Chapter 1

I stared at the invitation to Julian Vance’s IPO celebration party, almost laughing out loud.

Ms. Dawson, our project director, stood beside me, her voice dripping with sycophancy, like she was trying too hard.

“Sarah Hayes, you truly are our company’s most outstanding employee! The Vance & Miller Group is such a massive project, about to ring the Nasdaq bell. Mr. Vance personally requested us to handle all pre-IPO public relations risks. Land this project, and the partner position at year-end is yours, no question.”

I ran my fingers over the cardstock.

Its edge was sharp, like a blade.

Three years ago, I was Evelyn Reed, the golden girl from one of the city's most prominent families.

And Julian Vance was my fiancé.

He’d whispered sweet nothings, swearing he loved me.

Then, behind my back, he’d teamed up with outsiders, using meticulously planned financial leverage to bleed my father’s life’s work dry, leaving nothing but dust.

My father suffered a sudden heart attack and died in his office the day after signing the equity transfer agreement.

I plunged from the clouds straight into hell.

Meanwhile, Julian, stepping over the ashes of my family’s legacy, flew off into the sunset with my supposed best friend, Celeste Miller.

They founded the “Vance & Miller Group.”

Vance for Julian. Miller for Celeste.

How ironic.

Now, he was about to take this blood-soaked "love child" public.

And he needed a top-tier PR consultant to whitewash his past, erase every inconvenient trace.

He found me.

Or rather, he found "Sarah Hayes."

A rising star in the industry, a gold-standard crisis management consultant with a spotless record, ruthless methods, and a mysterious background.