Chapter 1

For five years, they told me my cousin Juliette was in Asia, atoning for a data breach that almost destroyed our family's tech company. I played my part as Elaine Stewart, the perfect philanthropic daughter, engaged to my father's brilliant successor, Cole. My life was a carefully managed performance to uphold our family's public image.

That lie shattered on the night of our biggest product launch. I saw them on the private airfield next to the event hall. My fiancé, Cole, and my cousin Juliette. And between them, holding both their hands, was a little girl.

My world stopped. The girl was Kiarra, the four-year-old "niece" Cole had told me about. His daughter.

I soon discovered my entire life was a PR stunt, a shield for their secret family and a much darker corporate crime. My own father had framed Juliette for a data breach he orchestrated, and she was blackmailing him. My mother was in on it, funding their lavish life to ensure their silence.

Then I found the video call recording. My cousin and my fiancé, laughing at me.

"My sweet, naive charity case of a cousin," Juliette's voice dripped with mockery. "She's so easy to fool."

They thought I was a pawn, good for photo ops and nothing more. A cold fury burned through the shock, melting away the girl I used to be.

The company's annual shareholders' meeting was in two weeks, live-streamed to the entire world. They were expecting a celebratory corporate video.

But this year, I would replace it. I would replace it with irrefutable proof of the affair, the secret family, and the blackmail.

They were about to find out how wrong they were.

Chapter 1

For five years, they told me my cousin Juliette was in Asia.

They said she was on a high-stakes, isolated assignment for Stewart Dynamics, our family's tech company.

This was her penance.

A punishment for a massive data breach that almost destroyed everything my father, Gabriel Stewart, had built.

So for five years, I played my part.

I was Elaine Stewart, the philanthropic daughter, the gentle one.

I was the perfect fiancée to Cole Koch, the company's brilliant COO and my father's chosen successor.

My life was a carefully managed performance, all designed to uphold the family's rebuilt public image.

I smiled at galas, funded charities, and stood by Cole's side, a symbol of stability and future prosperity.

I believed the lie. I lived the lie.

The lie shattered on a Tuesday night.

It was the launch of our new flagship product, the "Nexus," and the air in the grand ballroom crackled with victory.

My father was on stage, his voice booming with pride. My mother, Jessica, sat beside me, her hand patting mine, a picture of maternal pride. Cole squeezed my other hand, his thumb stroking my skin in a way that used to make my heart race.

Tonight, it just felt cold.

A strange anxiety had been clawing at me all evening. A feeling that something was deeply wrong.

I saw Juliette.

Not on a video call from a sterile office in Singapore, but right here, in San Francisco.

She was standing on the tarmac of the private airfield adjacent to the event hall, bathed in the harsh glow of floodlights.

She wasn't alone.

Cole was with her.

And between them, holding both their hands, was a little girl with dark, curly hair.

My world stopped.

The noise of the party faded into a dull roar. The champagne in my glass trembled.

It was them.

Juliette, looking radiant and happy, not atoning for anything. Cole, my Cole, looking at her with a tenderness I had mistaken for my own. And the child.

My mind raced, trying to make sense of the impossible.

That little girl... she looked about four years old. Kiarra. Cole' s "niece." The one he showed me pictures of, the daughter of a friend who had passed away.

He had lied.

Everything was a lie.

My life wasn't real. It was a stage. A PR stunt. A shield for their secret family and a much darker corporate crime.

I stumbled back from the window, my body shaking.

My own father, who always preached about Juliette's need for "focus" and "atonement," was in on it. He had to be. He was secretly funding her lavish life to ensure her silence.

Juliette wasn't just having an affair. She had to be blackmailing him.

Blackmailing him over the real cause of the data breach. An act of corporate espionage he orchestrated. He had framed his own niece, the brilliant, favored child, and she had turned the tables on him.

And I was the pawn. The good, naive daughter whose clean reputation and perfect engagement were the glue holding the fragile empire together.

My phone buzzed. It was a saved video file, sent from an unknown number an hour ago, buried under a flood of congratulatory messages. My fingers trembled as I opened it.

It was a recording of a video call. Juliette's face filled the screen, a smirk playing on her lips. She was talking to Cole.

"She actually believes I'm suffering in some sweatshop in Asia," Juliette's voice dripped with mockery. "God, she' s so easy to fool. My sweet, naive charity case of a cousin."

The words hit me harder than a physical blow.

Charity case.

That' s what they thought of me. The gentle, less-ambitious daughter. The one who was good for photo ops and nothing more.

A cold fury began to burn through the shock, melting away the girl I used to be.

The company's annual shareholders' meeting was in two weeks. It was always live-streamed to the entire world.

A celebratory corporate video was always the centerpiece of the event.

But not this year.

This year, I would replace it.

I would replace it with irrefutable proof of the affair, the secret family, and the blackmail.

I would expose the rot at the core of Stewart Dynamics for the entire world to see.

They thought I was a naive charity case.

They were about to find out how wrong they were.

Five years.

That' s how long the official story had been. Juliette, my cousin who was raised like my sister, had made a catastrophic mistake. A data breach that cost the company billions and nearly sent it into a death spiral.

My father, Gabriel Stewart, had been merciful. Instead of firing her, he'd sent her to Asia to lead a new, isolated division. A chance to redeem herself through hard work and focus. No distractions. No family visits.

It was the fifth anniversary of that "exile" tonight. And it was also the night of the Nexus launch, the product that was meant to solidify Stewart Dynamics' triumphant comeback.

