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 glow from my phone screen showed it was already past midnight. The street stretched empty before us, broken only by the distant rumble of a generator and the occasional howl of a stray dog echoing through the neighborhood.


My chest felt tight, but I forced myself to breathe steadily. Joy needed me to stay strong.


The question circled through my mind relentlessly.


Minutes earlier, panic had nearly consumed me as I wondered where Joy and I would spend the night. The pavement beneath our feet seemed colder than ever, and every breeze carried whispers of uncertainty.


Then Eden came to mind. My incredible friend who had always felt more like family than anything else.


Thank God she agreed to let us stay with her temporarily. I whispered a prayer of gratitude for having someone like her in my life.


Chapter 22 - Chapter 22 Midnight Escape