Chapter 2

The moment Ava returned to their penthouse, the charade dropped.

Julian was still at the gala, schmoozing, probably checking on Liv again.

Ava moved through the opulent rooms, a ghost in her own life.

She started in Julian' s study.

Her hands were steady as she shredded financial statements he' d "helped" her manage.

She deleted files from his computer, ones that gave him access to her private accounts.

Every item that tied her to him, to this life, she either destroyed or packed into nondescript boxes for disposal.

His clothes in the master closet, she wouldn' t touch. They could rot there.

But her things, the few personal mementos that predated Julian, she gathered.

She needed to be swift, methodical.

Then, a snag.

Her original birth certificate and passport.

She' d need them for the identity change, for the new accounts, for The Sanctuary' s intricate legal setup.

She' d kept them in a safe deposit box, but Julian had "consolidated" their important documents last year.

He' d said it was for "ease and security."

She knew now it was for control.

They were in the main safe, the one only Julian supposedly had the new code to.

No, wait. He' d given her the code once, during her health crisis, "just in case."

She' d dismissed it, too ill to care. But her mind, sharp despite the turmoil, retrieved it now.

She keyed it in. The heavy door swung open.

Bank statements, property deeds, and there, her documents.

But one was missing. Her mother' s signature was needed on an old trust document, one that was part of her independent inheritance, something Julian hadn't managed to get his hands on fully yet.

The original was with her parents.

A cold dread filled her.

She had to go to the family home.

The place she' d avoided for years.

The place where Liv reigned supreme, and Ava was a disappointment.

The Chen estate loomed, a monument to old money and older resentments.

As Ava walked in, her mother, Eleanor, was in the grand foyer, on the phone, her voice sharp.

"Liv, darling, of course, you should take the jet to Paris. Don't worry about the cost."

Eleanor saw Ava and her expression soured.

"What are you doing here, Ava? Shouldn't you be with your husband? He throws you these lavish parties, and you just wander off?"

The familiar accusations, the instant comparison.

"I need a document from the study, Mother." Ava kept her voice even.

"Always needing something," Eleanor sighed, turning her back. "Unlike Liv, who brings joy, you just bring... complications."

Ava didn' t react.

She' d heard it all before.

The words no longer had the power to wound, not like they used to.

They were just noise now, the soundtrack to her old life.

A life she was about to burn to the ground.

She found the document in her father' s imposing study, tucked away in a file marked "Ava - Miscellaneous."

As she took it, her father, Marcus Chen, walked in.

His eyes, cold and assessing, mirrored Eleanor's.

"Julian called. Worried about you. Said you seemed... off tonight."

He looked at the document in her hand. "What' s that?"

"Just something I needed," Ava said, her voice flat.

"You' re always so secretive, so difficult," Marcus snapped. "Why can't you be more like Liv? Open, vibrant. She called earlier, by the way, so excited about her new influencer deal. A real success, that girl."

Ava said nothing, just turned to leave.

Her silence, her lack of pleading or defense, seemed to infuriate him more.

"Don't you walk away from me! After everything Julian does for you..."

The tirade followed her down the hall.

Just as she reached the front door, it opened.

Julian stood there, Liv clinging to his arm, a picture of fragile beauty.

"Ava! There you are!" Julian' s voice was laced with feigned relief, but his eyes were hard. "We were so worried. Liv was beside herself."

Liv offered a weak smile. "Oh, Ava, thank goodness. I told Julian you wouldn' t just disappear from your own party."

Her grip on Julian' s arm tightened.

"Julian, darling," Liv said, her voice a little too sweet, "I was just telling Ava how Ethan called me earlier. He' s back in town, you know. He said to say hello to you, Ava. He still talks about our college days. Such fun we had."

A subtle dig, a reminder of past conquests, all while playing innocent.

Ava met Liv' s gaze, her own expression unreadable.

She wouldn' t give her sister the satisfaction of a reaction.

Julian stepped forward. "Ava, what' s going on? Your parents said you were upset. And what' s that document?"

He tried to sound concerned, but Ava saw the flicker of calculation. He was trying to manage the situation, to control her.

"It' s nothing, Julian," Ava said, her voice calm, almost detached. "Just a loose end."

She would not be drawn into their drama. Not anymore.