Chapter 3

The city penthouse felt like a tomb.

Ethan brought Chloe there, a constant, flaunted presence.

One afternoon, Chloe was admiring Ava' s mother' s antique locket, a delicate gold piece, a gift from Ava's father. It lay on Ava's dresser.

"Charming," Chloe said, picking it up. Her fingers fumbled.

The locket slipped, hit the marble floor, and the clasp broke. A small, almost silent snap.

"Oh, clumsy me," Chloe said, not sounding clumsy or sorry at all.

Ava stared at the broken heirloom, a piece of her shattered past.

Later that week, a storm raged outside, mirroring the one in Ava' s chest.

Chloe found Ava on the penthouse balcony, the wind whipping their hair.

"He's never going to love you, you know," Chloe taunted, her voice sharp above the wind. "You're just a reminder of what he lost. A tool."

Ava didn't respond, staring out at the turbulent city lights.

Suddenly, Chloe stumbled backwards, towards the railing, just as Ethan walked onto the balcony.

"Ava, no!" Chloe screamed, clutching the railing. "She pushed me! Ethan, she tried to push me!"

Ethan' s face contorted.

Ava saw a flash of something in his eyes – not just anger, but a deeper, older pain.

"My father..." he choked out, his voice raw. "He was pushed. Men like your father... they push people to the edge."

He lunged at Ava.

His hands closed around her throat, squeezing, the city lights blurring.

She clawed at his wrists, gasping for air.

"Mr. Hayes!"

Mr. Henderson, the family's long-serving estate manager, stood in the doorway, his voice sharp with alarm.

Ethan's grip loosened. He stumbled back, his chest heaving.

He looked at Ava, his eyes filled with a conviction that terrified her. "You're dangerous. Just like him."

He turned, grabbed Chloe' s arm. "Let's go. I can't be near her."

They left.

Ava sank to the floor, rubbing her bruised throat, each breath a painful reminder.

Broken.

She fumbled for her phone, her hands shaking.

She called Sarah Chen, a lawyer she' d met at a charity event years ago.

"Sarah," Ava whispered, her voice hoarse. "I need your help. I need everything you can find on my father's business dealings. Specifically, with a man named Alistair Hayes."