Chapter 1

I'd been scrappy since I was a kid, always fighting for what I wanted. When I was five, I threw a fit and told my parents to make sure I'd be their only child.

When I was eight, while my mom opened a new branch abroad, my dad brought his illegitimate son home behind her back, hoping to get me to accept him.

I dropped the recorded evidence right in my mom's lap, and she caught the next flight home to file for divorce.

Since he was the one who cheated and broke the deal, my dad left with nothing and went totally bankrupt.

As I grew up, I put self-interest above everything else. I never let emotions get in the way.

On the day Sinclair Holdings rang the bell to go public, my executive director and business partner, my fiancé, and my childhood friend—also the face of our brand—all disappeared without a word.

It was all because Rachel White, that actress, posted a pic of her finger cut on the beach on her feed. The three of them actually took my private jet together and rushed off to play the hero.

I was left standing alone, facing hundreds of reporters' cameras, and became the city's biggest joke.

Afterward, my partner had the audacity to say, "Rachel was bleeding in a foreign country. What if she got tetanus? Can you stop being so heartless?"

My fiancé just frowned and brushed it off. "It's just the IPO, no big deal. We'll have plenty more chances. I'll go with you next time, okay?"

My childhood friend put on a fake smile and tried to comfort me. "I'll have my agent knock 20% off your endorsement fee and throw in a free endorsement. Smile more, and happiness will find you."

I stared at the three idiots in front of me, calmly closed the ownership papers in my hand, and said coldly, "Consider this official notice from the sole owner of Sinclair Holdings. You're over.

"Since you love babysitting that loser so much, why don't you crawl into the sewer and rot with her, you disgusting rats!"

*****

Across from me sat three guys, all kicked back and relaxed, barely paying attention to anything.

Ethan Brooks was lounging with his legs crossed, idly spinning the Montblanc pen I'd given him.

Nathan Reed was glancing down at his phone, texting someone, a gentle smile on his face.

Miles Scott was fixing his hair in his phone's camera, constantly worried about his appearance. He was a top idol, after all.

They hadn't realized just how serious things were.

To them, I might be stubborn, but as long as the three of them teamed up, they always thought I'd back down in the end.

That was just how things had always gone down for the past twenty-something years.

Ethan finally got bored with spinning the pen and tossed it onto the table. "Camila, enough already.

"We only borrowed your jet to pick up a friend. Do you really have to blow up over this? You're not even letting us come to the afterparty?"

Nathan put his phone away and looked up at me, frowning a little. He clearly thought I overreacted.

Nathan said, "Yeah, Mila, Rachel was alone in a foreign country. As her friends, of course we had to help her out.

"You're running Sinclair Holdings. You can't be so petty."

Miles chuckled, glancing at the other two. "Honestly, Camila's just jealous we're treating Rachel so well.

"Come on, we've all been childhood friends. You're really getting jealous over this? That's seriously petty, you know?"

They played off each other, turning a serious corporate screw-up into nothing but a woman's jealousy and pettiness.

Looking at the way they acted, I just found it ridiculous.

One of them was my business partner, holding a 10% stake in Sinclair Holdings.

Another was my fiancé—our families basically merged for business, so our interests were completely tied together.

The last one was the company's brand ambassador, milking Sinclair Holdings for every endorsement fee and perk he could get.

They were all living large off the perks I gave them, but when it really counted, they stabbed me in the back for some scheming actress.

I pressed the intercom on my desk. "Get the heads of legal, finance, and security in here."

The three of them froze for a second, probably not expecting me to be this serious.

Ethan frowned, "Why are you calling them? It's just between us; we can settle this ourselves."

I ignored him, pulled out three sets of documents I'd already prepared from my drawer, and set them down in front of them one by one.

I'd drafted these myself on the day of the IPO. That day, with all eyes on me and the cameras flashing, I stared at the empty seats reserved for my partner, my fiancé, and the brand ambassador.

That was the moment I realized that these three idiots, blinded by desire, weren't worthy to stand with me anymore.

"It's definitely an internal matter," I said.

I opened the first document and slid it over to Ethan.

I said, "Ethan, this is your partnership termination notice.

"You ditched us at the most crucial moment—the company's IPO. You broke our agreement big time and tanked our reputation and the stock price.

"Per the contract, I have the right to buy back all your shares and make you pay for the damages."

Ethan shot to his feet, his face turning ashen. "Camila, are you out of your mind? You're really kicking me out?"

I didn't even bother looking at him. I just tossed the second set of papers to Nathan.

I said, "Nathan, this is the engagement termination agreement, along with the notice ending all Reed-Sinclair joint projects.

"Your actions have seriously damaged my personal reputation and dragged down Sinclair Holdings' image. Our families' alliance is off, effective immediately.

"And every Reed project with Sinclair Holdings is to be shut down and liquidated immediately."

Nathan's eyes widened, his calm composure shattering in an instant.

"Camila, this is a multi-billion dollar project! Are you really treating our marriage like a joke?" Nathan snapped.

Finally, I turned to Miles, who was still frozen in shock, and tossed the legal notice right onto his expensive face.

I said, "Miles, this is your termination notice and a demand for compensation.

"As our brand ambassador, you disappeared without warning on the day of our major event, and posted inappropriate comments online that led to negative publicity. You've breached your contract."

"The penalty is 100 million dollars. Transfer it to the company account within three days."

The office went dead silent. The three of them stared at me in utter disbelief.

After a long moment, Miles finally spoke up, his voice trembling, "Camila, y-you're kidding, right? Just because of this?"

I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, my gaze calm as I swept over them. "A joke?

"You took my private jet and made me miss the roadshow. You think that's a joke?

"You made me ring the bell alone in front of the global press, turning me into a laughingstock. You really think that's a joke?

"You blew company cash to charter a jet, book hotels, and hire a medical team just to pamper Rachel White. That's a joke to you?"

I stood up, hands braced on the table, staring them down with a crushing intensity.

I said coldly, "Sorry, but I'm not the joking type.

"Since you think this is no big deal, let me show you what a real disaster looks like.

"Security, show them out."