Chapter 1

The crystal chandelier in Liam Walker's penthouse glittered.

Music pulsed, a deep bass thrumming through Ava Hayes's worn-out server shoes.

Five years.

Today marked five years since their wedding day.

The day his family died.

The day her life ended too.

Liam's "gift" for this anniversary was this party.

He made her cater it.

Ava, once a culinary student with bright dreams, now carried trays of canapés she barely had the heart to prepare.

She had to serve *them*.

Liam and Chloe Vance.

Chloe, young, vibrant, a perfect echo of a happier Ava.

Liam's arm was around Chloe's slim waist.

He leaned in, whispering something that made Chloe laugh, a bright, carefree sound that Ava hadn't made in years.

Ava watched them, her face pale, a polite, empty smile plastered on.

She offered a tray of miniature quiches.

"Thank you," Chloe chirped, her eyes flicking over Ava with a hint of something unreadable.

Liam raised his glass for a toast.

His voice, usually cold and cutting when directed at Ava, was smooth for his guests.

"To new beginnings," he said, his eyes finding Ava's across the room.

"And to leaving the past behind. Especially the parts involving drunken fools who destroy lives."

A direct hit.

Ava flinched, almost dropping her tray.

Her parents. He meant her parents.

Convicted of DUI, vehicular manslaughter.

They had died in a harsh state penitentiary, their suffering orchestrated by Liam's influence.

Ava trembled but held steady.

She lived in a small, rundown apartment on the edge of Liam's sprawling estate.

A gilded cage. A constant reminder.

Chloe, reaching for a champagne flute, "accidentally" knocked her hand against Ava's.

Scalding coffee from a carafe Ava was also holding splashed over Ava's fingers.

Ava gasped, biting back a scream.

The pain was sharp, immediate.

Liam didn't look at Ava.

He rushed to Chloe's side.

"Are you alright, darling?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Chloe pouted prettily. "My dress. And I think some splashed on me too."

Liam glared at Ava. "Clumsy. Always clumsy."

He turned to one of his security guards.

"Make sure she's patched up."

His voice dropped, a cold, hard edge.

"I'm not done with her yet."

Ava's mind reeled.

Flashbacks.

Liam, years ago, his eyes full of love.

Their shared dreams of a restaurant, a family.

Buddy, their Golden Retriever, a fluffy ball of joy.

Then the screech of tires, the horrific crash.

Her parents' faces, white with shock.

Liam's face, contorted with a grief so vast it swallowed him whole.

His parents, David and Susan. His little sister, Emily. Gone.

Her parents' arrest. The trial. The conviction.

Liam pulling strings, ensuring their prison life was a living hell.

Their last letter, smuggled out.

*"Ava, our darling, endure. For five years. Find a reason to live. If, after five years, you cannot... then you can join us. Be free."*

The five-year mark.

Seven days from tonight.

Chloe was a deliberate choice, Ava knew.

Picked for her striking resemblance to the Ava of before.

The Ava Liam had loved.

Now, Liam used Chloe as another weapon, another way to twist the knife.

Ava clutched her burned hand, the cheap fabric of her uniform sticking to the blistering skin.

The five years were almost up.

Her parents' words echoed.

*Seven more days.*

She looked at the letter in her mind, its edges worn from countless mental readings.

Her resolve hardened, a grim acceptance settling in her heart.

Her suffering, and perhaps Liam's, could finally have an end.