Chapter 1

Eight years ago, we were the golden couple on the cover of our university's alumni magazine.

Yesterday, the editor-in-chief of a major financial magazine emailed me, asking for a follow-up interview.

I typed out a quick reply: "Go interview Ethan's new wife. We're getting a divorce."

Two weeks ago, our company finally went public on the Nasdaq.

Ethan didn't even bother to send me an invitation to the ringing ceremony.

Instead, he transferred my 50% of the founding shares—shares that legally belonged to me—straight to his secretary, Lacey Carter.

I stormed into the boardroom with the agreement to confront him.

In front of the entire board of directors, he slapped me across the face.

"Lacey stays up all night networking and closing deals for me. What do you do besides spend my money, Chloe?"

He seemed to have forgotten that the core AI algorithm—the very foundation of the company's tech—was written entirely by me.

"Security, please escort Ms. Chloe out."

Lacey walked in, her high heels clicking loudly against the marble floor. She held an oat milk latte in her hand, complete with a handwritten label on the cup.

That was my cup. My exact custom order.

The handwriting on the label copied mine, but the strokes dragged downward at the end—my habit was always to flick them upward.

She sat down to Ethan's right.

That was my seat. I had sat in that chair for seven years, leaving a faint scratch on the backrest from my favorite jacket.

"Ethan," she whispered, leaning in and acting cute, "it looks like Ms. Chloe hasn't left yet."

Ethan shook his hand—the same hand he had just used to hit me. "Didn't you hear her?"

The twelve board members kept their heads down, suddenly finding their bottles of sparkling water incredibly fascinating.

I clutched the share transfer agreement, the corners damp with my sweat.

"Ethan, every single line of the underlying architecture of this company's AI core was written by—"

"Enough."

His face looked as bored as if he were listening to a broken record.

"It’s just a few lines of code, Chloe. We have a team of hundreds of engineers. Do you really think the world stops spinning without you?"

Lacey handed him a glass of water. He took it and took a sip.

That was when I noticed the pink diamond necklace around her neck.

I had bought that piece myself with my own savings at a private auction last year for three hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

One morning, it vanished from my jewelry box. When I asked Ethan, he said the housekeeper must have misplaced it.

So, it was around her neck all along.

I turned and walked toward the door.

"Wait a minute," Lacey called out. "Let's handle one more little thing while you're here."

She dialed a number and put it on speaker.

"Parker, come up to the 18th-floor boardroom. Now."

Parker was our third employee.

He was the backbone of the tech department. He had worked under me for five years and co-authored thirty percent of the AI modules.

Two minutes later, he pushed the door open. When he saw me, he froze.

"Chloe? What happened to your face—"

"Parker." Lacey crossed her legs, tapping her fingernails on the desk. "As of today, your position is eliminated."

"What?"

"Post-IPO restructuring. You’re simply too tied to the old team. You don't fit our new direction."

When she said "the old team," she looked at me with a smirk.

Parker turned to Ethan. "Mr. Vance, I’ve been here for five years. The core algorithms—"

"Lacey ran the evaluation," Ethan said, not even looking up as he signed a document.

"Your skills no longer match our growth. Keeping you is a waste of company resources. One month's severance. Sign the papers and get out."

Parker's hands shook. He looked at me, his eyes turning red.

I caught his gaze and gently shook my head to stop him from saying anything more.

"Let's go, Parker."

Once we got out of the building, he caught up with me in the parking lot.

"Chloe, how can he do this? Your name is on those patent filings! Your digital footprint is all over that code—"

"I know."

My phone buzzed.

It was a notification from the company's Snapchat group.

Lacey had posted a photo. She was sitting at my desk, with the roses I had nurtured for three years blooming in the background.

Her caption: *So grateful for this new journey.*

Parker saw it too. The veins on his neck bulged with rage.

"Chloe, who does this bitch think she is—"

"Parker," I cut him off, my voice raw.

"Go home. Don't do anything rash. Just wait for my message."