Chapter 1 Chapter 1: The Signature Dish
“I’m sorry, my love. But you never would have signed them over.”
The voice was a caress, a lover’s whisper, but the words were a shard of ice in my heart. Daniel. My Daniel. He stood behind me, his body pressed close, one arm wrapped around my waist in a gesture of deceptive intimacy. His other hand was on my shoulder, holding me steady. Steady for the knife.
My own knife. The Japanese steel, perfectly weighted, an extension of my own hand, was now buried to the hilt in my back. The pain was a distant, curious thing, a hot, blooming flower of agony that was somehow separate from the cold, hard reality of his words.
“Signed what over?” I rasped, my voice barely a whisper. The scent of my signature saffron bouillabaisse filled the air, a cruel parody of the celebration we were supposed to be having tonight. Five years. Five years of building my restaurant, La Lune Étoilée, from a dream into a destination. My dream.
“The recipes, Elara,” a second voice chimed in. Chloe. My best friend. My maid of honor. She leaned against the stainless-steel counter, swirling a glass of our most expensive champagne, a look of profound pity on her beautiful face. “All of them. The brand. The legacy. You’re an artist, darling. A brilliant, messy artist. But you’re not a businesswoman. We are.”
Daniel’s grip tightened. “She’s right, Elara. We’ve streamlined. You’ll be a footnote, a tragic genius whose vision was finally realized by those who knew how to manage it. It’s for the best. You’ll be immortal.”
Immortal. I was dying. The blood was a warm river, soaking the pristine white of my chef’s coat. My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the floor, the impact sending a fresh wave of fire through me. The world tilted, the gleaming copper pots and the state-of-the-art blurring into a metallic kaleidoscope.
From my new vantage point on the cold tiles, I could see under the stove. Into the darkness where dust bunnies and forgotten scraps lived. That’s where I was going. Into the darkness.
Daniel knelt beside me, his face a mask of sorrow that didn’t reach his cold, calculating eyes. “It’s a shame it had to end this way. But you never would have signed over the final recipe. The bouillabaisse. We know you. You’re too… sentimental.”
He reached out and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from my forehead. The gesture was so tender, so loving, it made me want to scream. But I had no air. My lungs were filling. They hollowed me out. They are living in my skin.
La Lune Étoilée. The Starry Moon. It was my name, Elara, spelled backward. It was everything. And they were taking it, turning it into a global franchise, a cheap imitation. I could already see it: "La Lune Étoilée - Tokyo," "La Lune Étoilée - Dubai." My soul, packaged and sold.
He and Chloe. The two people I had trusted more than anyone. The two people I had built my world with. They hadn’t just stolen my restaurant. They had carved out my heart and were now picking their teeth with the bone.
As my vision tunneled, the scent of saffron and betrayal was the last thing I knew. But in the encroaching darkness, a single, burning thought coalesced. It wasn’t a prayer. It was a promise. A curse.
If I get a second chance… I will not be soft. I will not be sentimental. I will take back everything that is mine, and I will make them beg for a mercy they will never receive.
The world went black.
