Introduction

My family owed the Vances, a debt etched invisibly deep into our lives. Years ago, I'd even donated bone marrow to Julian, Richard Vance's son, the boy I once hero-worshipped. It felt like a small repayment, tying me deeper into their world.

Then Julian came to me, his handsome face etched with worry. "Mia," he urgent, "It's Cassandra. Her kidneys are failing. You're a perfect match." He was asking for another piece of me.

In that suffocating moment, a brutal vision slammed into me: Cassandra dying, Julian's monstrous rage, my life systematically destroyed, culminating in my suspicious death from his calculated revenge. The horror of this terrifying premonition stripped away every shred of naivety.

How could the man whose life I'd saved, whose family saved mine, be capable of such monstrous malice?

Survival became my only thought. I looked at him, not a hero, but a potential destroyer. "Alright, Julian," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "I'll do it. But I have conditions. This will be the final repayment. A legally binding contract for complete severance of all ties, and a substantial sum for my complete disappearance. My ticket to freedom."