A searing white light stabbed into her eyes, burning like hot needles. A deafening crash of a live symphony orchestra slammed into her ears, a wall of sound so violent her teeth rattled.

Gemma sucked in a violent, desperate breath. Her chest heaved as if she’d just broken the surface of freezing water after drowning forever.

Her hands flew to her abdomen, trembling fingers clawing at the silk, expecting the warm, sticky pool of her own blood. She expected the tearing, white-hot agony of the bullet wound that had just ended her life.

Instead, her fingertips met cool, smooth silk. No blood. No torn flesh.

Her heart pounded so hard it hurt, each beat a sharp ache blooming through her chest.

She gripped the edge of the mahogany vanity and forced herself upright. Her legs felt like lead. The room spun violently before snapping still.

She stared into the massive gold-leafed mirror.

The face staring back was flawless. The skin was tight, glowing with youth, completely bare of the jagged, puckered scar that had sat on her left cheek for five years. The scar carved by shattered glass during the explosion. The scar she had traced every single night before bed.

Her breath caught and locked in her throat.

Impossible.

A sharp, frantic knock slammed against the heavy dressing room door. The sound shook through the ornate wood.

“Gemma! Open up, hurry!”

Katelyn’s voice. Hushed, urgent, dripping with that familiar, sickening sweetness—honey laced with cyanide.

That voice cut like a poisoned blade, ripping open every memory from her previous life. The fake friendship. The orchestrated betrayal. The ruined face. And then the cold barrel of a gun against her forehead, Katelyn’s glossed lips curving into a smile as she pulled the trigger.

Hate surged up from her stomach, hot and thick, burning her throat. It swallowed the haze of rebirth and left behind nothing but cold, clear murderous intent. Her fingers fisted into the silk of her dress, knuckles going bone-white. The expensive fabric strained under her grip.

She snatched the phone off the vanity. The screen lit, cold blue light falling across her face.

The date in stark white numbers confirmed the impossible.

Exactly ten years ago. The day of her engagement party.

The door handle rattled violently, the brass fixture jerking back and forth. Katelyn found it locked.

“Gemma, Jair is waiting in the rain! If you don’t leave now, you’ll be trapped!” Katelyn hissed through the wood, voice pitched low and frantic.

Gemma forced down the acid burning up her throat, the bitter taste coating her tongue. She made the muscles in her face go slack, burying the hatred deep in her gut where it could fester and chill.

She crossed the plush carpet in bare feet, silent, and yanked the door open.

Her eyes landed on the woman in the hallway. Flat. Cold. Nothing living in them.

Katelyn physically recoiled, taking a half-step back. Her designer heels clicked sharply on the hardwood. The rehearsed words died in her throat, her mouth opening and closing.

It took her one second to recover. Her face twisted into a mask of exaggerated panic—brows drawn, lips trembling with manufactured concern.

She lunged forward, her perfectly manicured hand reaching for Gemma’s wrist.

Gemma didn’t blink. She shifted her weight, turning her shoulder a fraction.

Katelyn’s hand grabbed empty air.

A flicker of genuine shock cracked through Katelyn’s mask before she smothered it with a harsh whisper. “If we don’t move this second, security will lock down the perimeter. Every exit. Every window. We’ll be trapped.”

“And Brion?” Gemma asked.

The name scraped her throat raw. A visceral image slammed into her—Brion’s blood-soaked body shielding hers, the heat of the blast, his weight crushing her down, the copper smell of his blood mixing with smoke. Her chest seized with a sharp, physical ache.

“Why would I run from him?” Gemma said, a dark, mocking amusement threading her voice that never reached her eyes.

Katelyn’s eyes flew wide, the whites stark around her pale irises. “Because of Jair! He’s freezing out there for you. Standing in the cold rain like some tragic hero. You said you loved him!”

Gemma stared at the pathetic display. The instincts she’d sharpened through years of surviving the underground cut straight through the fake tears and locked onto the raw, naked greed blazing in Katelyn’s pupils. It was a hunger so consuming it practically glowed.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. The head butler, Marcus, flanked by two earpiece-wearing guards with shoulders like refrigerators, marched toward them. His polished shoes struck the hardwood with military precision.

Panic seized Katelyn’s features. A gray pallor broke through her carefully applied foundation. She reached out again, both hands this time, aiming to physically drag Gemma toward the emergency stairwell.

Gemma’s hand shot out. Her fingers clamped around Katelyn’s wrist like a steel vice. She pressed her thumb into the hollow just below the joint, a precise, brutal pressure.

Katelyn gasped, her knees buckling. A hot, numbing pain shot up her arm from wrist to shoulder. Her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Marcus stopped a few feet away, spine ramrod straight. He eyed the two women with deep suspicion, his bushy gray brows pulling together. “Miss Vargas. The ceremony is about to begin. Your father is waiting.”

Gemma released the pressure instantly. Her fingers uncurled with the grace of a flower opening. She curved her lips into the flawless, empty smile of a high-society heiress—perfectly symmetrical, utterly meaningless.

