Chapter One: The Bride Who DoubtedThe Miller mansion glowed like a jewel box that morning. White roses filled every hallway. Silver ribbons wrapped around the staircase. Somewhere in the kitchen, a small army of caterers argued about cake tiers, and outside, workers were still building the wedding arch on the east lawn, the one that would frame Serena Miller and Mason Briggs in front of three hundred guests in six days.Serena stood at her bedroom window, watching the arch take shape, and felt nothing.That worried her more than anything."You're supposed to be smiling," said a voice behind her. Her best friend, Talia Reyes, walked in without knocking, carrying two cups of coffee and wearing the expression of someone who already knew the answer before she asked the question. "Brides smile. It's in the contract.""I'm smiling on the inside," Serena said."Liar." Talia handed her a cup and sat on the edge of the bed. "You've had that look for two weeks. The one where your face is doing

Chapter Three: Broken VowsThe morning of what should have been her final wedding preparations, Serena Miller sat in her father's office with her hands folded in her lap and told him she was calling off the wedding.Richard Miller set down his pen slowly. "Say that again.""I'm not marrying Mason." Her voice was steady, though her heart hammered against her ribs. She had rehearsed this conversation a dozen times in the shower, in the car, in the mirror, and every version ended the same way — with her father's face going pale, then red, then confused. "I overheard him two nights ago. He's been planning this since he was twelve years old, Dad. He doesn't love me. He wants the company. He said it himself, to another woman, in his own apartment."For a long moment, Richard said nothing. Then he asked the question she'd been dreading. "Do you have proof?""I have my own ears.""Serena." Her father's voice was gentle but firm, the voice he used in board meetings when he needed to steer a ro

Chapter Five: A New GuardRichard Miller arrived at the hospital forty minutes after receiving the call, his face pale, his hands unsteady as he pushed through the emergency room doors and found his daughter sitting in a private room, unharmed but shaken, a police officer taking notes nearby."Serena." He crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into his arms, holding her the way he hadn't held her since she was a child. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?""I'm fine, Dad. I'm fine." She held onto him for a long moment before pulling back, her voice steadier than she felt. "He saved me. The man who found me in the garage — he saved my life."Richard turned, finally noticing the man standing quietly near the window, arms crossed, watching the room with the careful attention of someone still assessing threats even in a hospital surrounded by police officers. Axel had refused medical attention for the minor cuts on his knuckles, insisting he was fine, and had spent the last half ho

Chapter Seven: The Actor and the AudienceMason Briggs arrived at the Miller mansion the following afternoon unannounced, which was, in itself, a small act of rebellion. He had never once in eighteen years shown up without calling first. He had built his entire place in this family on politeness, on the careful, deliberate manners of a man who knew exactly how much space he was allowed to take. Today he wanted Serena to feel the difference. He wanted her rattled the moment she saw him standing in her own doorway, uninvited.The housekeeper let him in before Axel could intercept, and by the time Axel reached the front hall, Mason was already three steps into the foyer, dressed in a charcoal suit that made him look, as always, like a man ready for either a boardroom or a funeral."Where is she?" Mason asked, his tone pleasant, casual, the voice of a man who had never once in his life needed to raise it to get what he wanted."Leaving," Axel said, positioning himself between Mason and th

Axel did not tell Serena that night. He told himself it was strategy, that revealing his past before he understood how much Mason actually knew would only create panic without giving her anything useful to act on. He told himself several other things too, walking the halls of the mansion long after the house had gone quiet, none of which fully convinced him.The truth, the part he wasn't ready to admit even to himself, was simpler and harder to look at directly. He was afraid of how she would look at him once she knew everything. Afraid that the version of himself she'd started to trust, steady, careful, unshaken, would collapse the moment she understood exactly how badly he had once failed someone who trusted him just as completely.He spent the hours after the shareholder meeting reviewing footage from the mansion's cameras, cross-referencing Devon Cole's badge access against the timeline of every leak they'd traced so far, though his mind kept drifting back to Marcus's warning. Som