Chapter 1

The sawdust still clung to my clothes, a familiar scent I' d worn for nine years. I ran a hand over the freshly sanded oak cabinet, the grain smooth under my calloused fingers. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the realtor.

"Leo, it' s a done deal. The sellers accepted. You' re a homeowner."

A grin split my face. I could already picture it. Chloe' s law books on a proper shelf, not stacked in milk crates. A small yard for a dog, maybe. A real home. For us.

I thought back to that night nine years ago. I was eighteen, just aged out of the system with nothing but a toolbox and a hundred bucks. I found her huddled in a doorway, fifteen and run away from something terrible. She was just a kid. I took her in.

I promised her then, "You' re my family now. That' s it. Just you and me."

I worked every construction job I could find. I poured concrete, framed houses, and spent my nights building custom furniture. All of it went to her. Community college, then the University of Chicago, then law school. I paid for every book, every class, every late-night pizza.

This house was the final piece. The down payment had taken every last cent I had saved.

I drove to our cramped apartment, my heart pounding with excitement. I walked in and found her standing in the middle of the living room. She wasn't smiling.

She held out her hand. In her palm was the simple silver ring I' d given her on our fifth anniversary.

"I can' t, Leo."

Her voice was flat.

"What do you mean? The house… we close tomorrow."

"I' m not signing anything," she said, her eyes avoiding mine. "We need to end this."

"End this? Chloe, what are you talking about? We' re a family."

She finally looked at me, and her expression was cold. "We were partners in survival. That' s all it ever was. My life is starting now. I' m going to be a lawyer at a top firm. Your life… it' s not compatible with that."