Introduction

For five years, I played a part.

I was Ava, the quiet admin assistant.

I lived in a Brooklyn walk-up, deeply in love with my charming boyfriend, Ethan Hayes.

Our life together felt so real, so perfectly normal.

Then, one night, I overheard him.

He called me a "minor asset to be divested."

A low-risk, low-yield stock, ready to be cut loose.

It was for his upcoming merger with Chloe Parker.

He was getting married, and I was just his secret.

His 'simple' comfort to manage.

The crushing blow wasn't just his words, but his fiancé Chloe' s endless DMs.

She taunted me with pictures of their engagement ring and private jet "strategy sessions."

My heart shattered.

Then, during a car crash, his first instinct solidified everything.

He shielded an absent Chloe, not the bleeding me beside him.

He chose his lie over my life.

How could the man who swore he loved me now see me as a disposable asset?

Worth less than a lie?

How could I have so completely misjudged him?

The indignity and calculated cruelty burned through my veins.

They thought I was simple.

They thought I was weak.

But they were about to find out how wrong they were.

I returned home, not to a Brooklyn walk-up.

I returned to AuraSphere.

The multi-billion dollar private equity firm my family owns.

And I was coming for them.