“I’ll be right down, Marcus,” she said smoothly, voice dripping with honeyed compliance.

The butler gave a stiff nod, his thin neck corded with tension, and turned on his heel. The guards followed in perfect sync, their heavy footfalls fading down the corridor.

Katelyn cradled her red, throbbing wrist against her chest, her fingers massaging the angry marks blooming there. “Are you out of your mind?” she hissed, her voice trembling with genuine anger now. The mask had slipped completely.

Gemma stepped into Katelyn’s space, close enough to smell the expensive perfume layered over the sharp stench of fear sweat. The air between them turned suffocatingly cold.

“Keep your dirty little thoughts in the dark where they belong. The light doesn’t suit them,” Gemma whispered, her breath ghosting across Katelyn’s ear.

Katelyn stumbled backward. Her spine hit the wallpapered wall with a soft thud, the floral pattern crinkling behind her. A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck, glistening in the dim hallway light.

Gemma turned her back on her. Deliberately. Contemptuously. She walked to the vanity and picked up the velvet box resting beside her discarded hairbrush. The navy blue case was embossed with a famous jeweler’s crest in faded gold leaf. Inside lay the multi-million-dollar diamond necklace Brion had sent her that morning—a collar of ice and light.

She lifted the heavy platinum chain, feeling its satisfying weight. She fastened it around her own neck, the clasp clicking shut with cold finality. The diamonds settled perfectly over the small mole on her collarbone, each stone catching the chandelier light and scattering it into tiny rainbows.

Her reflection in the mirror was no longer a victim.

It was a predator.

Katelyn stood frozen in the doorway, one hand still cradling her bruised wrist, too terrified to step inside. The plush carpet might as well have been a minefield. She watched the prey she had spent years grooming—years of whispered manipulations and carefully planted doubts—calmly fix her makeup. Gemma swept a brush of rouge across her cheekbones with steady, unhurried hands.

Gemma picked up a crystal flute of champagne from the side table. The liquid was pale gold, effervescent. She downed the burning alcohol in one continuous swallow, letting it sear her throat and burn away the last lingering tremors of her rebirth. The glass hit the marble tabletop with a sharp clink.

She set it down and turned.

Her heels struck the hardwood, each step measured and cold, as she walked right past Katelyn, not giving her a single glance. Not a flicker of recognition. Not a whisper of acknowledgment. She headed straight down the corridor toward her father’s private study, the diamond necklace throwing sparks of light against the dark-paneled walls.

Below them, the muffled voice of the MC echoed through the grand hall, amplified by speakers hidden in the crown molding, announcing the imminent arrival of the bride-to-be.

The crowd murmured in anticipation. Glasses clinked. Cameras flashed.

Gemma kept her eyes fixed on the heavy oak door ahead, its brass handle gleaming under the wall sconces. Each step was deliberate. Each breath was controlled.

She was going to take everything back.

Gemma didn’t knock. She shoved the heavy oak door open with both hands.

Keyshawn Vargas sat behind his massive desk, a phone pressed to his ear. His head snapped up, face creasing into a scowl. He clamped a palm over the mouthpiece and shot her a look that screamed get the hell out.

Gemma stepped inside. She pushed the door shut and twisted the brass lock until it clicked.

She walked straight to the wall and ripped the telephone cord clean out of the socket.

The line went dead.

Keyshawn slammed both hands on the desk and exploded to his feet, his face flooding a violent, purplish red. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Gemma pulled out the leather guest chair, sat down, and crossed her legs. “Shut up if you don’t want the stock to crater at the opening bell.”

Keyshawn froze. The authority rolling off his daughter hit him like a physical blow. He blinked, scrambling to drag his arrogance back into place. “Stop this nonsense right now and get downstairs. You are embarrassing this family.”

Gemma picked up the heavy steel cigar cutter resting on the edge of his desk. She flipped it open and closed. The blades snapped with a clean, metallic bite.

“I can walk out the front door right now and cancel the merger.” She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to.

Keyshawn’s jaw tightened. “If you run, the cash flow for Vargas Holdings dries up by tomorrow afternoon. You’ll ruin us.”

A dry, humorless laugh scraped out of Gemma’s throat. “So you admit you’re selling me to cover your own failures.”

“It is for the future of the family trust!” Keyshawn jabbed a thick finger at her.

“You mean the trust that’s currently hiding three hundred and forty-two million in toxic offshore debt?”

Keyshawn’s pupils blew wide. The blood drained from his face so fast his lips turned gray. “Who told you that?” His voice dropped to a panicked whisper.

Gemma slammed the cigar cutter point-down into the mahogany desk. The blade bit deep, splintering the expensive wood.

“I want the trust terms amended. I want ten percent of the voting shares transferred to my name. Now.”

Keyshawn barked a desperate laugh. “You can’t even read a balance sheet, you stupid girl.”

Gemma pulled her phone from her clutch. She tapped the screen twice.

