Chapter 1

Ethan Gold stood on the stage, the lights bright on his face, he looked straight at Sarah, his eyes full of love.

"Sarah Miller," he said, his voice echoing in the large hall, "is not just my wife, she is my partner, my equal, the backbone of Gold Enterprises, without her, there would be no me, no empire, I vow, before all of you, she will be my only partner, for life."

The crowd cheered, Sarah felt a warmth spread through her, this was Ethan, her Ethan, the man she loved, the man who saw her, truly saw her.

They built Gold Enterprises together, his vision, her strategy, a perfect team.

Five years passed, five years of success, of shared dreams, then Chloe Vance arrived, an intern, young, ambitious.

Sarah found out, a hotel receipt, a lingering perfume not her own, the usual, ugly signs.

Her heart broke, but she didn't scream, she didn't cry in front of him.

She met Chloe, a quiet meeting, a large check passed across a table.

"Leave," Sarah said, her voice low, steady, "and don't come back."

Chloe took the money, her eyes wide, then she was gone.

Sarah wanted to avoid a scandal, for Gold Enterprises, for Ethan, for the memory of what they had.

Ethan never mentioned Chloe, he never acted like anything was wrong, he was still the loving husband, attentive, charming.

Sarah watched him, his easy smiles, his unchanged routine, did he even notice Chloe was gone, did he care Sarah had handled it.

A wall started to build around Sarah's heart, brick by quiet brick.

She smiled back, played her part, but something inside her grew cold, watchful.

Months later, Sarah was three months pregnant, a fragile, precious secret she held close.

Then a call came, a "sabotage crisis" at a remote Gold Enterprises R&D facility, a place vital to their new project.

Ethan was frantic, "Sarah, please," he begged, his voice tight with panic, "only you can fix this, your operational genius, I need you."

She was pregnant, vulnerable, but this was Gold Enterprises, their creation.

She looked at Ethan, his desperate eyes, the company needed her, he needed her.

Sarah went, she flew to the remote facility, worked day and night, her mind sharp, focused.

She found the problem, a complex technical issue, not sabotage, she fixed it, the team celebrated.

Relief washed over her, she called Ethan, "It's done," she said, a tired smile on her face.

Then the world exploded, a sudden, deafening blast, the building shaking, falling apart.

Pain, searing, unimaginable, then darkness.

She woke up in a haze, the sterile smell of a hospital, Ethan by her side.

She had lost the baby, her leg was gone, they told her she could never have children again.

Ethan was a mask of remorse, tears in his eyes, "My love, my poor Sarah," he whispered, holding her hand.

He brought her back to their lavish estate, hired the best doctors, the best nurses.

He was constantly there, full of care, full of "sorrow" for what she endured, for their lost child.

"I should never have sent you," he'd say, his voice thick with guilt, "it's all my fault."

Sarah lay in her bed, broken, watching him, a tiny sliver of doubt, a cold question, forming in the back of her mind.

One afternoon, drifting in and out of a drugged sleep, Sarah heard voices from the adjoining study, Ethan's voice, and Mr. Henderson, his chief of staff.

"The 'crisis' worked perfectly," Ethan said, his voice cold, devoid of the warmth he showed her, "the child is gone."

Sarah's blood ran cold, her breath caught in her throat.

"Chloe is safe, and our son, Jett, he is healthy, he will be my heir, Sarah was... an obstacle."

A son, Chloe had his son, their son, the crisis, a lie, an act, to destroy her child, her body.

The "accident" was no accident, it was an attempt on her life.

The voices continued, Ethan's calm, measured tones discussing her future.

"Tell the doctors to manage her recovery," Ethan instructed Henderson, "ensure it's a permanent, severe disability, beyond the amputation, we can't have her getting too capable again."

Her recovery, managed, to keep her weak, broken.

"And accelerate the financial ruin of her father and brother's companies, I want them gone, no allies left for her."

Her family, her strong, kind father, her supportive brother, targeted, because of her.

Each word was a nail hammered into her soul.

The realization hit her with physical force, Ethan, her Ethan, had done this, all of it.

She tried to sit up, to scream, but a wave of nausea and dizziness engulfed her.

She confronted him later, the words a choked whisper, "You... why..."

Then, the world tilted, blackness, the taste of blood in her mouth as she collapsed.