Chapter 1 No.1

The emerald lay against her throat like a bruise.

It was a deep, vibrant green, the color of old moss and envy, suspended on a platinum chain that caught the recessed lighting of the penthouse living room. I knew that stone. I knew the weight of it. I knew the specific imperfection on the back of the setting, a tiny scratch made by my father's pocketknife the day he gave it to my mother before his second deployment.

"It brings out your eyes, Seraphina," Julian said.

His voice was a low hum, a sound that used to vibrate against my own chest in the dark. Now, it was directed entirely at the woman sitting on the velvet ottoman, her chin tilted up, exposing the long, pale column of her neck.

I stood in the shadow of the hallway, my hand gripping the cold plaster of the wall. My fingers were numb. Not the kind of numbness that comes from cold, but the kind that comes from a lack of blood flow, as if my heart had simply decided it was too tired to pump all the way to the extremities.

Seraphina Frost laughed. It was a practiced sound, light and airy, designed to make men feel witty and powerful. She touched the stone with a manicured fingertip.

"It's exquisite, Julian," she cooed. "Are you sure? It looks... heavy with history."

"It was just gathering dust in a safe," Julian said, his back to me. He adjusted the clasp at the nape of her neck, his fingers lingering on her skin. "It deserves to be worn by someone who shines."

My stomach contracted, a violent, physical spasm that nearly bent me double. That necklace wasn't gathering dust. It was the only thing I had brought into this marriage. It was the only thing I had left of Mary Sterling, the woman who had stitched wounds in a burning tent in Aleppo while shrapnel rained down.

I stepped out of the shadows.

"Julian."

The name tasted like ash.

He didn't startle. He turned slowly, his expression shifting from adoration to a weary annoyance that hit me harder than a slap. It was the look one gives a persistent solicitor or a dog that won't stop whining.

"Jade," he said. "I didn't hear you come in. We're busy."

"That necklace," I said. My voice was steady, too steady. It was the voice of a soldier reporting a casualty count. "It's my mother's."

Seraphina turned, her eyes wide with a feigned innocence that made my teeth ache. "Oh! Jade. I didn't know. Julian said it was a family heirloom."

"It is," I said, walking further into the room. The carpet swallowed the sound of my footsteps. "My family. Not the Vanderbilts."

Julian sighed, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "Don't start this, Jade. Not tonight. We have the gala tomorrow. Seraphina needs something to wear that matches the brand image. You know you don't wear jewelry like this. You'd just... look awkward."

"Awkward," I repeated.

"It's a statement piece," he explained, as if speaking to a slow child. "It requires a certain... presence. Seraphina is the face of the new campaign. It's a prop, essentially. Don't be so territorial. It's unbecoming."

Territorial.

I looked at the man I had loved for three years. The man whose startup I had quietly funded with the blood money the government sent me after the funeral. The man whose code I had fixed while he slept, whose panic attacks I had breathed him through.

"Tomorrow," I said, ignoring his insult, "is the arrival."

Julian blinked. "Arrival of what?"

The air left the room.

"My parents," I said. "The repatriation. Their remains are landing at JFK at 0800 hours. You promised you would drive me."

Julian checked his watch. He didn't even look at me. "Tomorrow morning? I can't. We have the brunch with the investors, and then Seraphina has fittings for the evening. Send an assistant."

"They are my parents, Julian."

"They've been dead for three years, Jade," he snapped, finally meeting my eyes. His gaze was cold, devoid of the warmth I had starved myself to earn. "They aren't going anywhere. A box of bones doesn't care if I'm there or not. Stop using your tragic backstory to manipulate me into skipping work. It's pathetic."

Seraphina made a small, sympathetic noise. "Julian, maybe you should go. She seems... unstable."

"She's fine," Julian dismissed, turning back to Seraphina. "She just wants attention. Jade, go check on the catering list for the brunch. Make sure they didn't include peanuts; Seraphina is allergic."

I stood there for a long moment.

The pain in my chest had stopped. It hadn't faded; it had simply crystallized into something hard and sharp, lodging itself between my ribs. The hope-that pathetic, whimpering thing that had kept me cooking his meals and fixing his bugs and enduring his mother's sneers-gave a final twitch and died.

"Take it off," I said softly.

Julian stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"The necklace," I said. "Take. It. Off."

"Go to your room, Jade," Julian warned, his voice dropping an octave. "You're embarrassing yourself."

I looked at the emerald one last time. It looked wrong on her. It looked like a lie.

"You're right," I said. The sudden calm in my voice made Seraphina frown. "I have things to prepare."

I turned and walked away. I didn't slam the door. I didn't cry. I walked to the master bedroom, past the framed photos of our wedding day. In the picture, Julian was smiling, looking at me as if I were the only person in the world. It was a perfect performance, I realized now. A mask he had worn until he no longer needed the audience.

I opened the safe in the back of the closet.

Inside, there were no jewels. There was a stack of files. A black beret. And a thick folder stamped with the Department of Defense seal.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A secure text message.

COMMAND: Bird is inbound. C-130 wheels down at 0800. Honor Guard ready. Welcome home, Ghost.

I looked at the text. Then I looked at the empty side of the bed where Julian hadn't slept in weeks.

"Welcome home," I whispered to the empty room.