"You look beautiful, Elaine," Cole murmured, his lips brushing my temple. His arm was wrapped securely around my waist. "The perfect image of our future."

He was always so smooth, so charismatic. His words were a practiced art, designed to reassure, to charm, to control. He was the perfect COO, the perfect successor, the perfect fiancé. A masterpiece of deception.

I forced a smile. "It's a big night for you, for all of us."

I was Elaine Stewart. The name felt heavy, like a costume I' d been wearing for so long I' d forgotten it wasn't my skin. My life was dedicated to my non-profit, a passion my family tolerated as a "gentle hobby." They saw me as kind, empathetic, and ultimately, not ambitious enough for the cutthroat world of Stewart Dynamics. That was Juliette's territory. And now, Cole's.

My mother, Jessica, glided over, her diamonds sparkling under the chandeliers. "Darling, your father is about to speak. We need to be front and center." She fussed with my hair, her touch light and meaningless.

"Of course, Mom," I said, my voice even.

As we moved through the crowd, I spotted my father talking to a board member. He looked powerful, in control. My king in his castle.

"I feel like we should do something for Juliette," I said, testing the waters. "Five years is a long time."

The air around us instantly grew colder. My mother' s smile tightened. My father turned, his gaze sharp and dismissive.

"Elaine, we've discussed this," Gabriel said, his voice low and firm. "Juliette needs to focus. This is a critical time for her project. Distractions are the last thing she needs."

"I just miss her," I said, a genuine ache in my chest. I did miss the sister I thought I had.

"We all do," Jessica said, her tone a clear dismissal. "But what's best for the company, and for her, is that she remains dedicated. Your father knows best."

The lie was so seamless, so practiced. They delivered it with the ease of actors in a long-running play. But a seed of doubt, planted long ago, was starting to sprout. Juliette was brilliant, yes, but she was also impulsive and proud. Would she really accept five years of silent exile without a fight? She had taken the fall for the data breach, a disaster that had always felt... off. I remembered the chaos, the frantic late nights. I had offered to help, with my own background in data security from college, but my father had firmly pushed me away, telling me to focus on "damage control" with the family's public image. He said it was too complex, too technical for me. He made me feel small and incapable.

"Five years is a long time for anyone to be alone," I pushed, looking at Cole. "Don't you think, Cole?"

Cole' s smile didn' t reach his eyes. "Your father's right, honey. Juliette is tough. She's handling it. We have to trust the process." He gave my hand a squeeze, a gesture meant to be reassuring, but it felt like a warning.

Something inside me recoiled. A sudden, sharp feeling of being utterly alone in a room full of people I was supposed to trust. The air felt thick, suffocating.

"I just need some fresh air," I murmured, pulling my hand from Cole's. "I'll be right back."

I didn't wait for a response. I slipped through a side door and walked out into the cool night. The manicured gardens of the event center led toward the private airfield Stewart Dynamics used. I just needed a moment of quiet, a moment to breathe.

That's when I saw it. The scene that would end my life as I knew it.

A sleek private jet, engines humming, ready for departure. And standing at the base of the stairs were the three of them. Cole. Juliette. And the little girl.

Juliette was laughing, her head thrown back. Cole leaned in and kissed her, a deep, passionate kiss that was nothing like the chaste pecks he gave me for the cameras. The little girl, Kiarra, tugged on his hand.

"Daddy, can we get ice cream when we land?" she chirped.

Daddy.

The word echoed in the sudden silence of my mind.

My breath hitched. My legs gave out. I stumbled behind a large potted palm, my hand clamped over my mouth to stifle a sob. The world was tilting, spinning out of control.

I watched as Cole knelt, his face softening with a love I had never seen on him before. A genuine, unguarded love. "Of course, princess. Anything for you."

Juliette stroked his hair. "We have to go, my love. Your big speech is soon."

"I know," he sighed, standing up. "I'll see you both in Aspen tomorrow. I've already arranged everything."

"I love you," she said, her voice soft.

"I love you more," he replied, giving her one last kiss before turning back toward the event hall.

I was frozen, trapped in a nightmare. My engagement, my future, my family-it was all a facade. A carefully constructed lie to protect them. To protect their secret family.

My entire body trembled with a violence that terrified me. A guttural sound escaped my throat, a mix of a gasp and a sob. I scrambled back, knocking over a small decorative statue.

The clatter was deafening in the quiet night.

Cole froze, his head whipping around in my direction. "Who's there?"

I didn't breathe. I pressed myself deeper into the shadows, my heart hammering against my ribs.

He took a step towards the darkness, his face a mask of suspicion.

Then his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and his expression changed. He turned his back to me and answered.

I didn't wait. I ran.

I ran as if my life depended on it, back into the suffocating brightness of the party, back into the heart of the lie.

My phone buzzed in my hand. A text from my mother.

`Where are you? Your father is on stage!`

I ignored it. My fingers, slick with sweat, fumbled to unlock the screen. I found the saved video file. My heart pounded as I watched Juliette's mocking face, heard her call me a "naive charity case."

Then, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was an incoming call.

`Cole.`

I stared at his name, my vision blurring. He was calling me. After kissing her goodbye. After promising to meet his secret family in Aspen.

I took a shaky breath, swiping to answer. My new life had just begun.

"Hey," I said, my voice miraculously steady. "Sorry, just got turned around. I'm on my way back now."