Sunlight spilled across the sheets. Even before Nadine peeled her eyes open, a strange tension prickled her skin—she sensed two other presences in the room.

Her hand hovered near the hidden blade tucked in her sleeve, muscles taut and ready for anything.

When she opened her eyes, nothing seemed threatening.

Stacey and Jacob stood nearby, their faces filled with tenderness and quiet heartbreak, watching her as if afraid she might disappear.

Stacey's lips trembled, and her eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "Naddie, thank goodness you're still with us."

Standing beside her, Jacob, tall and usually confident, twisted his hands in a rare show of nerves. "You went through so much yesterday, Nadine. If you need more rest, we'll be right here."

Frustration tugged at his features. He could not forgive himself for being powerless the day before.

He had been forced to stand by while his adopted sister stripped the house of anything valuable and watched his father break down, coughing up blood.

Nadine had stepped in and held the family together. Without her, they would have been lost.

To him, Nadine was nothing short of extraordinary.

She pushed herself up, glancing around the neat but faded room, her gaze catching on a childhood portrait she could not even remember posing for.

She had to get to the bottom of everything that happened. There was too much at stake.

Why did things unravel so quickly after she disappeared?

Who had been working in the shadows against them?

She gathered herself and spoke, her voice raspy from sleep. "Don't worry about me. Can you tell me... where is Dad now?"

Speaking the word out loud felt strange, as though it belonged to someone else.

Jacob's entire face brightened. Hearing Nadine ask about their father was like a promise—she was finally letting them in.

He believed, in that moment, she was here to stay.

"Dad's doing a lot better. He woke up this morning and managed some porridge, then drifted back to sleep. I haven't seen him this peaceful in ages."

He could not hide the admiration in his voice. Nadine had worked a miracle.

"Okay." Nadine nodded, though inside her thoughts tumbled over themselves. The Decadesleep Toxin remained a ticking clock inside Jordy. Her intervention yesterday had only bought them time, not a cure.

She knew there was not much time left unless she found a way to cleanse the poison.

Jacob broke into her reverie with a hopeful grin. "You must be starving, Nadine. Mom's made breakfast for you. Let's go down and eat together."

She offered a faint smile and climbed out of bed.

At the table, Jacob hovered close, always reaching to pour her tea or pass her food, determined not to let her feel the slightest discomfort.

Stacey never stopped watching, her gaze soft and unwavering, as if afraid Nadine might disappear again.

After a long stretch of silence, Jacob finally gathered his courage. "Nadine, the Baileys have called for a meeting today about the marriage agreement." His voice faltered with embarrassment, dropping even lower. "We still haven't heard from Brad, and as for Kaden..."

A troubled look passed over him, but he squared his shoulders. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I won't let you be pushed into anything you don't want."

Nadine placed her spoon aside and dabbed her lips with a napkin, her calm composure returning.

To her, the whole marriage arrangement was nothing more than a minor irritation.

"Send me the location, Jacob," she said quietly.

Jacob stared at her, surprised. "Nadine, are you saying..."

She gave a small, decisive nod. "I'm ending the engagement today."

It was clear to Nadine that if the Baileys genuinely cared about this alliance, the Clark family would never have been left to fall apart.

Besides, whispers around town claimed that Rhys Bailey—the notorious heir from a family with a reputation steeped in shadows—was already in love with another woman.

This was the perfect opportunity. The Clark family's troubles gave her all the justification she needed to walk away from this arrangement.

...

At the Stardust Cafe, Rhys sat near the window, a storm brewing just beneath his calm expression.

His eyes flicked to his watch.

Three minutes had passed since their scheduled meeting time.

He felt only impatience for a fiancee he had never met and wanted this pointless contract dissolved as quickly as possible. He was just about to rise and leave when the chair across from him slid out, and a poised woman sat down. "Mr. Bailey?"

Rhys' gaze lifted with a frown. But in the next instant, shock rooted him to the spot.

That face—he could never forget it. It haunted his dreams and filled the empty sketches scattered across his desk.

