Chapter 1

To pay off the heavy debts, I was forced to work as a maid at the Vance estate. Chloe, the spoiled, short-tempered heiress of the Vance family, threw hot water all over me during one of her tantrums.

That night, Ethan Vance, the heir to the Vance empire, left a tube of burn ointment outside my bedroom door.

For the next two years, Ethan cared for me in secret.

He even carried me on his back to the hospital in the dead of night when I had a life-threatening fever.

In the dimly lit pantry, I gave him my virginity.

It hurt.

He held my waist gently. "Hazel, I love you. I promise I will take you away from the Vance family."

But later, Chloe cornered him and demanded to know what I was to him.

He just sneered. "Don't take it seriously. She is just a maid to me."

In that moment, I finally understood. Ethan's love only existed in the dark.

Because in the light, there was his father, his sister Chloe, and the prestigious Vance family name.

I handed all the evidence over to the federal investigators.

Two years ago, I accidentally overheard Ethan's father talking in his study. My dad had died in a mining accident at one of their sites. The Vances had forged the safety reports and blamed the entire tragedy on a dead man.

I spent two years taking secret photos of their financial ledgers, meeting minutes, and forged signature pages, keeping them all in an encrypted folder.

On the day of the raid, federal agents swarmed the Vance estate. Ethan stood under the old oak tree, staring at me.

This time, he didn't look away. But it was already too late.

I took the pen from the agent and signed my name on the witness statement.

My love for him was real. The evidence was real. And my desire to drag the Vance family to hell with my own hands was also absolutely real.