in a low voice.
"She will eventually. Her mother's estate belongs to her."
My breath caught.
What documents?
Victoria laughed softly.
"Not if we finish everything before she turns twenty-two."
"And if she asks questions?"
"She won't. She's too trusting."
My father's voice grew sharper.
"I won't let you destroy my daughter's future."
There was a pause.
Then Victoria said something that made the blood drain from my face.
"Your daughter's future? You mean the daughter you have spent years lying to?"
I gripped the banister.
What was she talking about?
My father spoke again, but his words were too quiet for me to hear.
Then Victoria said, clearly and coldly:
"Tell her the truth about her mother, and you will lose everything."
I stepped backward.
My heel struck the floor.
Inside the study, the conversation stopped.
"Who's there?" my father called.
I ran.
I ran down the stairs, through the crowded ballroom, and out into the cold night air.
My phone vibrated in my hand.
A message from Daniel appeared on the screen.
Don't make a scene tonight. We need to talk.
I stared at the words until they blurred.
Then another message arrived.
This time, the sender was unknown.
Unknown Number: If you want to know why your mother really died, stop trusting your father.
My knees nearly gave way.
I read the message again.
And again.
My mother had died when I was twelve. Everyone had told me it was an illness. There had never been a reason to question it.
Until now.
A black car pulled up beside the pavement.
The rear window lowered.
A man I didn't recognize looked directly at me.
"Miss Anderson?"
I took a step back.
"Who are you?"
He ignored the question.
"You need to come with me."
"Why?"
His expression changed.
"Because if you go home tonight, you may never get the chance to discover the truth."
I stared at him, my heart hammering.
Behind me, music drifted from the ballroom where my birthday celebration continued as though nothing had happened.
My boyfriend had betrayed me.
My stepsister had stolen the man I loved.
My stepmother was hiding something about my mother's death.
And now a stranger was telling me that my life might be in danger.
I should have called the police.
I should have gone back inside.
Instead, I asked the question that would change everything.
"What truth?"
The man glanced at his watch.
Then he looked me straight in the eyes.
"Your mother didn't leave you an inheritance, Mia."
I frowned.
"What?"
He leaned closer.
"She left you an empire. And your family has been stealing it from you for nine years."
The car door opened.
I looked at the man.
Then at the life I had known for twenty-one years.
And for the first time, I understood something terrifying.
The people who had destroyed my heart might also have been stealing my future.
I stepped toward the car.
I didn't know where the stranger was taking me.
I didn't know what had happened to my mother.
And I certainly didn't know that, three years later, I would stand in front of a billionaire named Adrian Blackwood and make him an offer that would change both our lives.
All I knew was that my old life was over.
And I was going to find out why.