Chapter 1

1.

The day I got engaged to Julian Vance, we were at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C.

Just as we were about to cut the cake, a call from Daphne Sterling pulled him away.

"Daphne is having a panic attack," he said. "She says she has a fever and is scared to be alone in that huge house. She needs me."

Julian disappeared for three whole days.

When he finally showed up, looking exhausted, he said it so casually.

"Sloane, we have a lifetime together. Once Daphne feels better, let's just skip the ceremony and go straight to the courthouse, okay?"

Instead, I accepted a recruitment offer for a top-secret project at the Department of Defense.

That was the last time I saw him.

When we met again, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked at me with a desperate madness.

"Where the hell did you go? I'd do anything, give up everything, just to have you back."

...

Five years passed.

The first time I saw Julian Vance again was at the annual National Science and Innovation Awards gala at the Kennedy Center.

He was the youngest tenured professor in the Ivy League, a star scientist sitting in the front-row VIP section.

I was a representative from a non-existent lab within the NSA, hidden in the shadows of a second-floor box suite.

The entire room gave him a standing ovation when the host called his name.

He buttoned his suit jacket and walked onto the stage with an easy grace.

Under the spotlight, he was even more handsome than he was five years ago, the perfect picture of East Coast elite.

But the arrogant spark of a genius he once had seemed to have been dulled, replaced by a shadow of melancholy.

My colleague next to me whispered in awe, "Dr. Vance is so young and accomplished. I heard he practically lived in his lab these past few years for that quantum computing project."

I said nothing, just watched him calmly.

Julian's acceptance speech was short, filled with American-style humor and humility.

After he finished, his eyes scanned the crowd like a predator searching for its prey.

Finally, his gaze cut through the distance and locked onto my box suite.

I couldn't see his expression clearly from so far away, but I knew.

He saw me.

I left as soon as the ceremony ended.

As I was walking through the VIP hallway backstage, someone blocked my path.

"Sloane."

Julian's voice was hoarser than I remembered, with a slight tremble. He stood in front of me, his tall frame blocking the light.

His eyes swirled with emotions I couldn't decipher―maybe regret, maybe obsession.

"You're back. Why didn't you contact me? Not even a text?"

Before I could answer, the sharp click of high heels approached from behind him, followed by that sickly sweet voice I knew all too well.

"Julian, darling, why didn't you wait for me?"

Daphne Sterling hurried over, linking her arm through Julian's and pressing her body against his, staking her claim.

When she saw me, a flash of surprise crossed her perfectly made-up face, quickly replaced by the familiar fake socialite smile.

"Oh my god, Sloane! When did you get back to D.C.? You should have told us! My parents miss you so much."

She spoke with the exact same tone as five years ago, as if there had been no betrayal, no final break.

As if I had just returned from a long vacation in Europe.

Daphne and I were once the best of friends.

Or rather, I was her perfect sidekick.

When I was fourteen, my father, a CIA agent, was killed during an overseas operation. My mother died soon after, consumed by grief.

My father's best friend and brother-in-arms, General Robert Sterling―Daphne's father―took me into their mansion in McLean, Virginia.

General Sterling and his wife, Eleanor, treated me like their own daughter, sending me to the best private schools.

Back then, Daphne would hold my hand on her princess bed and swear, "Sloane, from now on, we're sisters. We'll wear the same clothes and share all our secrets."

She was the only light in my life after losing my parents.