Introduction

My stepmother, Eleanor, was about to ruin my life again, just like before.

A cream-colored envelope, sealed with the Vanderbilt crest, landed on our mahogany table like a death sentence.

This was it: the nightmare I' d already lived once, revisited.

Eleanor' s eyes gleamed as she declared the Vanderbilts wanted an 'alliance' – a marriage for one of us Miller girls.

I knew exactly what that meant: I was to be sold off to a powerful dynasty, just like in my previous life.

My father, Colonel Miller, was a hero overseas, out of reach, leaving no one to stop Eleanor.

They paraded my stepsister, Brie, first.

But when she inevitably feigned illness, Eleanor' s gaze landed on me.

My stepfamily, always eager to exploit my father's name, expected me to be their dutiful pawn, just as I' d been broken and discarded before.

They thought I was the same naive girl, easily manipulated and ready to sacrifice.

They were clueless about the searing memories, the clear roadmap of their treachery, I carried.

But this time, things would be different.

This wasn' t surrender; it was the first move in my own calculated game.

I wouldn' t just endure their schemes.

I would fight.

My foreknowledge was my ultimate weapon, and the game had just begun.