Chapter1

I was twelve when my mother married into the Pierce family.

My stepbrother, Logan Pierce, hated my mother. He hated me too. He thought my mother broke up his family and blamed her for his own mother's suicide. He never hid how he felt.

He called me a parasite. He pushed me down the stairs and watched me lie in the blood. "You're not a real Pierce because your mother is a homewrecker," he said. "I'll kick you out one day."

That was when the nightmare started.

At a family dinner, he poured red wine on my dress. He made the maids move my things to the attic. The worst was the pool party. He pushed me into the water in public. "You can't swim? Too bad." Everyone watched. No one helped.

I did everything to please him. I kept my head down, studied hard, and got an internship at Lighthouse Labs, the biggest tech firm in Harborville. I just wanted to prove I was worthy of being family.

But his bullying never stopped.

Until his best friend, Noah Blake, a rising star at the firm, told me he liked me.

After that, Logan stopped bullying me. I thought Noah was my rescue.

On Valentine's Day, under the influence of alcohol and his gentle promises, I slept with him.

The next day, I heard something I wasn't supposed to.

I was at Logan's penthouse. The door wasn't fully closed. Logan's voice was full of hate. "Did you film her first time?"

Noah laughed. "Of course. High-quality video. I even used my admin clearance to route the upload through proxy servers. I wouldn't touch a homewrecker's daughter unless I was doing you a favor."

I covered my mouth. Tears stung my eyes. The rescuer I believed in was just Logan's revenge.

He didn’t know I submitted my application to go abroad.

I would never come back.

Inside the apartment

Logan smoked. "Once those videos drop, she can't stay at my home."

"What if she can't take it? What if something happens—"

Logan laughed. "Are you worried about her? Don't tell me you actually like her."

Noah answered fast. "No way. I was just playing with her. Violet is coming back. Why would I waste time on her?"

I stood outside, my heart dropping. Violet Kane was their childhood friend. Noah's first love.

I swallowed the pain and ran out into the pouring rain.

By the time I got home, I was shivering and burning with a fever. I was about to get medicine when my bedroom door flew open.

My mother, Lena, stood there. She threw her phone onto my bed, displaying screenshots of the videos.

"What is this?" she hissed, her eyes red. "Did you whore around?"

Sadness filled my chest. Overnight, they had rushed to share those videos everywhere.

Just two days earlier, Noah had promised me, "I'll take responsibility. We'll get married after graduation." On Valentine's Day, he had made me drink, talked me into it, and dragged me to bed. I was so stupid to think he really loved me.

I didn't answer. My mother kept asking, "Tell me! Who took these? If people see them, Richard and I won't be able to show our faces in this circle!"

She never cared about me. Only herself.

So I told her Noah's name. She went quiet.

"People like him... we can't afford to upset him," she said, her voice dropping. "Anyway, you were dating Noah. Even if you have proof, you can't really do anything. You're the one who said yes."

I looked up at her. I couldn't believe it.

She looked away. "The videos will be taken down. After a while, no one will remember this."

Noah had money and power. The Pierce family wouldn't cross him for my sake.

The door closed. Through the gap, I saw Logan standing at the top of the stairs. He smiled at me, his eyes full of challenge. He knew this was exactly how it would go.

The truth didn't matter anymore.

I felt so weak and tired that it buried me. I sat in the corner, put my face in my knees, and cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

But when the tears finally stopped, my mind was clear.

I picked up my phone and texted Dr. Harper Quinn, the Director of Global Data Compliance at Lighthouse Labs.

"Dr. Quinn, I will sign the NDA. I'll take the EU Cross-Border Privacy Project."

It was a highly classified overseas initiative. Because it dealt with sensitive European data, the contract required me to drop off the grid entirely and operate under strict confidentiality for three years.

I had hesitated before because I foolishly hoped to build a family here.

Now, I didn't need to stay. I was never coming back.