Chapter 1

My husband of ten years, Alexander Vaughan, was a man carved from ice. Our marriage was a business deal to save my family, and my primary duty was to quietly pay off his endless stream of mistresses.

But then, a single phone call shattered my bleak existence. The hospital had found a perfect stem cell donor for my dying sister, Cathi. We could save her.

I begged Alexander to authorize the life-saving transplant. He refused, completely captivated by his new favorite, an influencer named Karlee.

He ignored my frantic calls. When I finally confronted him, Karlee whispered a poisonous lie that my sister had been rude to her.

Based on her word, Alexander delivered the fatal blow. "I'm withdrawing Cathi's medical team," he said, his voice like ice. "The transplant is off."

My phone rang again. It was the hospital. My sister was dead. She had left a note, saying she didn't want to be a burden anymore.

He had killed her. As surely as if he had held the blade himself.

My grief turned to rage. After I confronted him, he tried to drown me, then had his prized drone inject me with a neurotoxin. He left me paralyzed on his workshop floor for his guards to have their "fun."

As I lay helpless, waiting for the end, the door creaked open. A man I hadn't seen in fifteen years knelt beside me, his face a mask of horror.

"Addie? My God, what did he do to you?"

Chapter 1

Alexander Vaughan, my husband, was a man carved from ice. He ran a tech empire built on rare, high-tech drones, and his heart was just as cold and metallic as the machines he adored.

Our marriage wasn' t about love. It was a business deal, a contract signed ten years ago to save my family from bankruptcy. In exchange for their salvation, I became his wife, a title that meant nothing more than a piece of property.

A key part of my duties was managing his affairs. Not his business, but his women. Today, it was a young actress with wide, hopeful eyes. I handed her the check in the quiet corner of a five-star hotel lobby.

"This should cover your time and your silence," I said, my voice flat.

She looked at the numbers, then back at me, a flicker of pity in her eyes. "You must hate this."

I didn' t answer. I just watched until she tucked the check into her designer bag and walked away, another ghost in the long line of Alexander' s mistresses.

He was waiting in the car, staring at a tablet, not even looking up as I got in. His presence filled the small space with a heavy, suffocating cold.

This was our routine, a dance of neglect and duty that had chipped away at my soul for a decade. But a small, foolish part of me still remembered the boy I had a crush on, the man I once hoped would see me. That hope was almost dead now.

The arrival of Karlee Crane was the final blow. She was an influencer, all wide-eyed innocence and a carefully crafted story about a humble background. Alexander was captivated. He paraded her around, a stark contrast to how he kept me hidden.

My phone buzzed, shattering the tense silence in the car. It was the hospital.

"Addie? It' s about your sister, Cathi."

My heart stopped. Cathi, my sweet, talented younger sister, a budding fashion designer whose light was being dimmed by a rare blood disease.

"We found a match," the doctor said, and I felt a surge of pure, unadulterated joy. "A perfect stem cell donor. We need to schedule the transplant immediately."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I hung up, tears blurring my vision. I turned to Alexander, the words tumbling out. "They found a donor for Cathi! A perfect match! Alexander, we need to..."

He finally looked up from his tablet, his eyes void of any emotion. "I' m busy."

Before I could say more, his phone rang. He answered it, his voice softening into a tone I had never heard him use for me. "Karlee? Are you okay?"

I had to get to the hospital. I had to sign the papers. I begged the driver to take me, but he wouldn' t move without Alexander' s permission. I got out of the car and started running in the pouring rain, flagging down a taxi.

At the hospital, I handled the initial paperwork, my hands shaking. The main costs, the specialist team, it was all covered by Alexander' s private medical plan. I just needed his final authorization. I called him again and again. No answer.

Finally, his assistant picked up. "Mr. Vaughan is with Ms. Crane. He said not to disturb him."

"It' s an emergency! It' s for my sister' s transplant!"

A pause. Then the assistant' s cold voice. "Mr. Vaughan said Ms. Porter will have to wait."

I waited outside his private club for hours, drenched and shivering. The rain plastered my hair to my face. Finally, a sleek black car pulled up. Alexander got out, holding an umbrella over Karlee.

I ran to him. "Alexander, please. I just need your signature. Cathi..."

He shoved a document into my hands. It wasn't the medical authorization. It was a bill from a luxury jeweler.

"Karlee picked out a few things. Go pay for it," he said, his voice dismissive.

I stared at him, my hope turning to ash. "What about Cathi?"

From under the umbrella, Karlee peeked out, her face a mask of concern. "Alex, darling, is this your wife? She seems so... aggressive. Earlier today, her sister was so rude to me on the phone."

I had never heard of Cathi speaking to Karlee. It was a lie.

Alexander' s eyes hardened. "Is that so?" He looked back at me, his gaze like a physical blow. "I' ve just been informed that due to disrespect shown to a guest of mine, I' m withdrawing Cathi' s medical team. The transplant is off."

The world tilted. My phone rang. It was the hospital. I answered it, my body numb.

"Addie... there' s been an incident. It' s Cathi. You need to come now."

I could hear the frantic sounds of a medical emergency in the background. My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the wet pavement.

Through the rain, I heard Karlee' s sweet, poisonous voice. "Oh, dear. I hope it' s not serious."

The doctor' s next words echoed in the empty space of my mind. "Cathi left a note. She said she didn' t want to be a burden anymore. I' m so sorry, Addie. We lost her."

The note, they told me later, had only three words.

"I' m sorry, sis."