Chapter 1

On Christmas Eve, right in the middle of our family reunion dinner, my wife suddenly stood up from the table.

"The downstairs neighbors are complaining—our place is leaking. I have to go deal with it."

Before I could even say a word, she grabbed her car keys and rushed out the door, leaving my parents—who clearly looked weirded out—and me with our daughter.

I'd just managed to calm my parents down when I got a bank notification on my phone. A transfer. Ten million.

I called her immediately, "What the hell is going on?"

She said the damage downstairs was bad, and the owner was planning to sue. To protect our daughter's future, we had to pay up—ten million—to settle it.

But here was the thing: we own the whole building. Who exactly was she paying off?

I called the cops right away. Someone was illegally occupying our property and trying to extort money.

Before heading home, I gave my parents a heads-up. "Fire Sadie. Suspend her, kick her out of the company. And get a divorce agreement ready. I don't want anything to do with a woman who cheats."

On the drive home with our daughter, I was shaking uncontrollably—I was that furious.

Velvet Bay was the premium downtown complex my parents developed. They kept an entire building for the family, with only a few relatives living there. Besides, I hated noise, so all the other floors in our building were empty.

Who exactly was Sadie paying off?

I rushed back, but when I got to our floor, two security guards blocked me at the entrance.

"Where do you think you're going? Miss Ballard from Velvet Bay is hosting a Christmas party inside."

"Only her husband and daughter get in—plus the VIPs. Nobody else."

I was already fuming. I pulled out my key card.

"I'm the owner of this apartment. Move."

The guard didn't even bother looking at it. Just smirked.

"You? The owner? Who do you think you're kidding?"

"Everyone in this complex knows this is Miss Ballard's place. Don't tell me you're her husband?"

I was losing it. What the hell was Sadie up to?

"Yeah, no kidding. Who else would be Sadie's husband? This is our daughter. Now get out of my way."

The guards actually laughed.

They looked at us like we were a complete joke.

"You think I haven't seen Miss Ballard's husband and daughter? They're inside right now. Get your story straight before you try pulling something like this."

"Her husband's name is Ronan Hallowell. The guy wears designer everything—watches, suits, you name it."

"And you show up looking like... this? Trying to pass as Mr. Hallowell?"

They raised their batons, ready to force us out.

I froze.

Ronan Hallowell?

That name I knew too well.

He was the school bully back in the day—the one who harassed everyone. Then he pushed some kid to the edge, literally. The guy tried to kill himself. It blew up, and Ronan ended up in juvie.

Now he was Sadie's husband? Living in Velvet Bay?

One of the guards swung his baton toward my daughter's face. That was when I lost it. I kicked him hard.

"Back off. Touch my kid, and you're dead."

I shoved past them, grabbed my daughter's hand, and walked straight in.

Inside, the party was in full swing. "Zora, don't forget to thank Principal Barnett! You're about to start at Northmere School—just like you wanted!"

"And this is Mr. Sutton, your future homeroom teacher. He'll take good care of you once you're there."

Sadie's voice, warm and polished, carried across the room.

She was standing next to Ronan.

Beside them, a teenage girl beamed, holding up a glass of soda like she was toasting the room.

When we walked in, the whole scene froze. Everyone turned to look.

I scanned the table.

The faces were familiar. They were the principal of Northmere School, the homeroom teacher, and the property manager of Velvet Bay.

These were people who couldn't even get a meeting with my father. Now they were sitting here, letting Sadie flatter them like they were royalty.

Then my eyes landed on Ronan.

Same old thug. Different suit. Still no class.

"Sadie. What are all these people doing in my house?"

For a second, she looked rattled. Then she hurried over, lowering her voice.

"What are you doing here? Get out—I'm in the middle of damage control."

"And by the way, they weren't happy with just money. I had to throw in the recommendation spot at Northmere School. For their daughter."