Chapter 1 - The Descent into Betrayal
The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the sickening realization that my own family had set me up. Lying at the bottom of the grand marble staircase, my shattered tibia and bent surgical pins weren't just a medical emergency—they were a calculated distraction. As my mother Althia hissed at me to get up and my sister Sutton cackled over my ruined bridesmaid dress, Briany’s phone remained pointed right at my agony. I had flown across the country to support a destination wedding, only to be shoved down the steps so Sutton could steal the spotlight. But the final betrayal didn't happen in the hospital or at the altar. It happened when I checked my business account from my hospital bed and discovered that the luxury wedding resort had billed an unauthorized $85,000 transaction directly to my corporate venture capital fund—wiping out my life's work in a single swipe.
