Chapter 1: The First Crack
The applause echoed like thunder beneath the chandeliers.
Crystal glasses clinked. Laughter spilled across marble floors. And at the center of it all stood Isabella Laurent—radiant in gold, adored, untouchable.
From the shadows, I watched.
My mother’s fingers still burned on my skin where she had gripped my face minutes ago. “You do not belong here.”
But I did belong.
Not as their daughter.
Not as their mistake.
But as the architect of everything that was about to collapse.
I lifted my glass slowly, mirroring their toast. My father didn’t even glance at me. Of course he didn’t. To him, I had always been invisible.
Perfect.
May you like
Invisible things move unnoticed.
And unnoticed things destroy.
