Chapter 1

The sterile white room felt cold.

Agent Davis, a man whose face showed no emotion, looked at Sarah Jenkins.

His voice was flat, like a machine.

"Michael Ramirez is stable, for now. But the doctors say he has very little time. Weeks, maybe less."

Sarah's hands clenched. Mike. Her Mike. Lying in a hospital bed, unaware.

"But The Program has Protocol Omega," Davis continued. "It's experimental. Revolutionary. It can save him."

Hope, sharp and painful, pierced through Sarah. "What do I have to do?"

"Marry Ethan Vanderbilt. The wedding must be public, a major event. You have one month."

Ethan Vanderbilt. The name tasted like ash in her mouth.

"If you succeed, Michael lives. If you fail..." Davis paused. "He dies. And The Program will ensure your silence, permanently."

Sarah looked at the picture of Mike on her cheap phone. His smile, his vibrant eyes.

"I'll do it," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

The call came an hour later. Ethan.

"Sarah, get over to Dr. Albright's clinic on Park Avenue. Now."

His voice was sharp, annoyed. "I had a little spill. Nothing major, but these idiots are making a fuss."

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. The facade. It began now.

She rushed out of her small Queens apartment, her mind a whirl of Mike, Ethan, and the impossible bargain.

As she approached the private clinic's waiting room, she heard voices. Ethan's, loud and arrogant.

"She'll come running, you watch. Little Sarah, so desperate."

Chad, one of Ethan's sycophantic friends, laughed. "She knows which side her bread is buttered on. A girl from Queens latching onto a Vanderbilt? She's not letting go."

Brad, another one, chimed in. "She's like a little puppy, Ethan. Always eager to please. You've got her trained well."

Ethan chuckled. "She' s a pretty little thing, I' ll give her that. And she' ll do anything I say. She' ll never leave."

Sarah paused outside the door, her heart a cold stone in her chest. This was her life now. For Mike.

She pushed the door open, schooling her features into a look of anxious concern.

"Ethan! Are you alright?"

Ethan was lounging on a plush sofa, a small bandage on his forearm. Chad and Brad flanked him, smirking.

"Took you long enough," Ethan said, not even looking at her. "I'm dying of thirst. And these fools only have sparkling water."

"I'm so sorry," Sarah said, her voice soft, submissive.

"Don't just stand there," Ethan snapped. "There's a bottle of Château Lafite, 1982, in my father' s private cellar at the main office. The one he keeps locked. Go get it. I need a real drink."

Sarah blinked. The Vanderbilt Tower was miles away. The cellar was notoriously hard to access.

"But Ethan, your father..."

"Are you questioning me?" Ethan's voice turned cold. "Just get it. Don't make me ask twice."

Chad snickered. "Go on, little errand girl."

Sarah swallowed the humiliation. "Of course, Ethan. Right away."

She turned, her back straight, and walked out. Every step was for Mike.

Later that night, back in Ethan' s opulent penthouse, he was sprawled on the bed, half-asleep.

Sarah had managed to get the wine, enduring the condescending looks of Ethan's father's assistant and the sneer of the security guard who finally unlocked the cellar after a call from a reluctant Ethan.

She was exhausted, emotionally drained.

Ethan stirred, murmuring. "Chloe... damn it, Chloe..."

Sarah froze.

"Maybe... maybe I'll call off this stupid wedding... if Chloe just... just says the word..."

His voice trailed off into a snore.

Sarah's blood ran cold. The wedding. Protocol Omega. Mike.

Her secure, burner phone, provided by The Program, vibrated. A message from Agent Davis.

"Progress 99%. The wedding must proceed for Protocol Omega. No deviations, Ms. Jenkins."

Her resolve hardened. She would not fail. Mike' s life depended on it. This Manhattan masquerade was her only path. Her Austin heart ached, but it would keep beating for him.