Chapter 1

The email landed in my inbox at 4:58 PM on a Friday.

Subject: Team Restructuring.

My name, Sarah Miller, project lead, was gone from the org chart.

In its place: Jessica Peterson.

Mr. Peterson' s daughter. Fresh out of college with a communications degree.

I' d just launched Project Titan, Momentum Corp' s biggest software release in three years.

Three years of my life, sixty-hour weeks, countless skipped lunches.

I walked to Mr. Peterson' s office. His door was ajar.

"Mr. Peterson?"

He looked up, no surprise in his eyes.

"Sarah. Come in."

He gestured to the chair I never sat in. I always stood during our quick project updates.

"You saw the email," he said. Not a question.

"Jessica is taking over the Titan follow-up team," I stated, keeping my voice even.

"That's right. She's young, energetic. Needs a chance to prove herself."

"And my three years of proving myself? The successful launch?"

He leaned back, a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Sarah, you're a good worker. But the company is bigger than one person. Jessica has fresh ideas. It's a family business, you understand."

"I understand nepotism, Mr. Peterson."

His face tightened.

"Watch your tone. You can support Jessica, or you can find another job. Your choice."

The words hung there. Cold. Final.

Support his unqualified daughter after she stole my position.

My team. My project.

The project I built from scratch.

My stomach twisted.

Not from fear. From anger. A cold, hard knot.

Around the same time, David started acting weird.

David Carter. My boyfriend since college. We worked at Momentum Corp together, him in sales.

We had plans. Build our careers, then a life.

Suddenly, he was always busy. Late nights at the office, he said. Client dinners.

He stopped calling as much. Texts became short, one-word answers.

Then, Maria from HR, a quiet ally, forwarded me an internal memo.

"Team Building Event - Sales & New Project Titan Leadership."

It was for a fancy downtown restaurant. This coming Saturday.

My name wasn't on the invite list. Jessica's was, as team lead.

And David's.

That night, I scrolled through Instagram. A colleague, new to the sales team, had posted a story.

A group photo. Jessica Peterson, arm in arm with David.

They were laughing, drinks in hand, at a rooftop bar I' d once suggested to David for our anniversary.

He' d said it was too expensive.

The caption: "Celebrating new wins with the A-team! #MomentumCorp #PowerCouple"

Power couple.

My breath caught.

The next picture was just them. Jessica, looking up at David, her hand on his chest.

He was smiling down at her, a smile I hadn't seen directed at me in months.

The knot in my stomach tightened until it ached.

The following Monday, an email from David.

Subject: Us.

"Sarah," it began. No "dear," no "hi."

"This is hard to write, but I think we're on different life paths. We want different things. It's better we go our separate ways. I wish you the best."

Via email. After five years.

"Different life paths."

His path, apparently, led straight to the boss's daughter.