Years ago, bleeding out in an abandoned warehouse on the Urygan border, it was her face he saw just before the world went black. She had been the one who brought him back from the brink.

Nadine, on the other hand, misread the tension in his eyes, thinking it was simply annoyance over the engagement. That was exactly how she wanted it.

She slid a small box across the table, her gaze unwavering. "I'm Nadine Clark. Let's not waste time. The engagement is over. You won't have to worry about it anymore. Everything the Bailey family sent to my family is right here. I'm giving it all back."

Rhys felt his entire world tilt. For three relentless years, he had hunted for the woman who saved his life.

He had thrown all of the Baileys' influence behind the search, overturned every stone in Urygan, and always came up empty.

And now, the woman he had been looking for sat right across from him—Nadine Clark. His fiancee.

Rhys' voice caught as he forced out the words. "You really don't remember me?"

Nadine watched him with a hint of irritation.

From what she'd heard, he had a reputation for being a player.

She wondered if the talk about his STDs was true as well.

Pulling her chair back a little, Nadine offered a cool, mocking smile. "No, I have no idea who you are. If that's all, Mr. Bailey, we're done here. The engagement is finished. Goodbye."

She pushed back from the table and turned to go.

Rhys shot up, arm outstretched to block her way. "Who said I agreed to end the engagement?"

Nadine gave a sharp, humorless laugh. "What's wrong, Mr. Bailey? You're not on board with this?"

Everything she had heard about Rhys seemed true. He could be drawn to any woman, and his attitude made her skin crawl.

"If this engagement mattered so much to you, where were you when my family was falling apart? If you have an issue, I'll go straight to your father and have the whole thing scrapped."

Rhys knew words would not help him now.

If he had realized the woman he owed his life to was actually the youngest Clark daughter, he never would have let the family struggle on their own.

He understood how empty those words would sound to Nadine, so he watched her go, powerless to stop her.

But as far as he was concerned, the engagement was far from over. Not now, not ever.

Pulling out his phone, Rhys barked into the receiver. "Get me a list of every enemy the Clark family have. I want every single one of them ruined. Make sure no one can sleep easy until I say so."

He hung up and immediately sent out another order. "Prepare a formal gift. I'll visit the Clark family myself to apologize."

Back at the Clark house, Nadine stepped inside and glanced at her phone when it chimed.

A message from Rhys appeared. "Whatever trouble your family has, I'll handle it."

Nadine barely reacted, having heard empty promises like that countless times in Urygan.

Nadine tapped out a reply, saying, "Save your concern."

Without another thought, she blocked his number and tucked her phone away.

The only person Nadine could rely on in this world was herself.

...

In a grand sitting room at the Lewis family villa, Daniela buried her face in Lisette Lewis's shoulder, sobs shaking her body. "Mrs. Lewis, please help me! I did everything you and Mr. Lewis wanted. I tried to gather whatever scraps the Clarks had left, but now Nadine's come home and thrown me out! She called me a leech and even kicked me!"

Painting herself as the wronged little sister, Daniela leaned into her role as the victim, hoping to win sympathy and a new place in the Lewis family. In truth, she had done everything in her power to ruin the Clark family for the Lewises' gain, and now, desperate, she clung to the hope of rising higher under their roof.

Blaine Lewis sat at the head of the table, his eyes cold as steel. "Did you do as I instructed, Daniela? Was Jordy poisoned every day?"

Daniela nodded, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

Blaine's voice thundered through the room. "Then how do you explain this? Word is, someone kept him alive!"

Decadesleep Toxin was not something a man survived. Blaine had spent a small fortune to bring the deadly poison from overseas. Daniela had dosed Jordy for more than a decade—he was supposed to be at death's door by now.

Instead, Jordy had managed to eat breakfast this morning.

Suspicion sharpened Blaine's gaze as he fixed it on Daniela. "Be honest. Did Nadine save him?"

Daniela bristled, her envy showing through. "That's impossible! Nadine grew up in poverty. She doesn't know a thing about medicine. Just wait—Jordy's not going to last!"

