Chapter 1
The sound of the grandfather clock ticking echoed in the hollow silence of the mansion. I stood by my bedroom window, the city lights twinkling beyond the iron gates. They looked like stars I’d never reach. My entire life had been lived in this house, but it wasn’t home. It was a prison.
My father’s empire was built on lies, fear, and manipulation. I had learned that the hard way. He was charming to the world but cruel behind closed doors. Secrets were currency to him, and I’d stumbled onto too many of them.
The bruises on my wrist throbbed, a painful reminder of our last argument. His voice still rang in my ears.
“You’ll ruin everything if you run your mouth. You don’t know what you’re doing, Elena.”
He was right about one thing—I didn’t know what I was doing. But I knew I had to get out.
At precisely 5:00 a.m., I slipped into the garage, gripping the keys to one of his lesser cars, one the guards wouldn’t notice missing right away. My heart raced as the gate creaked open, the sound threatening to give me away.
Freedom smelled like cold morning air.
