Chapter 3

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital and brought back to the Miller family mansion. It felt both familiar and alien. I walked through the grand foyer, my footsteps echoing on the marble floor, feeling like a ghost in my own home.

My father insisted I needed to rest, but the house was suffocating. Every corner seemed to hold memories I couldn't access but could feel the weight of. That night, I couldn't sleep. The silence of the mansion was louder than any noise.

Restless, I got out of bed and started to wander the quiet, dark hallways. I passed my father's study, the door firmly shut. I passed Brittany's room, a sliver of light visible from under the door. I kept walking, drawn toward the wing where the live-in staff had their quarters.

I found myself standing in front of a particular door. A strange pull, a sense of grim familiarity, told me this was Liam's room. The door was slightly ajar. Curiosity, sharp and insistent, got the better of me. I pushed it open and slipped inside.

The room was dark, but the moonlight spilling through the large window illuminated the space. It wasn't the simple, spartan room I would expect for a bodyguard. The furniture was sleek and modern, made of dark, expensive wood. A high-end laptop sat on the desk, and a collection of designer watches was arranged neatly on the dresser. This was the room of a man of wealth, not a man on a salary.

My eyes landed on the desk. Next to the laptop was a small, silver picture frame. I picked it up. It wasn't a picture of me. It was a picture of Brittany, smiling brightly at the camera, a picture I recognized from a family vacation two years ago.

A cold dread pooled in my stomach. I put the frame down and my gaze fell upon the laptop. It was open, the screen glowing. A series of financial reports were displayed, charts and figures that made no sense to me. But the logo at the top of the page was one I knew all too well.

Stone Industries.

Our biggest competitor in the tech world. A company run by the notoriously ruthless billionaire, Marcus Stone.

Liam Stone. Marcus Stone. The pieces clicked into place with a sickening thud. My bodyguard wasn't just a bodyguard. He was a tech heir, the son of my father's greatest rival, living in our house, guarding me, while secretly being in love with my stepsister.

The sheer scale of the deception was breathtaking.

As I stood there, reeling from the discovery, I heard voices from the garden just below the open window. I moved silently, pressing myself against the wall to listen.

It was Liam and Brittany.

"She asked me if she loved me," Liam's voice drifted up, low and laced with contempt. "Can you believe the nerve? After all this time."

"You have to be patient with her, Liam," Brittany's voice was syrupy sweet, the same voice she used on my father. "She's been through a lot. And she was so... attached to you."

A harsh, humorless laugh from Liam. "Attached? Britt, she was pathetic. She followed me around like a lost puppy. I couldn't even breathe without her trying to get my attention. It was suffocating."

"I know, baby, I know," Brittany cooed. "But it's almost over. Once Dad makes the announcement about our engagement, she'll have to accept it. And then everything will be ours."

The world tilted on its axis. My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't just a secret crush. They were planning to get engaged. They were planning to take everything.

I felt a tremor start in my hands, but it wasn't from fear or heartbreak. It was rage. A cold, clear, calculating rage. The pathetic, love-sick Chloe they were talking about was dead. Drowned in that lake. The woman standing in this room now was someone new. Someone they hadn't counted on.

I backed away from the window, my mind racing. I couldn't break down. I couldn't scream. That's what they would expect. I had to be smart. I had to be strategic.

Revenge wasn't enough. I wanted to dismantle them. I wanted to take away everything they thought they had secured.

My father's words from weeks ago came back to me. An arranged marriage. A way to create a powerful alliance with another tech giant. At the time, the idea was repulsive. Now, it was a weapon.

Ethan Reed. The CEO of Reed Industries. A man described as brilliant, powerful, and reclusive, confined to a wheelchair after a mysterious accident. A merger with his company would make Miller Tech untouchable. It would give me power my father, Liam, and Brittany could only dream of.

I slipped out of Liam's room, my footsteps silent in the dark hall. My purpose was clear.

The next morning, I walked into my father's study without knocking. He looked up from his desk, surprised.

"Chloe. What is it?"

"I'll do it," I said, my voice steady and firm.

He looked confused. "Do what?"

"The marriage," I clarified. "I'll marry Ethan Reed."

My father's eyes widened. A slow smile spread across his face, a smile of pure, unadulterated opportunism. "Really? That's... excellent news, Chloe. I knew you'd see reason."

"But I have conditions," I said, cutting him off. I walked over and placed my hands flat on his large mahogany desk, leaning forward so he could see the seriousness in my eyes.

"Before any engagement is announced, I want fifty-one percent of Miller Tech's voting shares transferred to my name. I want it in a trust that you, Brittany, and her mother can never touch. I also want the prenuptial agreement with Ethan Reed to stipulate that in case of a divorce, our companies remain separate entities, but my personal assets are protected. And I want the summer house and my mother's jewelry collection signed over to me. Immediately."

My father stared at me, his smile gone, replaced by a look of shock. He was seeing a daughter he didn't recognize. He was seeing a player, not a pawn.

"That's an outrageous demand," he stammered.

"Is it?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet. "It's the price for securing the Reed alliance. The price for saving this company from vultures like Stone Industries. Take it or leave it. But if you leave it, I walk. And I'll find my own way to get what I'm owed."

He looked at me for a long, hard moment, seeing the iron in my spine. He saw that I was no longer the weak, emotional girl he could easily manipulate.

Finally, he nodded slowly. "Alright, Chloe. You'll have your deal."

I smiled, a real smile this time. But it wasn't a happy one. It was the smile of a predator who had just cornered her prey.

The game had just begun.