Chapter 1

Five years.

For five years, everyone at Vance Corp. saw Amelia Davis as Julian Vance' s shadow.

She was more than his personal assistant; she was an extension of his will. She knew he took his coffee black with no sugar, that he despised the color yellow, and that he needed absolute silence before a major presentation. She anticipated his needs before he voiced them, her dedication so complete it bordered on obsession. To her colleagues, she was the woman hopelessly devoted to a powerful, ruthless man, a quiet admirer who had given up her own life to serve his.

Today, that devotion ended.

Amelia placed her resignation letter on the polished mahogany desk. The single white envelope was stark against the dark wood. Julian Vance wasn't in. He was preparing for his biggest night, the annual charity gala where he would announce his crowning achievement: the "Green Oasis" initiative.

Her work phone buzzed on the desk. A text from Mark, a junior executive. "Are you sure about this, Amelia? This job is everything. People would kill for it."

She didn't reply. They didn't understand. They couldn't.

She walked out of the office without a backward glance. The whispers followed her down the hall, a mixture of shock and pity. "She finally cracked," someone said. "Five years of that, who wouldn't?"

Amelia didn't go home. She drove for two hours, leaving the gleaming city skyline behind, until the paved roads turned to gravel. She stopped at a small, forgotten cemetery on a windswept hill. There was one grave here she knew well, a spot she had visited countless times. It was unmarked, just a rough-hewn stone she had placed herself. There was no name, only a single, withered rose she had left on her last visit, a fragile symbol of her sister's spirit.

Sarah.

Five years ago, her sister Sarah, a brilliant and passionate environmental activist, had disappeared. She had uncovered proof that Vance Corp. was illegally dumping toxic waste, poisoning the very land Julian Vance now claimed he wanted to save. Sarah' s last message to her was a cryptic, desperate plea.

"The truth is buried in the 'Green Oasis' project files," Sarah had written. "But only if you promise to finish what I started. Don't let them silence the truth, Amelia. Not for five years, not ever."

Amelia traced the cold edge of the stone, her fingers trembling. "Sarah," she whispered, her voice rough with unshed tears. "I kept my promise. I have everything. The truth will finally see the light."

She had spent five years enduring Julian Vance's manipulative games, his cold arrogance, and the casual cruelty of his world. She had compiled an ironclad case against him, hidden on a single, encrypted USB drive. Her work was done.

Just then, her personal phone buzzed, a frantic, jarring sound in the quiet stillness. It was a call from a former colleague at the news agency she' d left behind, a friend who still believed in her.

"Amelia! Julian Vance is at the charity gala! He's about to go on stage to announce his 'Green Oasis' initiative! It' s all a lie, a massive cover-up! You have to stop him!"

Amelia' s eyes narrowed. The gala. Of course. Julian, charismatic and commanding, was about to stand in front of the world and be celebrated for the very project that was built on her sister's grave.

A new text came through, this time from Julian's security chief. "Mr. Vance's speech file is corrupted. He needs the backup. Get to the gala now. This is not a request."

It was a test. A final, arrogant display of his power over her, even after she had resigned. He didn't even acknowledge her resignation; he just issued a command.

She looked at the unmarked grave. "Not for five years, not ever," she repeated Sarah's words. This wasn't just about the evidence anymore. It was about tonight.

She got back in her car and drove toward the city, a whirlwind of flashing cameras and champagne flutes awaiting her. She moved through the opulent ballroom, a simple black dress in a sea of glittering gowns. She saw him on stage, his voice booming with false promises of environmental salvation. The crowd was captivated.

Then she saw Isabella Rossi, Julian' s beautiful and venomous girlfriend, laughing with a group of investors. Isabella caught her eye and sneered, a look of pure contempt. To Isabella, Amelia was nothing more than the help.

Amelia clutched the single USB drive in her hand. It contained two files. One was the backup of Julian's fraudulent speech. The other was the truth.

She approached the stage from the side, where the tech crew was in a panic. "I have the backup file," she said, her voice calm and steady.

The tech handed her a laptop. "Hurry, he's vamping."

As she inserted the drive, Isabella walked over, her diamonds glittering. "Still playing the loyal dog, even after you quit? Pathetic."

Amelia didn't look at her. She just focused on the screen. The plan had been to leak the evidence anonymously. But seeing him up there, so smug and triumphant, changed everything.

She navigated to the files. One was labeled "Gala Speech." The other was "The Truth." Just as she was about to click, a heavy stage light, loosened from its rigging in the crew's haste, began to wobble precariously. It was directly above Julian.

People screamed. Security guards started to run.

Isabella shrieked, "Julian!"

But Julian was frozen, blinded by the spotlight, unaware of the immediate danger.

Without a second thought, Amelia shoved the laptop away and ran. She didn't think about the evidence, about Sarah, about the past five years. She just moved. She tackled Julian, sending them both sprawling across the stage, just as the massive metal light fixture crashed down where he had been standing, shattering on the floor with a deafening roar.

Silence, then chaos.

Amelia lay on the stage, the wind knocked out of her. A sharp, searing pain shot through her arm and side. Her head swam. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Julian, kneeling over her, his face a mask of shock. For a fleeting, imperceptible moment, his eyes held something other than cold command. It looked almost like concern. Then the darkness took her.