Blaine tapped his fingers against the tabletop, deep in thought.

He had ruined Kaden, the Clark family's second son, and picked the family clean over the years. Victory was within reach until Nadine's return disrupted everything.

She was an unknown threat. He needed to see her with his own eyes.

Blaine looked up, a sly smile creeping across his face. "Dry your tears, Daniela. We're throwing a business banquet tomorrow. You'll bring an invitation to the Clark family. Tell them it's a party to welcome Nadine back and celebrate their reunion."

He had to find out for himself who Nadine truly was and what kind of person she turned out to be.

A gold-trimmed invitation lay forgotten on the battered coffee table in the Clark family's living room.

Jacob spotted it and grabbed it without a second thought. His expression soured the instant he read the name.

"The Lewis family? I can't believe they actually invited us," said Jacob, his voice tense.

He swung around to face Nadine. "Nadine, we shouldn't set foot in that place! After everything we did for their family, you'd think they'd show some loyalty. But as soon as Dad's company started to collapse, Blaine Lewis couldn't wait to stomp on us. He swooped in and bought up our businesses for pennies, then went around telling everyone that working with us meant making an enemy out of him!"

Jacob's eyes were bloodshot with anger. He took a shaky breath and said, "Honestly, the Lewises are the reason we lost everything."

Nadine sat on the sofa, her attention glued to the latest message lighting up her phone. "Boss, I got the info. Turns out, it was Blaine Lewis who orchestrated Kaden's arrest. Plus, most of the Lewis family's recent wealth comes from trafficking people across the Urygan border."

Human trafficking. That was it.

Kaden used to be the best detective on the force. He must have uncovered the Lewises' crimes and paid the price for it.

So this so-called banquet was nothing more than a setup to gauge her next move—the new threat they hadn't counted on.

She slipped her phone into her pocket and looked Jacob square in the eye, his face still burning with outrage. "We're going. I want to see what games they're playing this time."

...

The moment Nadine and Jacob walked into the Lewis family's banquet hall in their simple clothes, whispers swept through the room, and laughter quickly followed.

"Is that the lost daughter of the Clark family? Word is they're practically broke, yet they still had the guts to show up?"

Daniela glided over in her designer gown, arm-in-arm with Blaine's eldest son, and paused right in front of Nadine. "Nadine, I have to ask, where did you dig up that dress? I almost didn't recognize you. Are you really showing up to the Lewis family's big event dressed like this? Do you need a few pointers on how to act in public?"

Jacob's hands balled into fists, anger pulsing visibly beneath his skin.

For years, the Clark family treated Daniela like family, and now she switched her loyalty to the Lewises without a second thought.

Nadine didn't even bother to answer her, barely flicking her eyes toward Daniela. "Was that an insect I just heard? You Lewis family must be desperate if you're letting anyone through the door tonight."

Daniela's cheeks went crimson.

Shaking with fury, she bit her tongue, the memory of Nadine's last kick still fresh and painful in her mind.

Before the night ended, she swore she'd make sure Nadine was left with nothing.

A smooth voice called out from across the room. "Well, Nadine, you're a tough one to track down. I honestly never expected to see you again." Blaine appeared, dressed to impress, a glass of wine in his hand and a sly grin on his face.

He let the silence linger before leaning closer. "Time's running out for your father. Lucky for you, I have friends in an overseas lab—one of the best, actually. They've managed to whip up the only antidote that could save him. If you want it, all you have to do is get up there and call me your honorary father in front of everyone. Do that, and maybe I'll hand it over."

All eyes in the hall turned toward Nadine and Blaine, the crowd practically holding their breath.

Everyone in attendance knew the long-standing feud between the two families.

Blaine's proposal was a deliberate insult, and nobody missed it.

Daniela sat up straighter, her lips curling into a smile, eager to watch Nadine crumble.

Nadine slowly lifted her head, eyes cold and voice steady. "Don't worry about my father. I'll save him myself. You can keep your antidote. You might end up needing it a lot sooner than you think."