Chapter 1

Clara pushed open the heavy mahogany double doors of the presidential suite at The Plaza Hotel. The room was swallowed in darkness. The anticipation of her husband's embrace vanished, replaced by a hollow chill in her chest.

She kicked off her painful Jimmy Choo heels. Her bare feet hit the freezing marble floor.

"Julian?" she called out. Her voice bounced off the empty walls.

She walked toward the minibar to get a glass of water. Her fingers brushed against the cold marble countertop and hit two wine glasses. She paused. The rim of one glass bore a stark, crimson lipstick stain. It wasn't her shade. Her pupils dilated.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. She followed the chaotic trail of footprints on the plush carpet leading to the walk-in closet. She pushed the half-open door. A thick, cheap vanilla perfume assaulted her nose. It was a scent she despised.

Her eyes locked onto the velvet armchair. A torn piece of black lace lingerie was discarded there. It was extremely revealing. It was definitely not the bridal lingerie she had prepared.

Her hands shook as she picked up the fabric. The material felt like burning acid against her fingertips. Her stomach violently churned. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the bile from rising.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Julian's number. It went straight to voicemail. The mechanical voice wrapped around her throat like a tight vine.

She opened the Family Link tracking app. Julian's signal was stationary in the VIP garage on the third basement level. He had been there for over twenty minutes.

Clara didn't even change out of her wedding dress. She grabbed a trench coat, wrapped it tightly around her shivering body, and bolted out of the suite toward the elevators.

The elevator dropped. The sensation of weightlessness hit her stomach. She stared at the red numbers ticking down. Her fingers twisted together, her nails digging deep into her palms.

The doors dinged open. The damp, freezing air of the underground garage slapped her face. She shivered and walked silently toward Section C.

She navigated through rows of luxury cars. Her eyes caught a black Range Rover shaking violently in the dim light. Julian's car.

Clara held her breath and crept closer. Through the partially tinted windshield, under the weak overhead light, she saw two overlapping silhouettes. A loud ringing exploded in her ears.

She saw Julian, the man she loved, pressing down on a woman. The woman threw her head back. It was Sierra Shaw. Julian's childhood friend. The woman who had been a bridesmaid at their wedding hours ago.

Sierra let out a soft moan and wrapped her arms around Julian's neck. She deliberately turned her face toward the window, her provocative gaze sweeping the dark garage. Clara instantly ducked behind a concrete pillar.

Clara pressed both hands hard against her mouth. Tears spilled over her lashes. The betrayal sliced through her chest like a physical blade, splitting her ribs apart.

She fought the overwhelming urge to scream and drag them out of the car. Her hands trembled violently as she raised her phone, pointed the camera at the disgusting scene, and hit record.

Ten seconds passed. Her hands shook so hard the footage blurred. She shoved the phone into her pocket, turned around, and leaned heavily against the freezing concrete pillar. She gasped for air, forcing the oxygen into her burning lungs.

Logic slowly pierced through the pain. Before the wedding, Julian had convinced her to sign a legal document transferring her 20% shares of their co-founded software company to him, claiming it was for "tax evasion."

If she confronted him now, she would be thrown out with nothing. The expensive medical bills for her grandmother's nursing home would be cut off immediately.

Clara bit down on her lower lip until she tasted copper. She swallowed the blood, the humiliation, and the rage. She turned and walked toward the emergency stairwell.

She pushed the heavy iron door. The screeching metal echoed in the empty stairwell, mocking her three years of blind devotion.

She climbed the concrete steps blindly. The massive emotional shock made her legs feel like lead. She almost tripped over her own wedding dress.

By the time she reached the 15th floor, her lungs were burning. She couldn't take another step. She pushed open the fire door and stepped into an unfamiliar hotel corridor.

The hallway was lined with thick carpet and dead silent. Clara leaned against the wallpaper, trying to wipe her face and fix her messy hair.

Suddenly, a loud pop echoed through the ceiling. Every light in the hotel died. The corridor plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness.

The emergency lights failed to turn on. Heavy, rapid footsteps echoed in the dark, moving aggressively toward her.

Panic seized her. She tried to retreat to the stairwell, but a massive, scorching hot hand clamped down on her wrist like a steel vice.

A heavy scent of cold cedarwood mixed with the metallic tang of fresh blood suffocated her senses.

Before she could scream, an unstoppable force yanked her forward. She was dragged into a dark, half-open hotel room. The door slammed shut behind her with a deafening thud.