Chapter 1

The doctor' s words were a flat line. "Annabel, it's severe burnout. Not a suggestion, an order. Three months. No phone, no emails, no work. Go to Montana, breathe the air, disconnect. Or your body will disconnect for you."

So I did. I packed a single bag, leaving behind the Austin headquarters of EcoWrap, my sustainable packaging startup. My baby.

I handed the keys, both literal and figurative, to my husband, Ethan Lester. He was the face of the company, the charismatic PR genius who charmed every investor and journalist.

"I trust you," I told him, my voice thin from exhaustion. "You and Nicole can handle everything."

Nicole Fuller, my best friend for a decade, my sorority sister, my Chief Operating Officer. The two people I trusted most in the world.

Three weeks into my digital detox in the Montana wilderness, a small, battered envelope arrived. It wasn't supposed to. The retreat staff were under strict orders. But the sender had been insistent.

It was from Molly Johns, my other friend, an early co-founder with a minority stake.

Inside was a single, grainy printout of a press release. The headline hit me harder than the mountain air.

"EcoWrap Visionary Ethan Lester Announces Engagement to New CEO Nicole Fuller; Gifts Controlling Stake in Company."

The words didn't compute. Gifts controlling stake? My controlling stake?

I read the text below. It mentioned a company-wide town hall, a grand romantic gesture. Ethan, on one knee, presenting my company-my life's work-to Nicole as an engagement gift.

He had betrayed me.

They had betrayed me.

My hands shook, not from the cold, but from a rage so pure it burned away the fog of my burnout. The doctor ordered me to rest. Instead, I was going to war.