Chapter 3

Matilda Davis had tried one last time to salvage the original plan. It was a desperate, ugly move, born from a matriarch' s fear of losing her family' s empire. She had seen InnovateTech' s stock dip, had heard the whispers on the board about Liam' s recklessness since Chloe had stepped back. She believed that only by tying Liam to Chloe, permanently, could they regain control.

So she had arranged a dinner. A trap. She' d drugged Liam' s wine, a potent but harmless sedative. The plan was simple: get him into Chloe' s bed, and in the morning, the "mistake" would be discovered. A scandal, yes, but one that could be spun into a shotgun wedding, forcing his hand and saving the company.

Chloe knew nothing of the plan until it was too late. She had found Liam unconscious in the guest room, put there by the servants. She stood over him, a storm of conflicting emotions tearing her apart. A part of her, the ghost of the woman who loved him, felt a pang of pity. But the new Chloe, the one forged in betrayal, felt only disgust.

She was about to leave when Liam stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He was groggy, disoriented. He saw her standing over him, and his drugged mind jumped to the most paranoid conclusion.

"You," he slurred, his voice thick with accusation. "You did this. You drugged me. You' re trying to trap me."

His words were a physical blow. The idea that he could think her capable of such a cheap, desperate trick was the final insult.

Before she could respond, the door creaked open. Sarah stood there, a picture of innocence, her eyes wide with manufactured fear.

"Liam? Are you okay?" she whispered, rushing to his side. "I was so worried. Your grandmother said you weren't feeling well."

Her timing was perfect, her performance flawless. She shot a quick, venomous glance at Chloe, a look that said, You lose.

Liam clung to her, pulling her close as if she were his savior. "Sarah, get me out of here," he mumbled, glaring at Chloe. "She tried to trap me. She' s crazy."

He looked at Chloe with pure hatred. "I will never marry you," he snarled, his voice gaining strength from his fury. "Never. You disgust me."

That was the moment Chloe' s heart, already broken, finally turned to dust. The last lingering ember of hope she might have secretly held, the foolish, girlish dream that he might one day realize what he'd lost, was extinguished forever. He would always believe the worst of her. He would always choose Sarah.

Later, her grandmother found her staring out the window, her expression blank.

"He's gone," Matilda said, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and defeat. "He took that girl and left. Chloe, I don't understand. You had him. Why didn't you... why didn't you keep him?"

The blame in her grandmother's voice was unmistakable. It was Chloe' s fault for not being enough, for not holding on tighter.

"That girl is a viper," Matilda muttered, pacing the room. "She has her claws in him. The company... InnovateTech is losing ground every day. We poured everything into that boy. Your grandfather gave him the best education, the best connections, a position that men would kill for."

She stopped and looked at her granddaughter, her face a mask of despair. "We bet everything on him, Chloe. And he's chosen to burn it all down."

Chloe listened, the words washing over her. She knew all of this. She knew the company was struggling under Liam's impulsive leadership. She knew the resources her family had invested. She felt the weight of their expectations, a mountain on her shoulders. Liam was supposed to be their salvation, the brilliant successor who would take the Davis legacy to new heights. Instead, he was a black hole, sucking all their hopes and dreams into a void of his own making.

She pressed her hand against the cold glass of the window. The pain in her chest was a dull, constant throb. She had to suppress it. She had to be strong, not for herself, but for her family. They had lost their bet on Liam. Now, she had to make a new one.