CHAPTER ONE
Five Years Later
The city looked the same, but Zara Raine didn't.
Once, she had walked through these streets with a last name that commanded boardrooms. Now, she wore anonymity like a second skin. She wasn't the heiress anymore. She was the storm they thought would never come back.
The black town car stopped in front of ValeCorp Headquarters—the tower that now stood over the ashes of her father's empire. Her reflection in the glass facade stared back: cold, sharp, unreadable.
Five years ago, she'd left this city with nothing but a broken heart, an empty bank account, and the echo of betrayal.
Today, she returned with a new name on her résumé and a revenge plan stitched into every breath.
Inside, the lobby gleamed. Men in tailored suits and women in expensive heels moved with the confidence she once had. She walked to the reception desk, a file folder tucked under her arm.
"Zara Winters, here for the assistant position," she said.
The receptionist smiled, not recognizing her. That was the goal. Let them think she was nothing. Let them underestimate her again.
Because the only thing more dangerous than a woman with power—was a woman who'd learned to take it back by hand.