Chapter 1

The music was too loud.

Mark loved these kinds of parties. Big, flashy, all for show.

Tonight, it was for Kevin and Kate, our eighteen-year-old twins.

"Headed to Ivy League!" the banner screamed in gold glitter.

Mark beamed, a proud father. He'd told me, years ago, he wanted us to be DINKs – Dual Income, No Kids.

He'd insisted I get a hysterectomy. For us. For our life together.

I'd smiled and agreed.

Ten years into our DINK lifestyle, he brought Kevin and Kate home. "Orphans," he'd said. "From a shelter."

They were small, dark-haired, and didn't look much like each other for twins.

But they looked a lot like Emily White, his old high school flame, now a rising exec in my company.

I'd nodded, played the loving mother. For eighteen years.

Tonight was their graduation party, a send-off to schools they'd never actually attend with the grades they had.

Mark cornered me by the champagne fountain, his smile wide.

"Sarah, honey, it's time."

"Time for what, Mark?"

"The trust. For the kids. All of it. You said you'd step back, let them take over one day."

My company. My billions.

I smiled. "Of course. After all I've done for them."

My mother, Martha, grabbed my arm, her fingers digging in.

"Sarah, don't be a fool," she hissed, her voice tight with worry. "Those children... Mark... you can't trust him."

My father, George, stood beside her, his face a mask of disapproval. He'd never liked Mark.

"She's right, Sarah. This is too much, too fast. There's something wrong here."

I patted Mom's hand. "I know what I'm doing, Mom. I believe in my judgment."

She started to cry. "Don't do this, honey. Please. He's using you."

Dad's face hardened. "If you sign those papers, you're no daughter of mine. Throwing away everything we worked for, everything *you* worked for, on that... that parasite and his... his projects."

He was shaking.

I looked at the papers Mark held out, a thick sheaf from his lawyer.

"A pen, Mark?" I asked, my voice even.