Chapter 1

DON'T TRUST THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO YOU.

There was no name attached to it.

No number she recognized.

No explanation.

Just those seven words.

She sat motionless in the back seat of her car, staring at the city lights passing through the tinted window.

Usually, Ariana would have laughed at something like this.

Tonight, she couldn't.

Because the message had arrived only minutes after she discovered that three million dollars had disappeared from one of her private accounts.

Three million.

Money that had been transferred without her permission.

And whoever had done it had been careful.

Too careful.

"Mrs. Cross?"

Her driver's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are we still going to the hotel?"

Ariana looked through the window.

The hotel was where she was supposed to meet her husband, Adrian, for dinner.

She had planned to surprise him.

Instead, she was sitting in the back seat wondering whether the people she loved were slowly destroying her.

"Change the destination," she said.

"Where to?"

"The company."

The driver hesitated.

"It's almost midnight."

"I know."

Ariana opened her phone again.

She pulled up the bank statement.

The transfer was there.

Three million dollars.

Sent to an unfamiliar company.

V&C Holdings.

She had searched the company earlier.

It was registered only eight months ago.

And there was something else that bothered her.

The person who had authorized the transaction had used her private security code.

Only three people knew that code.

Ariana.

Adrian.

And Serena.

Her best friend.

Her stomach tightened.

"Mrs. Cross?"

"Yes?"

"There's a car behind us."

Ariana glanced through the rear window.

A black SUV followed them.

Her driver changed lanes.

The SUV followed.

He changed lanes again.

So did the SUV.

Ariana's heartbeat quickened.

"How long has it been there?"

"About five minutes."

"Can you lose it?"

"I'll try."

The car accelerated.

Ariana gripped her phone.

She considered calling Adrian.

Her finger hovered over his name.

Then stopped.

If the message was telling the truth, calling Adrian might be the worst thing she could do.

She put the phone down.

The driver suddenly turned onto a quieter road.

The SUV followed.

"Keep driving," Ariana whispered.

The road became darker.

The buildings disappeared.

Streetlights became fewer.

Ariana sat forward.

"Where are we?"

"There's traffic on the main road," the driver said. "I'm taking a shortcut."

"Turn around."

Before he could answer, the car jerked violently.

Ariana screamed.

The steering wheel pulled sharply to one side.

The driver struggled to control the vehicle.

"What happened?"

"The brakes!"

The car swerved.

Ariana grabbed the door.

"Slow down!"

"I'm trying!"

The vehicle shot toward the edge of the road.

Ariana saw the guardrail.

Then the river beyond it.

Her eyes widened.

"No!"

The car crashed through the barrier.

For one terrifying second, everything seemed to freeze.

Then the vehicle plunged into the darkness below.

Ariana's scream disappeared beneath the sound of breaking glass and rushing water.

Her phone flew from her hand.

The screen remained illuminated.

Adrian's name was still displayed.

Calling...

Then the screen went black.

Three days later, the Vale family mansion was filled with mourners.

Black clothing.

Flowers.

Whispers.

Photographs of Ariana covered the walls.

At the center of the room stood Adrian Cross.

His face was pale.

His eyes were red.

He stared at the large portrait of his wife.

Ariana was smiling in the photograph.

Beautiful.

Alive.

Unaware that the world had already declared her dead.

Serena stood beside Adrian, pretending to cry.

"I still can't believe she's gone," she whispered.

Adrian said nothing.

He simply stared at Ariana's photograph.

Then Serena reached for his hand.

Adrian slowly pulled away.

"I need some air."

He walked outside.

Serena watched him leave.

The moment he was out of sight, her tears disappeared.

She looked at Ariana's photograph.

A tiny smile appeared on her face.

"Finally," she whispered.

But Serena wasn't the only person who knew Ariana's secret.

Across town, inside a small hospital room, a badly injured woman slowly opened her eyes.

Her vision was blurry.

Her body felt as though it had been crushed.

She tried to move.

Pain shot through her chest.

A nurse rushed toward her.

"Don't move!"

The woman looked around.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital."

"What happened?"

The nurse hesitated.

"You were in an accident."

The woman frowned.

"What... what is my name?"

The nurse stared at her.

Then she reached for a medical file.

"We don't know."

The woman's eyes widened.

"You don't know?"

"You had no identification when they brought you in."

The woman touched her face.

Her fingers trembled.

She couldn't remember anything.

Not her name.

Not her family.

Not her husband.

Nothing.

The nurse gently placed a mirror in front of her.

The woman stared at her reflection.

A bruised face stared back.

Then, slowly, fragments began returning.

A black SUV.

A message.

A river.

A man's voice.

And finally—

Ariana.

Her lips parted.

"Ariana Vale."

The nurse looked surprised.

"Is that your name?"

The woman stared at herself in the mirror.

"I think so."

Outside the hospital window, rain began falling.

And thousands of miles away, inside the Vale family mansion, people were mourning a woman who was still alive.

A woman who would eventually return.

A woman who would one day stand at her own grave.

And discover exactly who had wanted her dead.