Chapter 2
I walked out of that dining room without looking back.
I could hear my mother screaming behind me.
Something about how dare I humiliate her.
Something about how I'd regret this.
I kept walking.
The front door slammed shut behind me.
The cold November air hit my face like a wake-up call.
I got in my car.
My hands were steady.
My heart was calm.
For the first time in years, I felt completely at peace.
I pulled out of the driveway.
In my rearview mirror, the house glowed like a tomb.
I drove until I reached the small apartment I'd rented in the city.
It was nothing compared to the mansion I'd grown up in.
But it was mine.
Every wall.
Every piece of furniture.
Every breath of air inside it.
I poured myself a glass of wine.
I sat by the window.
And I thought about those three phone calls I'd made six months ago.
The first one had been to the SEC.
I'd spent three years collecting evidence.
Emails.
Bank records.
Meeting minutes my father had thought were safely hidden.
Proof that the Devereux Group had been running a massive fraud scheme.
Fake accounts.
Falsified earnings reports.
Millions stolen from investors.
My father had built his empire on lies.
My brother had helped him.
And I'd been the one who'd accidentally discovered it all.
The second call had been to a journalist at The Wall Street Journal.
I'd given her everything.
Names.
Dates.
Numbers.
She'd been working on the story for months.
The third call had been to Madison's fiancé's family.
I'd told them the truth about my sister.
About the lies she'd told.
About the money she'd stolen.
About the person she really was underneath all that sparkle.
I knew what would happen next.
The SEC investigation would go public within days.
The journalist's story would drop like a bomb.
Madison's wedding would be called off.
The Devereux name would be dragged through the mud.
And that was just the beginning.
Because the worst secret?
The one that would destroy them completely?
I hadn't released that yet.
I was saving it.
For when they really pushed me.
My phone buzzed.
A text from Logan.
You've made the biggest mistake of your life.
I deleted it without replying.
Another text from my father.
Come home and apologize. We can fix this. But only if you do exactly what I say.
I smiled.
They still thought they could control me.
They still thought their money and their power could fix everything.
They had no idea.
The next morning, I woke up early.
I made coffee.
I sat at my small kitchen table.
And I waited.
The first call came at 8:17 AM.
It was my father's assistant.
Panicked.
The SEC was at the office.
They had warrants.
They were seizing everything.
I told her I was sorry to hear that.
I hung up.
Thirty minutes later, my phone started blowing up.
The journalist's story had gone live.
The headline blared across every financial news site.
DEVEREUX GROUP ACCUSED OF MASSIVE FRAUD.
Richard Devereux's face was everywhere.
Logan's too.
My phone rang.
My mother.
I didn't answer.
She called again.
And again.
And again.
Finally, a text came through.
What have you done?
I stared at the message.
I thought about that slap.
I thought about all the slaps before it.
I thought about all the years I'd spent being the good daughter.
The quiet one.
The one who never complained.
May you like
I typed back three words.
I kept my promise.
