Chapter 1

At a business dinner for a deal worth tens of billions, Emily White showed up in my custom couture gown, smiling as she held my husband Alex Carter's arm like she was his wife.

One of the investors raised his glass with a smile and said to me, "Mrs. Carter, I hear your brother's fund in Lorenca had an impressive quarter. Would you mind introducing me sometime?"

Emily froze.

Alex's face turned pale instantly.

Neither of them knew that I had an older brother who had been based in Lorenca for years and controlled billions in assets.

And he was sitting right beside the investor at that very moment.

He set down his glass, glanced at the unfamiliar woman standing beside Alex, and said calmly, "Pull our funding."

I watched the chaos unfold below from a dark corner on the second floor and took a sip of champagne.

Their financing deal was dead, and that was only the beginning.

*****

At a business dinner for a deal worth tens of billions, Emily showed up in my custom couture gown, her arm looped through my husband Alex's as she smiled like she was his wife.

Emily was a recent college graduate who had just started working as an intern.

Right now, she was holding a glass of champagne, smiling brightly at Alex's business partners and handling every compliment with ease.

She did it so well that almost everyone there assumed she was Alex's wife, Charlotte Carter, the woman who rarely appeared in public.

The only problem was, I was Charlotte.

One of the investors, Dominic, raised his glass and called out to them from across the room, smiling. "Mr. Carter, your wife is truly elegant."

Alex's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and raised his glass in return.

Emily lifted her chin a little higher.

Dominic took a sip of his drink and said, "Mrs. Carter, I hear your brother's fund in Lorenca had an impressive quarter. Would you mind introducing me sometime?"

Emily's smile instantly disappeared. She stared at Alex, completely at a loss.

Alex's face went pale in an instant.

Neither of them knew I had an older brother, Michael Quinn, who had been based in Lorenca managing a fund worth billions. And they had no idea that he was sitting beside Dominic right then.

Michael set down his glass. It struck the table with a crisp, unmistakable sound.

The whole table fell silent in an instant.

He looked past the crowd at the unfamiliar woman beside Alex, then slowly glanced down at Alex's hand, which was still gripping Emily's.

Then he turned to Dominic and said calmly, "Pull the investment."

His voice wasn't loud, but in that lavish room, those words hit like a bomb.

Dominic froze, and so did the investors at the table.

Alex's face went from pale to ashen, and he looked like he'd been hit by a truck.

Emily's hand started shaking, and champagne spilled onto the gown that was supposed to be mine, leaving a dark stain on the fabric.

I watched the chaos unfold below from a dark corner on the second floor and took a sip of champagne.

Their financing deal was dead, and that was only the beginning.

Alex's company was called Horizon Dynamics. I had given it its start with the money my family had given me when I married him.

In five years, the company had gone from a tiny business with a few dozen employees to a unicorn preparing to go public.

It wouldn't have gotten there without my family's support behind the scenes, especially Michael, who had introduced Alex to people and resources in Lorenca.

Alex was smart and capable, but his biggest flaw was that he was too impatient, and worse, he was greedy.

He thought that if he kept me at home as a housewife who never got involved in his business, he could slowly take everything from the Quinn family and turn it into his own.

He thought he was so slick that no one would ever notice.

The chaos downstairs was getting worse. Dominic and a few other major investors had surrounded Michael, desperately asking questions.

Michael stood up, straightened his suit, and headed for the exit without saying a word.

Alex tried to get through to him, but several investors, angry and looking for someone to take it out on, grabbed hold of him and wouldn't let him through.

Emily looked scared out of her mind. She stood there, not knowing what to do.

I watched as Alex's face twisted with anger and fear, and my smile only widened.

My phone buzzed in my purse, and Alex's name lit up the screen.

I hung up, but he called right back. Then I hung up again.

After a dozen calls, he finally gave up.

My phone went quiet.

I slipped away through the employee entrance, leaving the room without making a sound. Then I went back to the home Alex and I shared.

It was a penthouse downtown with floor-to-ceiling windows and a full view of the river. When we bought it, Alex held me close and said, "Charlotte, this will always be our home."

I pushed the door open. The living room lights were on, and there was a perfume smell in the air that I didn't recognize.

I knew it was Emily's perfume. Apparently, she had been coming into my home for quite some time.

I didn't bother with the lights and went straight to the walk-in closet.

My side was neat and organized, but Alex's side was a mess, like someone had been digging through it.

The first thing I noticed was the women's clothing hanging in the most visible spot. None of it was mine, and every piece was one size smaller than my clothes.

I opened a drawer and pulled a small suitcase from the back. Then I began packing.

I took only the essentials. A few clothes, my passport, my important documents, and my mother's photo.

As I closed the suitcase, the front door was forced open. Alex stormed in with bloodshot eyes, looking like a cornered animal.

He seized my wrist and squeezed so hard that it felt like he was trying to crush my bones.

"Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled. "Why did Michael show up out of nowhere? Is this your trick?"

I looked at him, saying nothing.

My silence only made him more agitated, and his fingers tightened around my wrist.

Only then did I speak, my voice as calm as if we were talking about trifles. "It hurts."

Alex froze for a second, then instinctively loosened his grip.

"Get Michael to stop the funding withdrawal. Whatever this is, we can talk about it at home. Please, stop making a scene, okay?" His voice had softened into a plea.

Did he say 'home'?

I looked at the man who was both familiar and strangely distant, and suddenly found his words ridiculous. "Is this still my home?"

Alex's expression shifted immediately. "Charlotte, let me explain. Emily and I aren't what you think. What you saw tonight was an accident, and—"

I cut him off. "Alex, tell her to give back what's mine."

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

My eyes landed on the hanger behind him, the one with the dress Emily had worn.

"That dress, and—" I paused and looked at all the clothes in the closet that weren't mine. "Everything of mine she's touched."