Introduction

For seven long years, I built my life in Las Vegas, brick by careful brick.

I was Ava, Marcus Thorne' s shadow, his loyal dog-cold, calculating, and feared.

But it was all a lie.

My true name burned deep inside: avenger.

My half-sister, Sarah, loved Marcus.

His family-wicked and powerful-took her.

A whispered ritual. A sacrifice.

Sarah, my sole childhood kindness, was brutally stolen.

I endured Marcus' s cruelties, cleaned his messes, and fought his women, all while he saw only Sarah' s ghost in my reflection.

I even staged public meltdowns and self-harm, meticulously crafting a dangerously obsessed image, solidifying my crazed devotion.

Why Sarah?

Why my kind sister for their unspeakable rituals?

The Thornes' dark whispers forged my grief into a precise, cold fire of revenge.

Her profound injustice and their unshakeable power fueled my every move.

I became pure darkness, plotting patient destruction.

I would burn their entire world down, as they burned mine.

Marcus Thorne, seeing his dead love in my eyes, would unwittingly light the match.

He just didn' t know it yet.

Seven years was a long wait.

For Sarah, I had eternity.

My trap is set, and they are already marching into the flames.