Prologue
The first thing I noticed was the silence.
Not the kind that came after midnight when the boutique was closed and the streets outside had gone quiet.
This was different.
It was heavy.
I stood behind the counter, staring at the television mounted above the display shelves. The news anchor kept talking, but I stopped hearing her words after the first few seconds.
My parents were on the screen.
My father's face appeared first.
Then my mother's.
Below them, a red banner flashed across the screen.
LAURENT ÉLAN FACES MAJOR FRAUD INVESTIGATION
My fingers tightened around the edge of the counter.
“No.”
I reached for the remote and turned up the volume.
“Authorities have confirmed that the Laurent family is under investigation following allegations of financial fraud involving the company's international accounts. Several major investors have already withdrawn their support...”
My mother's face filled the screen.
She looked nothing like the woman I knew.
She looked tired... and afraid.
The woman who had once walked into fashion shows with cameras following her every step now stood outside the company headquarters surrounded by reporters.
My father was beside her, trying to shield her from the cameras.
I swallowed hard.
Our company had survived recessions, lawsuits, failed collections, angry investors, and years of competition.
Laurent Élan had stores in cities I had only visited for vacations.
Paris.
Milan.
New York.
Singapore.
The name Laurent was stitched into dresses worn on red carpets and printed across magazines around the world.
Now one news report was enough to make everything feel fragile.
My phone started ringing.
Then another phone rang.
Then another.
I looked at the screen.
My father's name.
I answered immediately.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
“Dad, what's happening?”
His breathing was rough on the other end.
“Where are you?”
“At the boutique.”
“Stay there.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Don't go home yet.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
“Dad.”
“I need you to listen to me, Alessandra.”
His voice cracked on my name.
My father never sounded afraid.
Not even when the company almost went bankrupt years ago. Not even when a major investor walked away from one of our biggest projects.
But now?
He sounded like a man who knew something terrible was coming.
“You didn't do anything wrong,” he said.
I stared at the television.
“Neither did you,” I whispered.
A pause.
Then he said, “I love you.”
The call ended.
I stood there with the phone against my ear.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
I called back. But it was straight to voicemail.
I looked outside, a car slowed near the boutique.
Then another.
Within minutes, reporters crowded the sidewalk.
Someone shouted my name.
“Alessandra!”
I froze.
Another voice followed.
“Miss Laurent, did you know about the missing funds?”
“Did your parents steal from investors?”
“Is Laurent Élan bankrupt?”
The boutique windows suddenly felt too thin.
I stepped away from them.
For the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to have nowhere to hide.
By morning, three investors had pulled out.
By noon, our bank accounts were frozen.
By evening, two of our largest stores had closed.
Three days later, the company my parents spent their entire lives building was worth almost nothing.
People who once begged for an invitation to our parties stopped answering our calls.
Friends disappeared.
Business partners denied knowing us.
Attorneys refused the case.
Every firm we contacted asked for the same thing.
Evidence.
Money.
A reason to believe we had a chance.
We had none of the three.
Until someone gave me one name.
Zander Van Vale.
The billionaire attorney behind Vale & Associates.
The man who had never lost a case worth fighting for.
I sat inside my father's old car outside his law firm's headquarters, staring up at the glass tower.
My hands were shaking.
I had never been inside a place like this without my family name opening the doors for me.
Today, my family name was the reason everyone wanted me gone.
I looked down at the folder on my lap.
Our last chance.
I took a breath, stepped out of the car, and walked toward the entrance.
I didn't know what Zander Vale would ask from me.
I didn't know what his price would be.
I only knew one thing.
I was going to get my family back.
Whatever it cost me.
