Chapter 1 The Day I Got Out Of Prison, I Was Proposed To

• Odette's POV
• Freedom didn’t come with open arms. It came with the cold slap of February wind and a camera flash that nearly blinded me.
• "Miss Carrington, over here! How does it feel to finally be free?"
• They said my name like it still meant something—like it hadn’t been dragged through five years of mud, blood, and silence.
• I stepped past the prison gates in worn jeans and a too-thin coat, the one I’d been arrested in. It smelled faintly of iron and bleach, like the cell I left behind. I blinked against the sun. It had been years since I'd seen the sky without bars in the way.
• There were only three cars in the parking lot.
• A sleek black Rolls-Royce. A silverAston Martin. And a modest sedan that had definitely seen better days.Guess which one was mine.
• Not that I made it that far.
• Because standing in front of the prison, surrounded by reporters, was Ellis Lockwood. In a tailored navy suit. With a diamond ring.
• He got on one knee.
• I stared at him, blank. My mind didn’t even register the gasps from the crowd or the frantic camera shutters going off. All I could think was:
• Are you serious?
• "Odette Carrington," he began, voice trembling, eyes wide in that way that once made me love him, before he carved out my heart and left it to rot. "You’ve been through hell. I let you go once. I’ll never make that mistake again. Will you marry me?"
• I was silent. Not for drama. Not for suspense. Just… stunned.
• The last time I saw Ellis, he stood on a courtroom floor and said nothing while they slapped handcuffs on me. He didn’t defend me. Didn’t scream my name. Just lowered his head like he was ashamed to know me.
• And now he wanted to marry me?
• "Say yes!" someone in the crowd yelled.
• And just to the right of him, looking like she wanted to throw up in her Louboutin heels, was Brielle LeClair.
• Of course she was here.
• Brielle had always been the family’s darling. Adopted young, raised alongside me like a sister. But we both knew better. I was the real Carrington. The blood heir. The one our grandfather loved more. And that made Brielle furious.
• "How cute," she called out, smiling like she wasn’t baring her teeth. "A jailbird engagement. Are you sure she’s the right image for your brand, Ellis?"
• I turned to her slowly. She was flawless, as always. Polished curls.Pearl earrings. Nose turned up like she could still smell prison on me.
• "Did you get dressed up just for me, Bri?" I said calmly. "I’d say I’m flattered, but that dress looks familiar. Didn’t you borrow it from my closet the night you testified against me?"
• Gasps.
• Ellis flinched. Brielle went pale.
• But I kept my eyes on her as the real bomb dropped. "Where’s Sebastian? Couldn’t make it? Or are fiancés not required at fake proposals?"
• She blinked. "How did you—?"
• "You think prison doesn’t have ears?"
• The crowd was practically eating from my hand now. Brielle had always loved attention. Until it turned on her.
• "Ellis," I said, turning back to him.
• He looked up, hope plastered across his too-handsome face.
• I gave him a tight smile. "You want to marry me? Fine. But I have one condition."
• He nodded quickly. "Anything."
• I stepped closer. Lowered my voice just enough. "The wedding’s on the same day as theirs."
• His face fell. The crowd fell into stunned silence.
• I didn’t wait for their reactions. I walked right past him, past the reporters, past the flashing cameras and shocked faces.
• Because I didn’t come back for forgiveness.
• I came back for revenge.
• My room at the Carrington estate had been cleared out years ago. Not that I wanted to return to that mausoleum of marble and cold stares.
• Instead, I checked into a small luxury hotel downtown, arranged quietly by the only person who hadn’t abandoned me completely.
• Mr. Langley. My grandfather’s lawyer.
• He met me in the suite’s private lounge, holding a black briefcase and a tired smile.
• "Miss Carrington," he said, voice warm. "You look..."
• "Like someone who just got out of prison?"
• He chuckled. "I was going to say stronger."
• I sat across from him. "You said you had something for me."
• He nodded and placed the briefcase on the table. "Your grandfather left instructions. A sealed letter. To be opened only by you. After your release."
• I stared at the case, fingers curling. My grandfather had believed in me until the day he died. I never got to say goodbye. And worse, they said I killed him.
• I flipped the latch.
• Inside was a letter. Handwritten. On thick paper. Sealed with his personal crest.
• My hands shook. I hadn’t cried when I was sentenced. Or when I got jumped in prison. But now, staring at my grandfather’s script, the burn behind my eyes started.
• I opened it.
• My dearest Odette,
• If you are reading this, the truth has not come out.
• I am sorry.
• I knew there were vipers in our family. And I feared for you. That’s why I made arrangements.
• The will I signed is not the one they know. Langley has the original. The estate, my shares, the legacy—they are yours.
• But only if you choose to take them.
• You must be cautious. They will not let you rise easily.
• But you are a Carrington.
• And Carringtons rise from ashes.
• I set the letter down. My throat was tight. My chest heavier than it had been in years.
• Langley cleared his throat. "The original will is in a safety deposit box. I can retrieve it when you're ready."
• "I want it," I said.
• He nodded. "There is one more thing. The surveillance tapes from the estate the night he died... have been recovered."
• I looked up sharply.
• "Recovered by who?"
• He gave me a look. One that said, Someone who doesn’t want you to have them.
• "They’re not gone. Just hidden."
• I leaned back, mind racing. If I could find those tapes—prove Brielle and Sebastian tampered with evidence—I could take down everyone.
• "I’ll find them," I said.
• Langley smiled faintly. "Then it begins."
• That night, Ellis called.
• I let it go to voicemail.
• Then he texted,
• [I meant what I said. I want to fix this.]
• Fix? Like five years of prison was a leaking pipe?
• I ignored it.
• Then another ping.
• [Dinner tomorrow? Just us. No press.]
• I stared at the screen. My thumb hovered over the delete button.
• And then I remembered the engagement announcement that had gone up while I was still in handcuffs. Sebastian and Brielle. A society wedding to merge power, wealth, and lies.
• Two weeks from now.
• No. Our wedding would be that day.
• But not because I wanted to marry Ellis.
• Because I wanted every one of them to watch me rise. In their world. In their spotlight. With every eye in the city on me.
• They tried to bury me.
• They just didn’t know I was a seed.
• The next morning, my phone rang again.
• This time, I picked up.
• "Ellis," I said.
• His voice lit up. "Odette, thank God. I didn’t think you’d answer. Listen, about yesterday—I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. I just—I never stopped loving you."
• "You stopped speaking when it mattered."
• Silence.
• I let it hang.
• "You want to marry me? Fine. Book the church, send the invites, pick out a tux."
• "You’re serious?"
• "On one condition."
• He hesitated. "Anything."
• "It’s on the same day as Sebastian and Brielle’s wedding."
• Dead silence.
• Then, "Why?"
• "Because they stole everything from me. My name. My life. My future."
• "So this is revenge."
• "No, Ellis. This is war."
• And I hung up.