Chapter 1

The bell rang.

On the giant screen in Times Square, Chloe Davis, radiant in a sharp red dress, slammed the gavel. The ticker symbol for "Davis Innovations" exploded in a shower of green numbers.

I stood in the crowd below, a ghost she couldn't see.

Seven years. Seven years I had worked in the shadows, building her dream. I was the architect of the code that made her company a titan, the silent partner who took no credit.

She had promised me. "When we go public, Alex, the world will know. It will be you and me."

A reporter's voice boomed from the speakers, cutting through my thoughts.

"Chloe, an incredible day! And we hear there's more good news. Rumors of an engagement?"

Chloe' s smile widened. It was a smile I knew, the one she used for magazine covers. It never reached her eyes.

"The rumors are true," she said, her voice smooth as glass. "I'm engaged to Ethan Hayes. He' s my rock. I couldn't have done this without him."

The camera panned to a young man beside her. Ethan Hayes. He looked soft, almost fragile, with wide, innocent eyes. He blushed and squeezed her hand.

My world didn't shatter. It just dissolved. Like sand slipping through my fingers. The noise of the crowd, the flashing lights, it all faded into a dull hum.

I turned and walked away. No one noticed.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I knew it was her. I let it ring. It buzzed again. And again. Finally, I answered, stepping into a quiet alley that smelled of rain and garbage.

"Where are you?" Her voice was sharp, impatient. The CEO voice.

"I saw the announcement," I said. My own voice sounded hollow, distant.

"Alex, don't be difficult. I was going to tell you."

"When?" I asked. "After the honeymoon?"

A sigh on the other end. "Listen. I'm coming home. We'll talk."

"Home?" I almost laughed. The sterile penthouse apartment she owned, the one I had lived in but could never call my own. "Our home?"

"Don't start, Alex. Just wait for me."

But I didn't wait. I went back to the apartment. Her scent was everywhere-expensive perfume and ambition. I walked into the kitchen. It was spotless, a place for show, not for living.

Except for one corner. A small pot of soup sat on the stove, still warm. A single bowl and spoon were on the counter.

She hadn't cooked in years. Not for me.

The key turned in the lock. Chloe walked in, followed by Ethan. He looked even younger up close, clinging to her arm like a child.

"Alex," Chloe said, her tone softening, a tool she used to get what she wanted. "This is Ethan."

Ethan gave me a small, nervous smile. "Hi."

I just looked at Chloe.

She led Ethan to the couch. "Sweetheart, why don't you watch some TV? I need to talk to Alex for a minute."

She steered me into the kitchen, her grip firm on my arm. She gestured to the soup.

"I made that for him," she said, her voice low. "His stomach is sensitive."

Seven years. I had coded for 36 hours straight on nothing but black coffee to save her first major deal. I' d gotten pneumonia afterward. She had sent her assistant with a bottle of Gatorade.

"I have to be responsible for him, Alex," she continued, her eyes pleading for an understanding I couldn't give. "You're wild. You're a survivor. You'll be fine without me. But he... he only has me."

The words were so absurd, so perfectly crafted to absolve her of everything. He was weak, so she had to be strong for him. I was strong, so my pain didn't count.

I felt a strange calm settle over me. The rage and the hurt were still there, but they were encased in ice.

"I see," I said.

My lack of a dramatic reaction seemed to annoy her. She wanted a scene, something she could manage, something she could later describe as me being hysterical.

"Is that all you have to say?" she snapped.

"What do you want me to say, Chloe? Congratulations?"

I looked past her, at Ethan. He was watching us, his "innocent" eyes wide with curiosity. He wasn't fragile. He was a predator, and he had won.

I thought about the past seven years. Suppressing my own ambitions, hiding my name from every project, telling my family I was just a mid-level programmer at some tech firm. All for her. For the promise of a future she had just handed to someone else.

"I need you to move out, of course," Chloe said, her voice turning brisk, all business now. "I'll have a check cut for you. For your... contribution."

She was trying to buy my silence. To turn seven years of my life, of love and sacrifice, into a transaction.

"You think this is about money?" I asked, a real laugh, cold and sharp, finally breaking free.

"What else would it be about?" she asked, genuinely confused. For her, everything had a price tag.

Ethan' s phone rang. He answered it, his voice soft and high-pitched. "Oh, no... really? Okay, I'll tell her."

He walked over, his face a mask of concern. "Chloe, it's the caterer for the engagement party. They have the wrong flower order."

Chloe shot me an irritated look, as if this was my fault. "I'll handle it."

She took the phone from Ethan, her voice instantly shifting back to the commanding CEO. "This is Chloe Davis. What is the problem?"

As she walked away, barking orders, Ethan looked at me. His innocent mask dropped for a fraction of a second. A flicker of triumph, of cold calculation, showed in his eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Chloe hung up the phone and strode back to me. "I have to go. We'll sort this out later. My assistant will contact you about your things."

She didn't even say goodbye. She just took Ethan's hand and walked out the door, leaving me alone in the silent, soulless apartment.

A moment later, my phone buzzed. A text from her.

Let' s be adults about this, Alex. It was fun while it lasted. Here' s a million dollars for your time. Don't contact me again.

A million dollars. The price of seven years.

I stared at the text. The ice around my heart cracked. Rage, hot and pure, flooded through me.

I looked at the pot of soup on the stove. The soup she made for him.

My hand shot out. I grabbed the pot and hurled it against the pristine white wall. The gray liquid and bits of vegetables slid down the expensive wallpaper, a disgusting stain on her perfect world.

It wasn't enough.

I grabbed the bowl, the spoon, and threw them to the floor, where they shattered into a hundred pieces.

I was a survivor. She was right about that. And survivors learn to fight back.