Chapter 1 Prologue

• CRYSTAL
• The thing about being a Denzel is....everyone expects you to smile like your teeth were crafted in heaven. And I do. Almost effortlessly. Even when I know half the women in this ballroom would love nothing more than to spill wine on my dress or steal my fiancé.
• I sip my champagne slowly, holding my glass the way my mother taught me—tilted, graceful, and effortless. I smile at people I don't like, laugh at jokes I've heard five times, and pretend I'm not counting down the minutes until Kai arrives.
• “Miss Denzel,” a man says, bowing slightly. “You look radiant tonight.”
• I offer him a smile, one of my polite, pageant-winning ones. “Thank you, Mr. Adams. You’re too kind.”
• He isn't.
• My dress is custom Dior. My shoes cost more than a professor’s monthly salary. And the diamond necklace around my neck once belonged to my grandmother, whose portrait hangs on the far wall looking permanently unimpressed with everyone.
• I see my mother across the room, surrounded by wives of ministers and board members. She nods approvingly when our eyes meet. Not at me....at the image I’ve spent my whole life perfecting.
• Daughter. Heiress. Soon-to-be Mrs. Kai Montgomery.
• And he walks in, right on cue.
• Tall, confident, devastatingly handsome in a black velvet tuxedo, Kai’s presence alone is enough to make the crowd part like the Red Sea. His eyes find mine across the ballroom, and for a moment, I forget everything.
• He walks straight to me and takes my hand like he always does....like I’m the only person in the room worth noticing. Then he leans in, lips brushing the top of my ear.
• “Miss me?”
• I smile. “Desperately. And not just for the headlines.”
• He laughs and effortlessly looks sexy while doing so. It's one of the numerous things about him I find attractive.
• “Let’s give them a show then,” he whispers.
• And just like that, I’m twirling in his arms as the string quartet swells. I catch flashes of light...paparazzi snapping through the windows, guests angling for the best shot. Every eye is on us, as it should be.
• Because we are the dream. The power couple. The future.
• But as I spin, something shifts. A flash of uncertainty, a whisper I can’t quite hear. A glance from my father that lingers too long. A missed smile from my mother.
• Kai pulls me close again. “What’s wrong?”
• I shake my head. “Nothing.”
• But something is coming. I feel it like a storm building beneath polished marble and crystal chandeliers. I just don’t know yet that tonight is the last night I’ll ever be Crystal Denzel.
• “I’ve been waiting all night to tear this dress off of you,” Kai growls against my neck, his breath hot as his lips trail down the side of my jaw.
• I laugh, breathless. “From the moment you walked into the party room?”
• “From the moment I stepped out of my car,” he murmurs, pulling me closer. “You knew exactly what you were doing in this dress.”
• His hands slide down my back, firm and possessive, while our mouths crash together in a kiss that tastes like champagne and years of restraint. Our tongues meet, hungry and familiar, and just like that, we’re making out against my bedroom door like reckless teenagers.
• I melt into him until I realize where his hands are heading.
• “Wait, Kai.” I press against his chest, heart pounding for reasons other than desire. “Our wedding is just two weeks away.”
• “All the more reason why you shouldn’t stop me.” He grips my waist and brings my hand to the growing bulge in his pants. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Crystal. Haven’t I waited long enough?”
• I bite my lip. “Exactly. You’ve waited so long. What’s two more weeks?”
• His jaw clenches. “Two more weeks with you teasing me like this? That’s not fair.”
• I laugh, and just as I’m about to give him a witty reply, a loud crash pierces through the air.
• I freeze.
• “What was that?” I whisper, my entire body stiffening.
• Kai shrugs lazily. “Probably one of your staff. The party’s over. Everyone’s gone.”
• “No, something feels off.” I step away from him, my heart starting to thump for an entirely different reason now. “My mother would lose her mind if she finds you here. I should go check.”
• Kai groans and follows me out. “You’re seriously choosing broken glass over this body right now?”
• I roll my eyes, adjusting my dress as we walk down the hallway. “I’m choosing not to have my engagement revoked by morning, thank you.”
• But when we reach the living room, my breath catches in my throat.
• Chaos.
• A strange woman, her arm locked tightly around my brother Alex’s neck, holds a knife to his throat. Her eyes are wild, and she’s shouting something I can’t process. My parents are standing opposite her—my father furious, my mother pale and stiff. Security guards are frozen, unsure whether to move or wait for backup.
• Beside the woman is a girl, a quiet one I vaguely remember seeing at the party. Her eyes are red-rimmed. But she makes no effort to stop the woman.
• The woman’s voice rises again. “She’s a fake!” she screams, pointing a trembling finger at me. “Why won’t you people accept your real daughter, Alora?”
• Alora?
• What?
• I blink at the girl beside her. My lips part. I don’t understand. I can’t understand.
• “You all don’t want to believe me, right?” the woman barks. “Then get a DNA test! My sister worked here—Anya! She was a maid in this house. She swapped the babies. Crystal is not your child. Alora is. Crystal is the maid’s daughter!”
• I barely feel my mother move beside me until she grips my hand tightly, turning to me with glossy eyes.
• “Don’t listen to her,” she whispers, voice trembling. “She’s insane. You are my only daughter, okay? Don’t let her poison your mind.”
• But I’m no longer breathing properly. My legs wobble.
• “She’s your child!” the woman screams again, digging the knife deeper into Alex’s neck. He lets out a cry.
• My father steps forward, rage twisting his features. “Let Alex go right now, or I swear to God, when the police arrive...”
• “I don’t care!” the woman spits. “I’ll slit his throat right here if you keep pretending like Crystal belongs to you!”
• “You’ll go to jail,” my mother warns her coldly. “You and your little fraud...”
• “I’d rather go to jail for the truth,” she snaps. “Because if you lock this girl up, it would mean you sent your own daughter to prison!”
• “Stop this madness!” my mother yells. “Crystal looks exactly like my husband's mother. She is our daughter!”
• “Then prove it!” The woman’s eyes are glassy now, unblinking. “Do a DNA test! Or Alex bleeds!”
• Alex cries out again. “Dad! Mom! Please help me!”
• And in that moment, when the woman presses the knife even tighter, my father finally cracks.
• “Fine!” he shouts. “We’ll do the damn test! I’ll call the doctor! Just...don’t hurt him. Please.”