Chapter 1

I sat in my office in Singapore, thousands of miles away from home, my eyes fixed on the laptop screen. The live stream was just about to begin. Outside my window, the city buzzed with its own life, but my entire world was focused on that small, glowing rectangle. For three years, I had poured my soul into building the Asian branch of Innovate Solutions, the tech company I founded from the ground up. Every sacrifice, every long night, was for this moment, for her. For my daughter, Lily.

Tonight was her 18th birthday party, a lavish event I had planned and paid for down to the last detail from across the ocean. The best caterers in San Francisco, a top DJ, and a ballroom in a five-star hotel. I wanted her to feel like the princess she was. My princess.

A soft smile touched my lips as the stream flickered to life. The ballroom looked magnificent, exactly as I had envisioned it. The camera panned across a crowd of elegantly dressed teenagers, all laughing and dancing. My heart swelled with a mixture of pride and a dull ache of longing. I wished I could be there, to hold her in my arms on her special day.

The music swelled, and the MC' s voice boomed, "And now, let' s give a huge welcome to the birthday girl, the heiress to Innovate Solutions, Tiffany!"

My smile froze.

Tiffany?

The name echoed in the silent space of my office, a discordant note in a symphony I had composed so carefully. I leaned closer to the screen, my brow furrowed in confusion. A girl I had never seen before walked into the spotlight. She was beautiful, I couldn't deny that, but she wasn't my Lily. She was wearing the custom-made designer gown I had personally commissioned for Lily, a one-of-a-kind creation that cost a fortune.

My breath caught in my throat. Around the girl' s neck was the Davis heirloom, a sapphire necklace passed down through my family for generations, a piece I had sent home specifically for Lily to wear on this night.

A woman stepped up beside the girl, beaming. She took the microphone. "Thank you all for coming to celebrate my daughter Tiffany' s 18th birthday. As the CEO of Innovate Solutions, it warms my heart to see so much joy here tonight."

CEO of Innovate Solutions? I was the CEO. What was happening? A cold dread began to creep up my spine.

Then, the camera panned to the side, away from the main celebration. And I saw her.

My Lily.

She was standing near a service table, holding a tray of drinks. Her head was bowed, her shoulders slumped in a way I had never seen before. She was wearing a plain, ill-fitting server' s uniform. Her face, when she briefly looked up, was a mask of humiliation and despair. A group of Tiffany' s friends walked by, and one of them deliberately knocked a glass from her tray, laughing as it shattered on the floor. Lily just flinched and began to pick up the pieces, her movements small and defeated.

A guttural sound of rage escaped my lips. The laptop felt too small, the distance between us too vast. I snatched my phone from the desk, my hands shaking so violently I could barely dial the number.

Mark. My husband. He had to explain this. This had to be some kind of sick, elaborate joke.

The phone rang once, twice, three times.

"Chloe?" His voice was smooth, but there was an edge to it I couldn't place. "Everything okay? I was just about to call you. The party is a huge success."

"Mark, what the hell is going on?" I kept my voice low, a dangerous calm settling over my fury. "Who is Tiffany? Why is she wearing Lily' s dress and my family' s necklace?"

There was a slight pause.

"Oh, that," he said, his tone a little too casual. "It' s a bit of a surprise. Sarah' s daughter. You remember Sarah Miller, from college? She' s my new co-CEO. We thought it would be a great PR move to celebrate them both. Boost company morale."

Co-CEO? Sarah Miller? The name sent a jolt through me. His old girlfriend. The one he always claimed was just a friend.

"A PR move?" I repeated, my voice dripping with disbelief. "A PR move that involves my daughter serving drinks at her own birthday party? Mark, where is Lily? Let me talk to her."

"She' s busy right now, honey," he said quickly, too quickly. "It' s a madhouse here. Look, it' s all part of a plan. It' s complicated. I' ll explain everything later."

"Put Lily on the phone now, Mark."

"I can' t. The connection is bad. I' m heading into a tunnel."

His explanation was so flimsy, so insulting, it was like he wasn't even trying. Before I could say another word, the line went dead.

My mind raced. This wasn't a PR move. This was something else. Something ugly and twisted. I tried calling Lily' s phone directly, but it went straight to voicemail. Again and again. The same result. A wall of silence.

Desperate, I scrolled through my contacts and found the number for Maria, one of Lily' s closest friends. I sent a frantic text.

Maria, it's Chloe. I'm watching the live stream. What is happening? Where is Lily?

A minute later, my phone buzzed. The reply was short and chilling.

Mrs. Davis, it' s horrible. They' re treating Lily like a servant. That girl Tiffany and her mom, Sarah, moved in a while ago. They told everyone Lily is an illegitimate child and that you abandoned her. Mark is letting it happen. I' m so sorry.

The words blurred in front of my eyes. The office walls seemed to close in on me. Moved in. Illegitimate child. Abandoned her. The lies were a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs.

The image of Lily, small and broken, flashed in my mind. The fury that had been simmering inside me erupted into a volcano of ice-cold resolve. Mark wasn't just having an affair, he was trying to erase my daughter, to erase me.

I slammed my laptop shut, the live stream of the grotesque party vanishing into darkness. I stood up, my movements sharp and decisive. I grabbed my purse and my passport.

There would be no more phone calls. No more texts.

I was going home. And I was going to burn their world to the ground.