Chapter 1

I, Ava Chen, built my life on code and gratitude, I came from nothing, a scholarship from the Harrison family got me through MIT, and then a place at Harrison Innovations, their tech company, felt like the only way to repay them.

My AI project, my baby, was supposed to save them, and tonight, at the Innovation Summit, I thought it would also make me CTO.

The lights in the ballroom were too bright, I smoothed down my dress, my palms sweating.

This was it, years of work, years of proving myself, not just as an architect, but as part of the Harrison legacy, or so I thought.

Ethan Harrison, my husband then, heir to it all, was already on stage, his smile wide, but not for me.

"Tonight, we celebrate the future of Harrison Innovations," Ethan boomed, his voice echoing.

I waited for my name, for the announcement of my AI project leading the charge.

Instead, he said, "And the future of the Harrison family."

A woman, Brittany Miller, walked onto the stage, her hand on her visibly pregnant belly.

Ethan' s arm went around her.

"My partner, Brittany," he announced, "and our soon-to-be-born heir."

The room gasped, a collective shockwave, then scattered applause.

My heart stopped, then hammered against my ribs. This wasn't happening.

Ethan looked directly at me, his eyes cold.

"Ava, as you know, has always been very career-focused," he said, a sneer in his voice. "Perhaps too focused on other things to prioritize what truly matters, a family."

Brittany stepped forward, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"Oh, Ava, dear," she cooed into the microphone, "some of us are just more... naturally inclined to be mothers, I suppose."

Her words, a public branding, infertility whispered across the room.

Humiliation burned through me, hot and sharp.

I stood frozen, the eyes of a hundred colleagues, investors, and the Harrison board fixed on me.

My dream of CTO, my AI' s triumph, all ash.

I had to speak, to salvage something, anything.

"Ethan," I started, my voice shaking, "the AI project, the Thorne Dynamics partnership, it depends on my leadership."

The company was bleeding money, everyone knew it, my project was their only lifeline.

He waved a dismissive hand.

"Harrison Innovations will be fine, Ava, under new, more... fruitful leadership."

A board member, old Mr. Henderson, coughed.

"A woman's place, Chen, is supporting her husband, not outshining him."

Another, Mrs. Albright, chimed in, "And providing heirs, dear, that's paramount."

Sexist, classist, the words hit me like stones.

Ethan' s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Senior, watched from the front row.

They had sponsored me, praised my talent, but now their faces were hard.

Mrs. Harrison finally spoke, her voice laced with disappointment.

"We had such hopes for you, Ava, not just for your brains, but we thought you' d be a suitable wife for Ethan, a mother to our grandchildren."

Their sponsorship, a transaction, a broodmare contract I' d unknowingly signed.

The depth of the betrayal was a chasm opening beneath me.

My carefully constructed world, my career, my marriage, it was all a lie.

I wanted to scream, to run, but I was rooted to the spot, the weight of their scorn pressing down.

This wasn't just a fall, it was a public execution.