Chapter 1

The last thing I saw was Caleb Vance' s face.

It wasn' t twisted with grief for me, for my family.

No, it was a strange, almost relieved expression.

Lila Hayes, the woman he loved, whispered something in his ear.

Then the Crimson Syndicate' s fire consumed everything.

The Blackwood ranch, generations of my family, me.

They said a Blackwood Heiress bows to no one.

In the end, I bowed to death, betrayed by the man I loved.

I woke with a gasp, my lungs burning, the phantom pain of fire still on my skin.

But I wasn' t ash.

My hands, they were smooth, unscarred.

I was in my formal gown, the deep emerald silk that I wore only once.

The air was thick with expensive perfume and unspoken tensions.

The Alliance Summit.

The grand hall of the Capital Building, where powerful families declared allegiances.

This was the day.

The day I, Aurora Blackwood, in my past life, had proudly linked my family' s fate to Caleb Vance.

The day the first nail was hammered into our coffin.

My heart pounded.

I remembered Caleb' s words, cold and distant, after Lila' s supposed "tragedy."

"It's your fault, Rory. Your family's ambition. Lila suffered because of you."

He believed her lies, every single one.

And because of that, he fed information to the Syndicate, paving the way for their attack.

The Blackwoods, decimated. Me, dead.

All because I loved a fool.

No more.

This time, things would be different.

I looked across the polished floor.

The heads of families were assembling.

My father, Patriarch Blackwood, stood tall, his eyes searching for me with a hint of concern.

CEO Vance, Caleb's father, was already glad-handing, desperate for our alliance to save his failing corporation.

And Caleb. He was there, looking impatient, his eyes occasionally flicking towards the entrance where Lila Hayes would soon make her orchestrated, "vulnerable" appearance.

He hadn't seen me yet.

My gaze found Jax Ryder.

Leader of the Ryder Group, our staunchest allies, sometimes rivals, always honorable.

He stood quietly, a pillar of strength, his eyes unexpectedly meeting mine.

There was a flicker of something in them – surprise, then a deep, unreadable emotion.

In my past life, Jax had died trying to avenge me. A fact I learned only in my final, burning moments.

This time, he would live. We would live.

The Master of Ceremonies was stepping forward.

"Esteemed families, welcome to the Alliance Summit. A day for forging bonds, for securing futures!"

He would call my name soon.

I would be expected to walk to the central dais, to announce the Blackwood-Vance union.

My hand instinctively went to the small, ancestral Blackwood dagger secured at my waist, a ceremonial piece used for signing pacts.

This time, it would sign a different name.