Betrayed by Love, Forged by Fire

Just a month ago, my life was a Silicon Valley dream. I was Sarah Miller, founder of a promising startup, engaged to David Chen, the golden boy of tech. We were the power couple, the ones to watch, building an empire on the back of my groundbreaking algorithm. Then, the engine sputtered and died, and my world shrank to the stale confines of my car. The engagement was off, my company was bankrupt, my savings gone, swallowed by legal fees and debt David so cleverly left in my name. He called it "irreconcilable differences," a corporate phrase for a soul-crushing betrayal. The real reason had a name: Emily Davis, my best friend, the maid of honor whose dress still hung in my closet. They stole my algorithm, my future, and sold it for parts, beaming from tech blogs as the valley' s newest power couple. How could the man I loved, and my closest friend, orchestrate such a complete and utter destruction of my life? As I stared at my dead phone, reflecting a hollow-eyed stranger, a single flash drive and a faded note from my eccentric genius grandfather appeared – "When she needs it most." This was it. Rock bottom. And the beginning of my retribution.