# Zoe pov#

I watched the flames burn away the remnants of my old life.

Every dress, every necklace, every cheap, thoughtless gift Travis ever gave me — all of it crumbled into ash. The fire spread fast, devouring everything like it could sense my hatred, like it wanted to erase every trace of him from my existence.

But it wasn’t enough.

The heat didn’t burn hot enough to match what I felt inside.

Five years of lies.

Five years of loving a man who pretended to love me.

“I did what I had to do, David.”

His voice echoed in my skull, ripping through me like glass.

“Her mom was dying anyway. Madison’s sister needed the transplant.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the words wouldn’t leave, my body couldn’t stop shaking. I don't know if it’s from anger or hate..

“So you killed her?” David had snapped, voice shaking.

“I saved Madison’s sister.” Travis’s voice had been cold and so detached. Like my mother’s life meant nothing. “And I married Zoe. Isn’t that enough?”

I heard everything.

I was on my way to tell him I was pregnant when I found out he’d murdered my mother to save Madison Moon's sister.

I pressed a hand to my stomach. The tiny life growing inside me was the only reason I hadn’t completely collapsed.

Travis didn’t know and he never would.

Not until I made him pay.

A sharp sound broke through my thoughts — the click of heels against gravel.

I didn’t turn around.

I knew who it was.

“You know,” Madison’s voice was like silk soaked in poison, “I always thought you were a little unhinged.”

I clenched my jaw, staring into the fire.

“Burning your stuff like this?” She circled me slowly, like a vulture. “It’s pathetic. You’re pathetic.”

I stayed silent.

“What?” She leaned closer, voice dripping with mock concern. “Travis finally had enough of playing house?”

My nails dug into my palms.

“He’s been staying late with me, you know,” she whispered. “Not that you care. I mean, you’re used to being second choice, right?”

The fire crackled louder.

“First Ethan, now Travis. Every man you love ends up choosing me.”

I turned to leave, but she blocked my path.

Her mask slipped, and her eyes gleamed with cruelty, the bitch is finally showing her true colour.

“I should thank your mom,” Madison sneered. “Her death brought me and Travis even closer.”

I froze.

“Maybe you should’ve died with her,” Madison said, smiling. “Would’ve saved us all a lot of trouble.”

That was the final straw before I snapped.

I shoved her, hard, sending her stumbling back, almost falling into the fire..

“Are you crazy?!” she screeched, eyes wide with panic.

“Zoe!”

Travis’s voice ripped through the night, sharp and furious.

He ran toward me, and before I could react, he slapped me across the face.

The impact sent my head snapping to the side, my skin burning.

Madison gasped, clutching her chest like she was the victim.

“I—I didn’t mean to,” he stammered, reaching for me. “Zoe, please. I just… I lost control. I’m sorry.” “I just… Madison’s father… I can’t lose this deal. You understand, right? You always understand.”

He turned back to Madison, brushing soot off her skin, checking her like she was made of glass.

I stood there, blood dripping down my lip, watching them like they were strangers.

Travis didn’t look at me when he called the private medical team.

I didn’t cry.not in front of them at least.I’ll let myself break later but not now.

I walked out of the estate, my heels scraping against the pavement as the night swallowed me whole.

Travis’s voice echoed from the house, frantic and desperate as he called for help.

I climbed into my car, slamming the door shut. My hands tremble. The taste of ash lingered on my tongue, bitter and unforgiving.

I just picked up my phone and dialed a number , one I thought I would never have to use.

It rang once.

“Lear Corporation.” A man’s voice, smooth and emotionless.

I stared at the mansion in my rearview mirror, watching Travis kneel beside Madison like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

I pressed my lips together, voice steady as stone.

“I want to disappear,” I said.

A beat of silence.

“Understood,” the man replied. “When can you come in?”

I wiped my face, smudging the streaks of soot and dried tears, and turned the key in the ignition.

“Tonight.”

The body washed up at dawn.

The police found her car abandoned by the cliffs. The engine still warm.

Inside, a letter rested on the passenger seat, the ink slightly smudged from damp air.

I know you never loved me.

You killed my mother and married me out of guilt.

I hope Madison was worth it.

-Zoe

The internet exploded within hours.

#JusticeForZoe trended globally.

Articles dissected every detail of their marriage, headlines screaming betrayal:

“Travis Harper Wife Dies in Apparent Suicide Amid Rumors of Infidelity”

“Was Zoe Hart Pushed to the Edge?”

The media swarmed the mansion like vultures.

Inside, Travis sat in the dim living room, staring at the letter. His hands shook, but he couldn’t let go of the page.

“This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered.

David paced behind him, running a hand through his hair. “I told you, Travis. I told you the truth can’t be hidden forever. Now she is dead and it’s all your fault.”

