Chapter 1

The Lucid dealership was supposed to call today.

Any minute now.

My Lucid Air Sapphire, obsidian black with the Mojave dark interior.

A year on the waitlist.

My personal reward for the latest funding round our Austin tech startup, InnovateLife, just closed.

I glanced at the time on my monitor. 3:00 PM.

They usually called by now.

My phone buzzed. Not the dealership's number.

It was Mike, my sales guy, his personal cell.

"Ethan, hey. Something a little unusual."

His voice sounded tight.

"What's up, Mike? Is the Sapphire ready for pickup?"

A pause.

"Well, it's... it's already been picked up, Ethan."

I frowned. "Picked up? By who? I didn't authorize anyone."

"Olivia Vance. She came in about an hour ago. Said it was a new executive vehicle for InnovateLife. Had all the company paperwork."

Olivia.

My Olivia? My COO, my girlfriend of seven years.

"A company car? Mike, that was my personal order. My spec."

"I know, Ethan. That's why I'm calling you. It felt... off. She was with her assistant, Liam Miller. He drove it off the lot."

Liam.

A cold knot formed in my stomach.

I hung up, a metallic taste in my mouth.

My fingers fumbled, opening Instagram.

Liam Miller's profile. Public.

The latest post, uploaded ten minutes ago.

A picture. Him, grinning, leaning against *my* Lucid Air Sapphire.

The obsidian black paint gleamed under the Texas sun.

The caption: "Feeling incredibly grateful! Our amazing COO, Olivia Vance, believes in rewarding hard work. This new company ride is a dream! #InnovateLife #BestBoss #LucidAirSapphire #Blessed."

My jaw tightened.

The car I'd dreamed about, researched for months, waited a year for.

Gifted. To him.

Like a damn office perk.

I remembered Olivia's words from last week's dinner.

"We need to show our key people they're valued, Ethan. Especially Liam. He's indispensable."

I thought she meant a bonus. A promotion.

Not my car.

Not the one thing I'd bought purely for myself in years.

The expectation I'd carried all day, the quiet excitement, crashed.

It wasn't just the car.

It was the casual disrespect. The assumption.

She didn't even ask.

My phone buzzed again. A calendar reminder.

"Dinner with Olivia – 7 PM, Uchi."

I stared at it.

Then I picked up my phone and called my father's head of security in New York.

"Tony," I said. "I need a favor. A big one. In Austin. Tonight."