Chapter 2

• Adrian let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are you making this so difficult? The engagement is over, Cassandra. My future is with Vivian. Even when she moves in, you’ll be in separate wings. She’s not here to take anything from you. She doesn’t care about household matters. We are just letting you stay in the mansion since you don’t have anywhere else to go, you will be running the household”
• I let out a cold, humorless laugh. “Do you really think I care about running this house?”
• This penthouse, this name, this family—it was nothing more than a stage where I played the role they expected. A noblewoman, waiting quietly for her fiancé’s return. A woman with nothing to her name but status. Or so they thought. Every expense, from his mother’s medical treatments to the luxurious lifestyle his family enjoyed, had been funded by me. The staff, the parties, the image he so carefully upheld—I had been the one making it all work while he was off doing as he pleased.
• And now? He was bringing another woman here. Into my home.
• "Enough." Adrian’s patience thinned. "I didn’t come here to argue. I just needed to inform you. Whether you agree or not, it changes nothing."
• "I’ve done everything for this family," I whispered. "Paid for your mother’s care, handled the staff, protected your reputation—"
• "And?" Adrian sighed, rubbing his temple as if exhausted by my words. "You did what was expected of you. Don't act like it was some great sacrifice. Besides, Vivian has already arranged better care for my mother. She has connections, influence. You don’t need to concern yourself anymore."
• My stomach twisted painfully. Just like that—everything I had done was wiped away, replaced by her.
• I watched him turn, already dismissing me, walking out as if his decision was final.
• My last thread of loyalty to him snapped. Whatever love, duty, or forgiveness I had left dissolved into nothing. He was no longer the man I once trusted. He was just another obstacle standing in my way.
• "My lady, he’s being so unfair and a jerk!" Anna, my assistant, wiped at her misty eyes, her voice trembling with emotion.
• "Don’t call him that," I said coolly, my voice sharper than glass. "That man is nothing to me. Now, go get my financial records and dowry ledger."
• Anna blinked in confusion. “Your dowry ledger? Why? Wait… you’re not just leaving, are you?”
• I tapped her forehead lightly. “Silly girl, why do you think? We’re leaving.”
• Her mouth fell open. “But your mother arranged this engagement. Your father wanted you to build a family, to have children…”
• At the mention of my parents, something deep and painful cracked inside me.
• My father had been a business legend, loyal to my mother in a world where power often came at the cost of love. No mistresses, no scandals. They had built an empire together. My six brothers, trained to be warriors in the corporate battlefield, had stood by his side.
• Until three years ago, when they were all wiped out.
• Our enemies had launched a ruthless hostile takeover, destroying everything. I had been away then, training under one of the most brilliant financial minds in the world. By the time I returned at fifteen, it was too late.
• That day, the Cassandra Sinclair they knew died. But another was born. One who wouldn’t be overlooked again.
• They thought I was just a relic of a fallen dynasty, a woman clinging to a bygone name. What they didn’t know was that while Adrian was gone, I was rebuilding my empire—brick by brick, deal by deal.
• He wasn’t just choosing Vivian. He was securing his future. With her by his side, he wouldn’t need me anymore. Not my name. Not my influence. Not my money.
• It was in that moment that I felt it—the last thread tying me to him snapped. Whatever love, loyalty, or forgiveness I had left for Adrian Warren dissolved into nothing. He was no longer the man I once trusted. He was just another obstacle standing in my way.
• They thought I was just a woman scorned. A discarded fiancée.
• They had no idea they had just created their greatest rival.
• My mother, blinded by grief, had clutched my hands and whispered, “You are all I have left, Cassandra. You must live as a woman of status should. Find a good man, marry, have children. Build a peaceful life.”
• Determined to honor my mother’s wishes, I had spent a year mastering the art of being the perfect fiancée—learning etiquette, finance, household management, and every expectation placed upon a woman of my status. I had been raised to stand beside a powerful man, not to become one.
• But I was more than just Cassandra Sinclair, the fallen heiress of the Sinclair dynasty. The world saw me as a delicate socialite, a woman whose future was tied to the man she married. They didn’t know the truth.
• I was known for my intelligence, my calculated poise, and a mind sharper than any business rival. I had spent years studying under financial titans, mastering the art of negotiation and empire-building in secret. The world believed I was nothing more than a beautiful, discarded fiancée—but they had no idea the kind of power I truly wielded.
• Yet my mother had chosen Adrian Warren. He had sworn on his name, his honor, his life that if he married me, he would never take another woman.
• And I had believed him.
• But two years ago, everything changed.
• The Sinclair Estate was reduced to nothing but a massacre.
• Everyone—from the household staff to the youngest child—was slaughtered. My two-year-old nephew, born after the death of my third brother, was among the victims.
• The attackers weren’t random criminals. The investigation revealed that they were hired assassins, men who had infiltrated the city just to erase my family from existence.
• It wasn’t just murder.
• It was vengeance.
• I had rushed home only to find my mother and grandmother’s bodies dismembered beyond recognition. Blood everywhere. The house that had once held my entire world was now nothing more than a graveyard.
• That day, the Cassandra Sinclair the world had known died too.
• I was the last Sinclair standing.
• And while the world expected me to accept my fate, to fade into silence, they underestimated me.
• Restoring my family’s legacy? The world laughed at the thought.
• But they wouldn’t be laughing for long.
• Vivian, though—she was different.
• She wasn’t just another woman. She was powerful, admired, untouchable. She had secured her place through careful business acquisitions, elite networking, and charitable ventures that masked her ruthless ambition. She moved like a queen in the business world, earning the favor of even the most cutthroat elites.
• Vivian wasn’t just powerful—she was ruthless in ways Adrian couldn’t even comprehend. She didn’t just win; she made sure her opponents never recovered. And now, she had set her sights on me.
• With her at Adrian’s side, his position, wealth, and influence would be unstoppable.
• That was why the Warren family had agreed so easily to this marriage.
• They saw Vivian as Adrian’s future—
• And me?
• As nothing more than a mistake he was correcting.
• But they had all made one crucial error.
• They thought I was finished.
• They thought I had nothing left.
• They had no idea that I had already begun building my own empire—one that would soon eclipse them all.
• They thought they had won.
• But the game had only just begun.
• And I never played to lose.