Chapter 1

The police lights pulsed red and blue against the living room walls, painting a grotesque dance over the shattered remains of my life.

My parents were gone, murdered in the house I grew up in.

Their tech startup, their dream, was already teetering, vultures circling before the blood was even dry on the expensive rug.

I felt nothing, then everything, a hollow ache that threatened to swallow me whole.

Then Jessica, my fiancée, delivered the next blow.

She stood in the doorway of my temporary motel room, her eyes cold.

"Ethan, I can't do this."

"Do what, Jess?" My voice was a croak.

"Us. I'm leaving you."

It was clean, quick, like ripping off a bandage.

A week later, she was with Michael Vance, a man I barely knew, his smile too wide, too practiced.

The memorial was a blur of sympathetic faces and hushed whispers.

Jessica was there, clinging to Michael's arm.

Then, her sister, Detective Sarah Davis, stepped up to the podium.

She looked directly at me, her voice firm, clear.

"Ethan, I know your pain. And I promise you, I will find who did this. I will bring them to justice."

She paused, her gaze unwavering.

"Ethan Miller, I know this is sudden, unconventional. But I want to help you rebuild. I want to be by your side. Will you marry me?"

The crowd gasped.

Jessica looked stunned, then furious.

Michael's smile flickered.

I saw a lifeline, a detective, someone sworn to find the truth, offering me a hand.

In my despair, I grabbed it.

"Yes," I said. "Yes, I will."