Chapter 1

The office was silent except for the scratch of my pencil against paper and the occasional hum of the air conditioning. Everyone had gone home hours ago, but I remained hunched over the drafting table, lost in a world of load calculations and structural integrity formulas. The federal bridge project was the biggest opportunity Collins Engineering had ever landed, and I was determined to make the design flawless.

I flexed my fingers, feeling the slight ache that came from hours of detailed work. My wedding ring caught the light from my desk lamp, and I slipped it off, placing it carefully in the top drawer of my desk—a ritual I'd performed hundreds of times. I couldn't risk the gold band scratching against the paper or getting caught on the edge of my ruler.

"Just you and me now," I whispered to the blueprint spread before me, feeling the familiar thrill as the bridge took shape under my hands. This design would connect communities, withstand decades of use and weather, and—if I was honest with myself—finally prove my worth to Jake.

My husband had been increasingly distant lately, dismissive of my input at meetings, quick to credit others with my ideas. But this project was different. The federal committee had specifically praised my preliminary designs. Jake couldn't ignore that.

The clock on the wall ticked past midnight as I finished the final calculations for the load-bearing supports. I stretched, feeling the satisfying pop in my spine after hours of being bent over the table. Time to head home. Jake would probably be asleep already—he rarely waited up anymore.

I reached for the top drawer to retrieve my ring, sliding it open with the practiced motion of someone who'd done it countless times before.

The drawer was empty.

A cold sensation spread through my chest as I stared at the bare wood. I always put my ring in the same spot—always. I yanked the drawer out further, running my fingers along the corners, thinking perhaps it had slid to the back.

Nothing.

I pulled open the second drawer, then the third, my movements becoming frantic. Papers scattered across the floor as I emptied each compartment, searching with increasing desperation.

"It has to be here," I muttered, dropping to my knees to look under the desk. "I put it right there."

But the ring was gone.

I sat back on my heels, my heart pounding uncomfortably against my ribs. The wedding band wasn't particularly valuable in monetary terms—a simple gold band Jake had chosen when we were just starting out. But its absence felt like an omen, a physical manifestation of the distance that had been growing between us.

Perhaps the cleaning staff had moved it? But they never touched my desk—I'd specifically requested that. I'd have to come in early tomorrow and keep looking. Jake would notice if I came home without it, and I couldn't bear another disappointed look, another sighing comment about my carelessness.

I gathered my scattered papers, tucked away my designs, and left the darkened office with an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.

* * *

The next morning, I arrived at the office before seven, determined to find my ring before the project kickoff meeting. But a thorough search of my desk, the floor, even the trash cans yielded nothing. By quarter to eight, I had to admit defeat and prepare for the meeting.

I smoothed down my blazer and tucked my ringless left hand into my pocket as I walked toward the conference room. The missing band felt like a phantom limb—I kept reaching to twist it, a nervous habit I hadn't realized I had until the ring wasn't there.

Pushing open the glass door to the conference room, I froze mid-step.

Brittany Walsh stood at the head of the table, her back to me as she arranged presentation materials. When she turned, the overhead lights caught something on her left hand—a glint of gold that made my stomach drop.

My ring. On her finger.

Our eyes met, and her red lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Maya," she said, her voice honey-sweet with an undercurrent of venom. "Just in time to see the new direction we're taking."

Before I could respond, she picked up my carefully prepared blueprints from the table.

"We won't be needing these anymore," she said, holding my gaze as she deliberately tore the papers in half, then quarters, letting the pieces flutter to the floor. "I've prepared a completely new approach. After all, MIT graduates like myself understand infrastructure at a level that... well, let's just say your work was a nice starting point."

I stood frozen, staring at my destroyed work on the floor, then at my wedding ring on her finger. Words failed me as the pieces clicked together with horrifying clarity.

"What are you doing?" I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Taking what's mine," Brittany replied, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Including your position as lead engineer. You can clean out your desk, or if you'd prefer to stay on as my assistant..."

The conference room door banged open behind me.

"There's my girl," Jake's voice boomed, and I turned, relief flooding through me. He would fix this, explain this bizarre nightmare.

But Jake walked past me without a glance, straight to Brittany. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her deeply, right in front of me.

When he finally looked at me, his eyes were cold, unrecognizable.

"Maya," he said, as if addressing a stranger, "I see you've met our new lead engineer."