A voice filled the quiet study—Keyshawn’s voice, slurring, calling the Hubbard family a pack of uncultured thugs he was going to bleed dry.

Keyshawn lunged across the desk, hands clawing for the device.

Gemma leaned back effortlessly, letting him snatch nothing but air.

“I have this set on a five-minute delay.” Her thumb hovered over the screen. “Sign the shares over, or this goes to the Wall Street Journal.”

Keyshawn shook with rage. He pointed a trembling finger at her. “You ungrateful bitch. You are no daughter of mine.”

A sharp, phantom pain pierced Gemma’s chest. The hidden truth of her real bloodline pulsed like an old wound. She crushed it down instantly.

She pulled a printed document from her clutch and slid it across the desk. She placed his favorite fountain pen right next to it.

The intercom on the wall buzzed. The MC’s voice filtered through, politely requesting the bride make her way to the stairs.

The ticking clock hung in the air, thick and suffocating.

Keyshawn stared at the paper. He knew what Brion Hubbard would do to him if that recording leaked.

He snatched the pen, uncapped it with his teeth, and spit the cap onto the floor. He pressed the nib against the paper and signed his name with enough force to tear through the top sheet.

Gemma picked up the document. She checked the inked signature, confirmed the transfer, and canceled the email timer.

A genuine, predatory smile touched her lips.

She stood and smoothed the front of her silk dress.

“A pleasure doing business with you.”

She turned her back and walked toward the locked door.

Gemma pulled the door open and stepped out of the study.

Katelyn was pacing the carpeted hallway, chewing her lower lip raw.

She rushed forward the second she saw Gemma. “Did he yell at you? Are you okay?” Her eyes crawled over Gemma’s face, hunting for tears.

Gemma casually tapped the tablet in her hand. “I just got ten percent of the family trust.”

The mask of concern on Katelyn’s face cracked clean open. The muscles around her mouth twitched violently.

“How… how could you possibly get trust shares?” Katelyn’s voice pitched up, sharp and entirely out of bounds for a mere friend.

Gemma looked down at her, eyes flat and cold. “Since when is my family’s money any of your concern?”

Katelyn’s breath hitched. She dropped her gaze instantly, biting her lip harder, forcing a look of wounded innocence.

Gemma didn’t wait for an apology. She walked past her, heading straight for the powder room at the end of the hall.

Katelyn waited until the footsteps faded. Her hands balled into fists, nails digging into her palms until the skin nearly split.

She darted into a small utility closet across the hall and pulled the door shut.

She dug into the lining of her purse and yanked out a cheap, prepaid burner phone. Her fingers shook as she dialed.

“Mom.” Katelyn’s voice was a strangled hiss the second it connected. “She didn’t run. She just took ten percent of the company.”

Miles away, Donia Bruce sat up so fast she knocked a bottle of essential oil off her massage table. Glass shattered against the tile.

“Calm down.” Donia’s voice was tight as a wire. “It’s a fluke. She’s an idiot.”

“She looked at me like she wanted to kill me!” Katelyn’s chest heaved. “She’s not acting like herself.”

“Then we move to Plan B.” Donia’s voice went ice-cold. “Ruin her tonight. Make sure the Hubbard boy sees it.”

“How?”

“Use the artist. Tell her he’s going to kill himself. Get her down to the side entrance where the paparazzi are grouped.”

A dark, venomous light sparked in Katelyn’s eyes. “I will. She’s going to lose everything.”

Katelyn ended the call. She took a deep breath, staring at her warped reflection in the metal surface of a mop bucket. She forced the corners of her mouth up into a soft, supportive smile.

She pushed the closet door open and stepped out.

Gemma was walking back down the hall, adjusting the heavy diamond necklace.

Katelyn hurried over and gently linked her arm through Gemma’s.

Every muscle in Gemma’s body screamed to snap the girl’s neck. She forced herself still. She noticed the fine sheen of sweat on the bridge of Katelyn’s nose, the too-bright glint in her eyes.

“Gemma.” Katelyn’s voice trembled perfectly. “Jair is freezing out there. He’s waiting in the rain just to see you one last time.”

Gemma kept her face blank. She hadn’t gone far. She’d leaned against the wall just a few feet away and caught the muffled vibrations through the door—the suppressed, frantic pitch of Katelyn’s voice. “Plan B.” “The Hubbard boy.”

She stopped walking. She let her shoulders slump slightly, manufactured a look of deep, painful conflict.

Katelyn saw the hesitation and pounced. She shoved her own phone into Gemma’s hands. “Look. He sent a suicide note. He’s going to end it if you don’t come.”

Gemma stared at the screen. The pathetic, manipulative texts made her stomach churn.

“What do I do?” Gemma made her voice small and fragile.

Katelyn’s eyes gleamed with suppressed triumph. She pointed toward the grand staircase. “Go to the side door by the media pit. He’s hiding behind the hedges there.”

Gemma gave a slow, hesitant nod.

She lowered her lashes, hiding the absolute bloodlust burning in her pupils. The trap was set.