Chapter 1

"For the ninth time, Jocelyn Chavez is relieved of her duties as First Lady."

The news anchor' s voice was crisp and professional, cutting through the silence of the Oval Office antechamber. I stood perfectly still, watching my own public execution on the screen.

Ten years. Ten years of being President Wesley Scott' s wife, a prisoner in a gilded cage.

He walked in, not even looking at me, his eyes fixed on the television. Sabrina Hughes, his mistress, was on his arm. Her smile was a slash of victory across her face.

"It's for the best," Wesley said to her, his voice a low murmur meant for me to overhear. "With her family's history of treason, it' s a liability we can no longer afford."

Sabrina leaned into him, her hand tracing the lapel of his suit. "You're so decisive, Wes. It's why you're President."

My family. The Chavez dynasty of Texas. The kingmakers who put this man in the White House, only to be framed by him and Sabrina's father for selling state secrets. My father, the legend, disgraced. My brother, imprisoned. And me, forced into this marriage by a prenuptial agreement my father designed as a failsafe-an unbreakable document that would release a political atom bomb if Wesley ever divorced me without proof of my own treason.

That prenup was the only reason I was still alive.

Later that night, I couldn't sleep. The silence of the White House was more suffocating than any noise. I walked past the Lincoln Bedroom, the door slightly ajar. Wesley's voice drifted out, low and conspiratorial.

"Her father, the Secretary of State, was a genius," he was telling Sabrina. "Framing the Chavez family was a masterstroke. It eliminated my biggest rival and secured my path."

Sabrina laughed, a sound like broken glass. "And now you just have to eliminate the last piece of the puzzle."

"The diplomatic mission is in two weeks," Wesley's voice was cold, final. "There will be an accident. A tragic, unavoidable accident. And then, Jocelyn will be gone. You will be my wife, and our son will be my only heir."

My breath caught in my throat. I stumbled back, my hand flying to my mouth to stifle a gasp. The world, which had been a gray, miserable haze for a decade, suddenly snapped into sharp, terrifying focus.

He wasn't just tormenting me. He was going to kill me.