Chapter 1

The familiar scent of lemon polish and old money hit me first. My eyes snapped open. I wasn’t in that cold, sterile room anymore. I was in my suite at the Reddington estate, sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains. The date on my phone confirmed it. Today. The day Grandfather would announce the selection for my future husband, the next CEO of Reddington Global. I was back. My breath hitched. The last thing I remembered was Jamie’s face, twisted in a sneer. "If it weren't for needing your Keystone to help Candace build her own empire, I would never have pretended to care for you!" His words echoed, cold and sharp. In my first life, I chose Jamie Vance, my childhood sweetheart. I poured everything into him. My "Keystone" – the critical knowledge, the family’s private capital, the Reddington Endorsement Heirloom, a signet ring passed down for generations. All of it, to ensure his victory in the "Successor's Gauntlet," the brutal series of business trials. He won. He became CEO. Then he destroyed me. He paraded Candace Dubois, a social climber with a fake past, as his true love. He used the power I gave him, the power of the Keystone, to elevate her. My reputation was shredded. My personal assets, seized for Candace. "This CEO position, even without you, I could have eventually grasped!" he’d spat, as they left me with nothing. Betrayal didn't cover it. It was annihilation. But now… now I was back. A shiver ran down my spine, not of fear, but of cold, hard resolve. This time, things would be different. The Keystone wasn't just a prize to be handed over. It needed my willing, active participation. A lesson learned in the cruelest way. I got out of bed, my legs steady. No more naivety. No more blind trust. Jamie Vance would not ruin me again.