Chapter 1

The official letter from the hospital board felt cold in my hands, the crisp paper a stark contrast to the humid air in my father' s study. It was a formal notice of investigation, a clinical and detached summary of accusations that felt like a personal attack. Medical negligence. Intellectual property theft. The words blurred together, each one a separate blow. My career, the one I had built with painstaking dedication, was on the verge of collapsing.

And I knew exactly who was behind it.

"He's destroying everything, Dad," I said, my voice barely a whisper. I looked at my father, Dr. Arthur Reed, who sat in his worn leather armchair by the window. He stared out at the garden, but his eyes were distant, lost in the fog of the neurological disorder that was slowly stealing him from me. He didn't respond. He probably couldn't.

The doorbell rang, sharp and intrusive. I knew it was him before I even opened the door.

Dr. Julian Vance stood on the porch, a picture of concern. He held a bouquet of flowers, a gesture so fake it made my stomach turn. He was my father' s former protégé, a man whose brilliance was matched only by his deep-seated insecurity.

"Evelyn," he said, his voice smooth. "I heard about the board's decision. I'm so sorry. I came to see how Arthur is doing."

"You have no right to be here, Julian," I said, my voice flat. I didn't move to let him in. "You have no right to say my father's name."

His concerned expression faltered for a second, replaced by a flicker of annoyance. "I'm just worried about him. And you. This must be so difficult." He tried to peer past me into the house. "You look tired. You shouldn't be handling all of this alone."

"I was handling it just fine until you showed up," I shot back. "Until you went to the board with your lies."

Julian' s face hardened. He dropped the pretense of sympathy. "Lies? I presented facts, Evelyn. Your father's condition has deteriorated under your care. And his research... you were never an astrophysicist. You had no business touching his work."

"I was protecting it," I said, my voice rising. "I left my fellowship, my entire life, to come home and take care of him. I was organizing his notes, ensuring his legacy was preserved. You just want to steal it for yourself."

"I am continuing his legacy," Julian corrected me, his tone sharp and superior. "I am his intellectual successor. You are just a daughter who is in over her head. The board sees that. Everyone will see it." He looked at me with a chilling mix of pity and triumph, as if my downfall was a sad but necessary event.

I couldn't stand the sight of him. The man I had once considered a colleague, a friend of the family, was now a stranger twisting a knife. I was too tired, too heartbroken to fight with him on the doorstep.

The weight of my father' s illness, the fellowship I had sacrificed, and now this public humiliation pressed down on me. I felt a deep, hollow ache in my chest. This wasn't just professional jealousy.

This was personal. For years, Julian had watched me, his admiration slowly curdling into a possessive obsession I had tried to ignore. Now, he was punishing me for a rejection he had only ever imagined.

As I stood there, lost in my own despair, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, grateful for the distraction. The name on the screen was Liam Hayes. A former patient, a tech billionaire whose life I had saved after a complex surgery to remove a tumor near his brainstem. He had become an unlikely friend.

"Evelyn? Is now a bad time?" Liam' s voice was calm and steady, a welcome anchor in my chaotic world.

"No, it's fine," I lied, turning my back on Julian.

"I heard some rumors," he said, getting straight to the point. "About the board. About your father's research. I want to help."

Tears pricked my eyes. To hear a voice of unwavering support felt like a lifeline. "Liam, I... I don't know what to do. He's twisting everything."

"Who is?"

I glanced back at the porch. Julian was still standing there, watching me, his jaw set in a stubborn line. The flowers lay discarded on the welcome mat.

"Julian Vance," I said, my voice low and filled with a bitterness I couldn't hide. "He's telling everyone I'm incompetent, that I stole my father's work."

"The astrophysicist? Arthur's old student?" Liam was silent for a moment. "I've heard of him. He has a reputation for being... ambitious. Evelyn, listen to me. Don't let him isolate you. Whatever you need-lawyers, investigators, a place to scream-you call me. I owe you my life. I'm not going to stand by and watch someone try to tear yours apart."

His words gave me a surge of strength. I ended the call and turned back to Julian, my expression no longer one of defeat, but of cold fury. He was still there, waiting, as if he expected me to break down and let him take over.

"You need to leave, Julian," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. "You are not welcome in this house. You are not welcome near my father. And you will not get away with this."

He scoffed, a small, ugly sound. "It's already done, Evelyn. Your reputation is ruined. Soon, Arthur's research will be in the hands of someone who can actually understand it."

"Get out," I repeated, my hand tightening on the doorknob.

He took a step back, a smirk playing on his lips. "As you wish. But don't come crying to me when you have nothing left."

I didn't watch him walk away. I simply closed the door, the solid click of the lock echoing in the silent hallway. The fight was just beginning, but for the first time since the letter arrived, I didn't feel completely alone. I was no longer just a grieving daughter. I was a fighter, and I would protect my father' s legacy and my own name, no matter what it took.