Travis slammed the table. “She wouldn’t just kill herself!”

Madison twirled her hair around her finger, a satisfied smirk curling on her lips.

“Well,” she said,“at least she finally did something right.”

Travis stared at the phone screen, Zoe’s goodbye letter still glowing back at him. His fingers trembled, knuckles white.

Madison leaned closer, her voice softening like a blade sliding into flesh.

“This is better, isn’t it?” she whispered. “Now we can finally be together… without her in the way.”

His stomach twisted. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

She laughed, light and cruel. “Why are you upset? It’s not like you loved her.”

But the ache in his chest said otherwise.

The first leak dropped at midnight.

A set of documents — hospital records, consent forms, Travis’s signature scrawled at the bottom like a death sentence. The files detailed how Zoe’s mother’s organs were harvested to save Madison’s sister.

Less than an hour later, photos surfaced. Madison and Travis, tangled together in hotel rooms, his hands gripping her like she was the air he breathed. In some shots, they laughed. In others, they clung to each other like they couldn’t get close enough.

The internet exploded.

Travis sat frozen, his face ashen as he scrolled through the leaks. His breath hitched, chest rising and falling like he couldn’t get enough air.

“This… this isn’t possible,” he muttered, voice shaking. “Who… who would even know all this?”

Travis’s stomach twisted.

Someone was after them.

Someone who knew everything.

Travis gripped his phone, hands trembling, voice barely a whisper.

“Could she still be alive?”

Zoe pov##

Zoe sat in a dimly lit room, the glow of her laptop screen illuminating her face. She scrolled through the endless flood of comments, her fingers steady, her heart cold.

Monster.

Murderer.

How could he do that to his wife?

News articles popped up one after another — investors pulling out, stock prices crashing, and reporters camping outside Travis’s house. Madison’s name trended alongside his, their pictures plastered everywhere like a public execution.

Zoe’s lips curled into a faint smile.

She shut the laptop, slipped on her sunglasses, walked out of the apartment and stepped onto the dock. The boat rocked gently beneath her as she climbed aboard, the salt air sharp and freeing.

She took one last look at the distant city skyline, her past burning to the ground.

I am dead to the whole world ..

She exhaled shakily.

“Rough night Zoe?”

Zoe’s body stiffened. She turned slowly, her heart pounding against her ribs.

Standing on the deck was an incredibly handsome man — sharp jaw, dark eyes that seemed to pierce straight through her, and a confident stance that screamed power.

“I don’t know who Zoe is,” she said, her voice sharp and controlled. “My name is Emily.”

The man’s mouth curved into a faint smirk.

“I own the company that made you disappear,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets like he had all the time in the world. “Preston Urie. Madison’s ex-boyfriend. And Travis’s biggest competitor.”

Her breath caught she wasn’t expecting to see him .

Her pulse spiked. “Why are you here, Preston? Do you stalk all your clients?”

His smile deepened, eyes glinting with something unreadable. “No, I don’t,” he said, stepping closer, voice low and smooth. “But you… you’re different. I want something from you.”

Her chest tightened. “What?”

“I want you to be my wife.”

She blinked, her heart stumbling over itself. “What? why?”

“ For my own personal reasons,” he admitted, his gaze unwavering. “I can’t tell you why. Not yet. But I can promise you this — I’ll protect you. I won’t hurt you.”

Zoe’s throat burned, her defenses slamming up like a wall. “I don’t want anything to do with my past,” she said, voice sharp. “And I’m done with marriage out of convenience.”

Preston’s expression didn’t change, but something flickered in his eyes, like he understood her more than she realized.

“Zoe,” he said, voice low and deliberate, “I’m offering you power and connection. Let me destroy them for you. I know you don’t need it, but I can help. Let me be your backbone.”

He pulled out his phone and held it up to her.

Headlines flashed across the screen.

“Murdered for Madison? The Shocking Truth Behind Zoe’s Mother’s Death.”

“Gold-Digger,Saint or slut? New Evidence Paints a Darker Picture of Zoe’s mother.”

They were slandering her mother. Twisting her death into something ugly.

Her chest tightened, fingers curling into fists as her face twisted with rage.

“Let me take care of you,” Preston said, voice gentler now. “And the baby.”

Zoe’s eyes snapped to his, heart lurching.

“How do you know that?” she whispered, stepping back cautiously.

Preston’s smile didn’t fade.

“I make humans disappear,” he said, voice smooth as silk. “Of course, I know everything about my clients.”

“Take my hand, Zoe. Don’t do this alone.”

I stared at his hand, my chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. The weight of everything I’d lost, everything I was still carrying, crushed down on me.

I exhaled shakily, my fingers twitching at my sides.

“I… I don’t know what to think,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Preston didn’t move, didn’t push. He just waited.

