Chapter 1

The Sunshore Island B&B project raked in a cool 1.2 million dollars in profit last year.

On the day we split the profits, my uncle and aunt were both there, and my cousin Ryan Lewis slid a bank card with 60 thousand dollars across the table to me.

"Serena, thanks for all your hard work. This is your cut. I'm keeping the other 1.14 million for my house for the wedding. You're cool with that, right?" he said.

My uncle, Vincent Lewis, jumped in. "He's the only son we've got. As his cousin, you should cut him some slack."

I looked at their faces, all smug and self-righteous, and calmly took the card. "Sure," I replied.

They thought I was getting the short end of the stick, but little did they know, the B&B's lifeblood—its guests and marketing—was all in my hands.

*****

I slowly tucked the bank card into my bag, making sure they saw every deliberate movement.

Vincent's grin creased all the way to the corners of his eyes, and the look he gave me said it all—he saw me as nothing but a tool who knew her place.

My aunt, Louisa Lewis, took a sip of coffee, set her cup down with a crisp clink, then tilted her head and sized me up. "Serena, since everything's settled, why not stay for dinner? I'll have the kitchen make a couple extra dishes."

I shook my head. "No, I'm tired."

"Oh, why are you acting like such a stranger, Serena?" Louisa's voice went up a notch, but her smile never reached her eyes. "Ryan finally made some money. As his cousin, you should be happy for him. Sitting there with that cold face—it's really awkward for everyone."

She really had a way with words.

It was as if Ryan had made all that money on his own, and I was just some lucky bystander getting a piece of it.

I didn't bother to respond. I just picked up my phone from the table and slipped it into my pocket.

Ryan was already on his feet, phone in hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Sophia, guess what? I just made over a million bucks! We've got enough for our new house!"

He practically shouted, just to make sure I caught every word.

Sophia Scott's excited voice rang out from the phone. "Really? Ryan, you're awesome! I'll go check out houses tomorrow!"

"No problem, whichever one you like, I'll buy it!" Ryan thumped his chest, then shot me a look, almost daring me to say something.

I lowered my gaze, not bothering to look at him.

Then, I stood up, pushed my chair back into place, and nodded to Vincent and Louisa. "I'll head home now."

"Hey, hold on," Vincent called out, pulling an envelope from his pocket and pressing it into my hand. "Take it. I'm not heartless—just a little something for your effort."

I pinched the envelope—it was so thin, it felt almost empty.

I didn't even have to open it to know—there couldn't be more than six hundred dollars inside.

That was just how they operated—covering up their greed with the cheapest gestures.

"Thanks, Uncle," I said, slipping the envelope into my bag before turning to leave.

The hallway lights were so bright that they almost hurt my eyes.

I made my way to the staff room, a tiny space tucked away in the farthest corner of the B&B. It wasn't even 100 square feet—just enough for a single bed and a desk.

This little room had been my refuge for the past year.

I opened the door, closed it behind me, and leaned against it, shutting my eyes.

Something was churning in my chest, like a caged beast slamming against my ribs, making them throb with pain.

But I couldn't afford to lose control.

I took a deep breath, sat down at my desk, and powered up my laptop.

The moment the screen came to life, orders started popping up like snowflakes.

All 138 rooms were already booked solid for the next three months.

Every single booking was the result of me DMing customers one by one, writing posts to reel them in, and constantly tweaking the service to make it better.

I pulled up the customer management system, and there they were—over three thousand customer profiles, all neatly organized.

I knew everything about them—their likes, their needs, how they spent their money. I had it all tracked and logged.

This was the real lifeblood of the B&B.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the numbers on the screen, a cold smile appearing on my face.

Ryan thought that by taking the 1.14 million, he was taking the future of this B&B.

But all he really took was a pile of cold, lifeless cash.

I was the one who kept the money flowing in, the real engine behind it all.

Ryan and Sophia's laughter floated in through the window as they dreamed up designs for their new home, their voices bubbling with hope for the future.

I reached out and pulled the curtains shut.

The glow from my laptop screen lit up my face as I shot off a few messages to my core partners, keeping it all business, no warmth.

Everything was moving forward exactly as I'd planned.

I opened the drawer and pulled out a folder from the very back.

Inside were documents from a year ago—the lease I signed when I came to Sunshore Island alone to scout the place, the transfer slips for the money I paid up front for renovations, and the design sketches I drew up during countless sleepless nights.

There was also a hospital report—acute gastric bleeding—from when I pushed myself so hard overseeing the renovations that I collapsed and had to be hospitalized.

And what was Ryan doing back then?

He was back home, hanging out with Sophia, showing off selfies online, blowing up my phone with messages like: [Serena, is the renovation done yet? Hurry up so I can show it off to everyone.]

I closed the folder and tucked it away in the deepest corner of the drawer.

Some scores didn't need to be settled just yet.

I glanced at the calendar—it was July 15th.

I would give them three months.

In three months, they'd personally hand everything back to me.

No, actually—they'll be begging me to take it all back.

I shut down my laptop and lay down on the bed.

There was a crack in the ceiling, left over from last year's typhoon. I never got around to fixing it.

It didn't need fixing anymore because I wouldn't be staying here much longer.