Chapter 2

Vivian Sommers's POV

Before I turned twenty三, I believed my life would always be perfect.

I was the treasured daughter of the Sommers family. I played the violin, performed at solo concerts, and had a private driver to take me everywhere.

Julian Vance was a young, ambitious guy my father had brought into the company after the Vance family went bankrupt. He was smart, resilient, driven, and extremely handsome.

Everyone said we were a perfect match.

I was the crown jewel of the Sommers family, and he was the brilliant young man who would run our business one day.

I believed that too.

Until the day before our engagement rehearsal, when I stepped out of the bridal boutique and was dragged into an unmarked van.

Those men hadn't planned it on a whim.

They knew exactly who I was. They knew Julian was about to sign a massive, careermaking logistics deal, and they knew the Sommers family was backing him.

They didn't just want a simple ransom. They wanted Julian to freeze the deal and pay a massive deposit to secure my safety.

I wasn't scared at first.

I believed my parents would save me. I believed Julian would come for me.

But the first day passed, and nobody came.

The second day passed, and still, nothing.

On the third night, I heard my captors cursing outside the door. "That bastard Julian Vance used her to climb to the top, and now that she's in trouble, he doesn't give a damn. He's holding his press conference right now. He hasn't sent a single dime. He's coldblooded."

I curled up in the corner, my hands completely numb from the ropes.

I wanted to scream at them.

Julian wouldn't do that.

He just doesn't know yet.

But the guard threw his phone in front of me. On the screen was a live broadcast of the signing ceremony.

Julian, wearing a sleek, dark suit, was standing on the stage, accepting applause.

Mila stood right behind him, adjusting his tie. She did it so naturally, as if she had done it a thousand times.

The reporter asked him if today was the most important day of his life.

Julian looked directly into the camera and said, "Yes."

My heart shattered.

The captor told me to make one last call.

When the line connected, Mila's voice came through first.

"Vivian? Julian is busy right now."

My voice shook. "Put him on the phone."

Mila let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Stop making a scene, Vivian. This deal can't wait. Julian said he'll handle your situation once this is over."

I was trembling with terror. "I'm going to die!"

The line went silent for a second.

Then, Mila lowered her voice. "Then learn your lesson. Stop acting like the entire world revolves around you."

The call went dead.

The kidnappers' faces turned dark.

They thought they had a winning card in their hands, but all they got was Julian's silence and my family's hesitation.

I only found out later why my parents had hesitated. On that very same day, they had received a secret DNA test report.

I wasn't their biological daughter.

Julian was the one who had handed them that report.

He told them their real daughter had died in infancy, and that I was just a child mixed up in a hospital error years ago.

Arthur and Evelyn Sommers felt like their sky had fallen.

They still loved me, but the grief of losing their real daughter paralyzed them.

While they were drowning in shock, Julian naturally stepped in and took full control of the situation.

And he chose to sign his deal first.

During those terrifying days, I heard my name mentioned constantly by the guards.

Sometimes they said the Sommers heiress was worth millions. Sometimes they said she wasn't worth a dime.

They said men like Julian Vance knew exactly how to play the devoted fiancé, but when it came down to choosing between a woman and his career, he was as cold as ice.

Those words felt like a physical blow to my chest.

At first, I was angry, but eventually, I didn't even have the strength for anger.

I started counting the cracks on the wall.

One, two, three.

I counted until dawn, and then I started over.

I was terrified that if I stopped, I would see Julian standing on that stage, saying "Yes" to the camera.

That wasn't the man I thought I was going to marry. That wasn't the man who held an umbrella over me in the rain, or the boy who promised he would never leave me.

It doesn't take years for a person to become a stranger.

It only takes one choice.