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.”

#Zoe’s pov#

It had been exactly four days since our wedding — three days of living in a mansion that felt like it belonged in a fairy tale.

The estate was massive, the kind of place you could get lost in if you weren’t careful. There was a butler, a head maid, and enough staff to run a small hotel, all moving with efficiency.

Preston had been nothing but gentle with me. He refused to touch me beyond a kiss on the forehead or a hand on my back unless I wanted it. He told me he’d wait — until I was ready, until my heart was fully his.

And I was grateful. I didn’t know what love was supposed to feel like anymore, but I knew what safety felt like. And Preston made me feel safe.

I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around me, steam curling into the room. My hair dripped down my back, leaving wet trails along my skin. I froze when I saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, his sleeves rolled up, tie loosened, like he’d been waiting for me.

His gaze lifted, and for a moment, he just stared.

Like I was something divine.

“Zoe…” he breathed, standing slowly, like he was afraid he might scare me away. His eyes burned as they trailed over me, lingering on the droplets of water sliding down my collarbone. He ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, voice low, like a confession. “You take my breath away every time I look at you, but right now…” He exhaled, stepping closer, but still not touching me. “Right now, I’m wondering how I got lucky enough to call you my wife.”

My heart twisted painfully, and I clutched the towel tighter. I wanted to believe him. But after everything, words like that felt foreign — like they belonged to someone else.

Preston must have noticed my hesitation because he took a step back, his features softening.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I promised I’d wait. And I will. For as long as you need.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded and turned toward the closet, but before I could walk away, he grabbed a small envelope from the nightstand.

“I wanted to give you your wedding gift,” he said, stopping me with nothing but his voice.

I blinked, confused. My fingers trembled as I opened it, my damp hair clinging to my skin.

I scanned the papers inside — my breath catching like I’d been punched in the chest.

51% of Harper Industries.

I looked up, my chest tightening. “Preston, this is Travis’s company.”

“No,” he said, brushing a strand of wet hair from my face with his knuckles, so gentle it made my throat close up. “It’s yours now.”

I shook my head, the weight of the document sinking into my bones. “I can’t — this is too much. Why would you do this?”

“Because I want you to win,” he said, his voice steady, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because you deserve justice. And because I love you, even if you’re not ready to love me back yet.”

Tears welled in my eyes, he was so kind it hurt.

But Preston didn’t ask for anything in return. He just cupped my cheek, smiled softly, and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“You don’t have to love me back right now ,” he whispered. “Just let me keep loving you”

Preston slid his hands into his pockets, watching me . “I bought the shares before the wedding,” he said.

My fingers trembled as I clutched the folder, the weight of the moment pressing down on me.

Preston stepped closer, his thumb grazing my jaw.

“Didn’t I tell you?” he whispered, eyes . “We’ll watch their world burn.”

I didn’t know who moved first — but suddenly, his mouth was on mine, the kiss burning, reaching every part of my soul.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless, he pressed his forehead against mine.

“You start tomorrow,” he muttered. “I’ll be right beside you.”

I clutched the folder to my chest, my heart hammering.

Tomorrow, I would take the first step toward dismantling everything Travis Harper had ever built. He took my mother away from me, and destroyed her name. I'll take everything from him .