Three years later, the iron gate of the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women slammed shut behind Chloe. She was finally free. Standing in the rain, she looked up at the gray sky. Prison had stripped away her innocence and left hatred carved into her bones.
"Brandan. Jessica. Three years ago, you took everything from me. Now that I'm out, I'll make you repay every debt—with interest."
Her face was no longer her own. An "accidental" fire in the prison had left a grotesque scar across her cheek. Later, through a mysterious benefactor, she had undergone facial reconstruction surgery. Now, she was Chloe Martin, with a face that was beautiful but entirely unfamiliar.
A black Lincoln Town Car pulled up silently in front of her. The driver, Joe Tucker, got out and respectfully opened the rear door. "Miss Martin, please."
Chloe didn't ask where they were going. During her sentence, the mysterious man known only as Byron Mitchell Sr. had paid for top lawyers, secured better living conditions for her, and requested photographs of her from before her imprisonment. Chloe had accepted his help because she needed to survive. But she had always known it would come at a price.
Only after her release did she learn who Byron Mitchell Sr. truly was. He was the founder and chairman emeritus of the Mitchell empire, one of Silicon Valley's most powerful dynasties. A feared patriarch with influence across the business world, Byron could destroy careers and companies with a single decision.
The car drove smoothly toward a top-tier estate in upstate New York—the Mitchell family's residence. The luxury of the surroundings was a stark contrast to her three years in prison. Chloe's eyes showed no emotion.
Inside the mansion, she was led to a room where a maid, Rosa White, handed her a pristine white wedding dress. There were no guests, no ceremony, just a stone-faced lawyer and a contract.
The contract was simple: she would marry Cullen Mitchell, Byron's grandson and one of the Mitchell family heirs. In exchange, the Mitchell family would protect her and help her achieve "anything" she desired.
Chloe knew who Cullen Mitchell was. A playboy who had become a vegetable after a car racing accident three years ago. He had remained unconscious ever since.
According to the Mitchell family's private astrologer, Cullen's accident had occurred beneath a catastrophic Saturn-Mars conjunction. An upcoming Venus-Jupiter alignment offered one chance to reverse his fate. If Cullen married a woman whose natal chart perfectly balanced his, the union was supposed to break the malignant cycle and draw his consciousness back.
Chloe had been selected as that woman.
It was an absurd theory wrapped in the language of Western astrology, but powerful old families had their own superstitions. Byron had enough money and influence to turn even a mystical ritual into a legally binding marriage.
"I'll sign." Chloe didn't hesitate, signing "Chloe Martin" on the dotted line. To her, marriage was just a tool for revenge.
Dressed in the wedding gown, she was taken to Cullen Mitchell's room. It was as large as a small ICU. Cullen lay quietly on the bed, his handsome face devoid of life.
The lawyer declared them husband and wife and then left. The room fell silent, leaving her with her new husband and the rhythmic beeping of the medical equipment.
Chloe walked to the window, watching the rain fall outside, already plotting the first step of her revenge. She needed a way into Sinclair Group.
She took out a cufflink, worn smooth from years of being held. The canary diamond cufflink. For three years, she had kept it with her. It was her only clue.
Late at night, the butler, Edwin Foster, knocked on the door. He informed her that she was to sleep in Cullen's room tonight to satisfy the old master's requirement that the couple share a room.
Chloe nodded, indifferent. She lay down on the sofa in the room.
As she drifted off, she thought she heard maids whispering outside the door. They said Mr. Barrett was drunk again and would probably come to see Mr. Cullen, just like he always did.
Later that night, she was jolted awake by the sound of heavy footsteps and the strong smell of alcohol.
The door to the room creaked open. A tall figure stumbled in. The man was well-built, and even in his drunken state, he radiated a suffocating sense of pressure.
Chloe immediately tensed, sitting up on the sofa. Who was this man? Why was he in Cullen's room?
The man didn't seem to see her. He walked straight to the hospital bed, muttering a name under his breath.
He stood by the bed, his tall frame casting a long shadow, looking down at Cullen as if seeing through him to someone else.
Chloe held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She could feel the dangerous aura coming from him.
The man irritably loosened his tie, then turned as if to go to the bathroom. His eyes finally fell upon Chloe on the sofa.
Their eyes met. Chloe saw a pair of deep, dark blue eyes, swirling with complex emotions she couldn't decipher.
The man froze, seemingly surprised to find someone else in the room. He narrowed his eyes and walked toward her, one step at a time.
The strong scent of whiskey washed over her. Chloe instinctively shrank back.
He stood before her, looking down, his gaze sharp enough to peel her apart.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and raspy, sexy from the alcohol.
Before Chloe could answer, the man suddenly leaned down and grabbed her chin.
His rough thumb stroked her skin, his eyes filled with a searching and slightly confused look.
The maids in the mansion whispered among themselves. Tonight, the true head of the Mitchell family—Mr. Barrett Mitchell—was drunk again.
