Chapter 1 No.1

The smell of antiseptic was the first thing to assault her senses, sharp and chemical, burning the back of her throat. Kalea Alexander opened her eyes, the stark white ceiling tiles swimming into focus before blurring again. Her head felt heavy, stuffed with cotton, a lingering effect of the sedatives they had pumped into her system only hours ago.

A nurse was adjusting the drip on the IV stand next to the bed. The woman's movements were efficient, but her eyes darted toward Kalea's face with a curiosity that felt invasive. It was the look people gave when they were trying to reconcile the woman in the hospital bed with the headlines they scrolled past on their phones. Kalea knew that look well. It was a mixture of pity and a hunger for gossip.

The phone on the bedside table vibrated against the hard plastic, a harsh, buzzing sound that seemed to drill into Kalea's temples. The screen lit up, displaying a single word: Mother.

Kalea stared at the name. Her hand hovered in the air, fingers trembling slightly. It wasn't fear, exactly. It was a physical resistance, her body rejecting the impending interaction before her mind even processed it. She let it buzz three times, four times. On the fifth buzz, she picked it up and swiped the green icon.

"Eleanor," Kalea said. Her voice was a rasp, dry and unused.

"You're late," Eleanor Alexander's voice came through the speaker, crystal clear and devoid of any warmth. There was no question about her health, no inquiry about why she was in a private hospital room on a Tuesday afternoon. "Haleigh's birthday dinner starts in two hours. The stylist has been waiting at the penthouse for forty minutes."

Kalea felt a spasm in her stomach, a tight knot of nausea that had nothing to do with the medication. She sat up, the room tilting dangerously. She closed her eyes until the dizziness passed.

"I'm in the hospital, Mother," Kalea said, forcing the words out through grit teeth. "I had my stomach pumped six hours ago."

"And now you are awake," Eleanor cut in, her tone clipped. "This is a family event, Kalea. The press will be there. The Prestons will be there. We need a united front for the merger announcements. I don't care if you have to crawl there, you will be in that ballroom."

Kalea looked down at the back of her hand. The IV tape was peeling slightly at the corner. She imagined Haleigh right now, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror in the family estate, surrounded by assistants fawning over her hemline, sipping sparkling water with a slice of organic lemon. Haleigh, the perfect daughter. Haleigh, the one who didn't end up in emergency rooms.

A cold, bitter laugh escaped Kalea's lips. It was the sound of something breaking, or perhaps, something finally hardening.

"One million," Kalea said.

The line went silent. For a moment, Kalea could hear the background noise on the other end-the clinking of silverware, the murmur of staff preparing for the party. Then, the sound of Eleanor's sharp intake of breath.

"Excuse me?" Eleanor asked, her voice dropping an octave.

"You want me to play the part of the dutiful sister and the happy fiancée?" Kalea leaned back against the pillows, staring at the sterile wall. "My appearance fee is one million dollars. Seven figures. Transfer it now, or you can explain to the press why your eldest daughter is absent."

"You mercenary little-" Eleanor's composure cracked, venom seeping through the phone. "You are an Alexander. You do not hold your family for ransom. After everything we have done to clean up your messes, you dare to ask for money?"

Kalea gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white. The plastic case dug into her palm. "Clean up my messes?" she whispered, the memory of a cold examination table and flashlights in her eyes flickering through her mind. She pushed it down. "Transfer the money, Eleanor. Or I stay in this bed."

There was a pause, heavy and suffocating. Then, Eleanor's voice returned, cold as ice. "Fine. But fix your face. You look like a corpse."

The call ended. Kalea lowered the phone, her chest heaving as if she had just run a mile.

Seconds later, a notification chimed. A deposit of $1,000,000 had been made to the immediate-access trust account linked to her name. An account Eleanor had set up, one she no doubt still had strings attached to. But for now, the money was hers to command.

Kalea stared at the number. It was a lot of money to most people. To Eleanor, it was a nuisance fee. A line item in the budget for image maintenance.

Kalea reached for the IV line on her hand. She didn't call the nurse. She didn't hesitate. She ripped the tape off and pulled the needle out in one smooth, jagged motion.

Blood welled up instantly, a bright red bead that turned into a trickle, running down the side of her hand and dripping onto the pristine white sheet.

"Ms. Alexander!" The nurse gasped, rushing over from the corner of the room with a gauze pad. "What are you doing? You haven't been discharged!"

Kalea watched the nurse press the gauze over the wound. She didn't feel the sting. She felt numb, a spreading coldness that started in her chest and worked its way out to her extremities.

"I'm leaving," Kalea said. Her legs felt like jelly as she swung them over the edge of the bed. She gripped the mattress, waiting for the black spots in her vision to clear.

She walked to the narrow closet in the corner of the room. Hanging there was a garment bag Eleanor's assistant must have dropped off earlier. Kalea unzipped it. Inside was a dress that was undeniably beautiful and completely not her style. It was a pale, icy blue, high-necked, conservative. It was a dress for a doll. A dress for a prop.

Kalea moved to the small mirror over the sink. Her reflection stared back-hollow cheeks, pale lips, dark circles under eyes that looked too old for her twenty-four years. She looked like a ghost haunting her own life.

She picked up a makeup brush from the kit on the counter. She wielded it like a weapon. Layer by layer, she painted over the exhaustion. Foundation to hide the pallor. Concealer to hide the shadows. And finally, a deep, blood-red lipstick to hide the fact that her lips were trembling.

The door to the room swung open with a bang. The sound of rapid, angry high heels clattered against the linoleum floor.

"I swear to God, if you are dead, I am going to kill you myself," a voice shouted.

Frida O'Connor stood in the doorway, holding a brown paper bag that smelled of grease and comfort. She took one look at Kalea standing there in the icy blue gown, her face painted for war, and the bag slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"Kalea?" Frida's eyes went wide. "What the hell? You just had your stomach pumped. You're supposed to be resting. Why are you dressed like... that?"

Kalea picked up her phone and turned the screen toward Frida, showing the bank notification.

"I sold my soul for the evening," Kalea said, a humorless smile stretching her red lips. "Or rented it, at least."

Frida looked at the phone, then back at Kalea's face. Her expression shifted from shock to fury. "They're making you go? To Haleigh's birthday? After you-" Frida stopped, her voice choking up. "I saw the Instagram post, Kalea. Haleigh posted a 'family' photo an hour ago. Just her, your parents, and... him. The caption was 'My whole world.' You weren't even tagged."

Kalea felt a sharp pierce in her chest, precise and deep. She turned away from Frida, reaching back to pull the zipper of the dress up. It snagged for a moment, then closed with a finality that sounded like a prison door locking.

"It doesn't matter," Kalea said, staring at her reflection one last time. "This is the last time, Frida. I promise."