I was devoted to Tom Collin, a man whose ambition I once admired. I gave up my career, my future, my entire identity for him. I was the perfect wife while he built his empire. But when he reached the top, I became invisible.
Then I found him with her—his college ex, the woman who’d abandoned him when he had nothing. When I confronted him, the man I married vanished, replaced by a monster whose hands left bruises on my skin.
I was finally ready to leave. But I never got the chance. He left our five-year-old daughter, Joy, alone for his mistress. And in his absence, my baby was murdered.
I buried my child, and with her, the weak woman I used to be. In a haze of grief, I let a handsome stranger hold me for one night in Italy—a single moment of oblivion.
Five years later, I live for one purpose: Revenge. Tom Collin will pay for what he did. He has no idea the woman now standing before him. But my new boss… he might. The magnetic CEO of our rival company is the stranger from that night. And he doesn’t know he’s the father of my secret daughter.


The blood beneath me had grown cold hours ago, but I remained frozen in place, cradling Joy's lifeless form against my chest. Every fiber of my being screamed that this couldn't be real, that my precious daughter would wake up any second and flash me that bright smile that could melt away any worry. But her body lay still and silent, her warmth already faded into memory.


My face was raw from crying, eyes so swollen I could barely see through the haze of tears that refused to stop flowing. The throbbing in my skull felt like hammers beating against bone, yet it paled compared to the hollowness consuming my chest. My entire body trembled as I held her closer, terrified that releasing my grip would make this nightmare permanent. The silk of my dress had absorbed so much of her blood that the fabric stuck to my skin like a second layer, but such trivial discomfort didn't even register.


Chapter 38 - Chapter 38 Shattered Truth