Like he’d wait forever.

I took his hand, my fingers trembling as they slipped into his.

Preston’s face curved into a wicked smile, dark and triumphant.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered, his voice laced with dangerous promise. “Let’s give them hell.”

He squeezed my hand, his grip steady and unyielding.

“We get married in 2 days.”

The wedding was a very big deal.

Preston spared no expense. The ceremony sprawled across a private island, with white roses cascading from golden arches and chandeliers dangling from ancient oak trees. The ocean stretched infinitely behind them, the sunset staining the horizon in shades of blood and gold.

Zoe stood at the altar, her hair now a rich chestnut brown, her body subtly altered using makeup. She looks just like a goddess.

Her dress clung to her like liquid silk, flowing like water as she walked down the aisle, hand resting gently on her stomach.

Preston waited for her, his black suit tailored to perfection, eyes burning like he’d won a war just by having her stand beside him.

Because he had.

He slipped the ring onto her finger, his voice low enough for only her to hear.Preston’s eyes softened, the sharp edge of his smile fading as he stepped closer.

“I’ve loved you for years, Zoe,” he said, voice low but steady. “I watched you from afar, watched you settle for a man who never deserved you. And I hated lt.

He lifted my hand to his lips, brushing a gentle kiss across my knuckles.

“I don’t want to control you. I don’t want to break you. I want to build you back up. I want to give you the world, stand by you while you burn theirs down, and make sure no one ever hurts you or your baby again.”

His thumb grazed my skin, a quiet vow in the touch.

“All I ask is that you let me love you the way you should have been loved all along.”

When the officiant declared us husband and wife, Pearson leaned in and kissed her like he was staking a claim. And she let him, her fingers curling around his wrist, her lips pressing back with quiet acceptance.

Meanwhile — Across the Ocean

Travis walked round his office, sweat clinging to his skin as he barked orders into the phone. Papers were strewn across his desk ,legal threats, investor withdrawals, and court dates looming like a guillotine over his head.

“Fix it,” he snapped, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. “I don’t care what you have to do — just make it disappear.”

He slammed the phone down, chest heaving. The walls felt like they were closing in. Every hour, more evidence leaked. Bank records, medical documents, and video clips of him and Madison slipping away to hotels. His mother-in-law’s death, the rushed surgery, and how it was connected to Madison's sister .

He wiped his face, feeling like his skin was on fire.

“We’re losing everything,” Madison whispered, her voice frantic. She clutched her phone, scrolling through messages. “Ethan’s divorcing me. He filed today.Me, Travis!” she grabbed his arm. “Do something.”

“I’m trying!” he barked, shoving her hand off.

She flinched but didn’t back down.

“They’re going to put us in prison,” she hissed, her eyes wild. “I’m not letting that happen. We have to find out who’s behind this!”

Travis ignored her and sank into his chair, rubbing his face. The world spun, every mistake he’d ever made crashing down at once. And just when he thought it couldn’t get worse —

The TV blared in the corner of the room.

“Breaking news: Billionaire Preston Urie marries mystery woman today”

Travis’s breath caught. The remote slipped from his fingers as he stared at the screen. The camera zoomed in on the bride, her hair lighter, her features slightly different. But he saw it.

The curve of her lips. The way she tilted her head.

His heart slammed into his ribs.

“Zoe,” he whispered.

Madison snapped to attention, her face draining of color. “No,” she rasped, shaking her head. “No, that’s not possible. She’s dead. She’s —”

Travis bolted upright, grabbing his phone with trembling fingers. The wedding had already happened — hours ago.

He dialed.

“Who are you calling?” Madison screeched.

Travis didn’t answer. The line rang, and every second stretched like torture until a smooth, smug voice answered.

“Hello, Travis,” Preston drawled.

Travis’s throat tightened. “Where is she?” he rasped. “Where’s my wife?”

Preston chuckled, low and vicious. “Your wife?” he echoed, voice dripping with mockery. “I think you’re confused, Travis. My wife is right here.”

Travis’s vision blurred with rage. “Put her on the phone,” he demanded, voice cracking.

There was a beat of silence, and then —

“I’m not your wife,” a voice said, soft and lethal. “My name is Emily.”

Travis staggered, his legs nearly giving out beneath him.

Madison covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. “She’s alive?” she whispered, voice quivering. “She’s the one doing this?”

Travis didn’t answer. He just kept clutching the phone, his pulse hammering loud enough to drown out everything else.

“Zoe,” he breathed, chest caving in.

Madison paced, her hands tangling in her hair. “This can’t be happening,” she whispered. “It’s her. She’s doing this to us. She —”

She stopped suddenly, her face draining of color as she turned toward the window.

Her voice trembled. “Travis… the police are here.”