Chapter 1 — The Pain of Betrayal

Silverwood, Illinois

Angel Montgomery

Gosh, I’m exhausted...

With only two days left until my wedding, I still have a mountain of details to sort out, on top of the last story I need to edit before sending it to the newsroom.

Jason, as usual, is busy with investigations at the police department, leaving all the wedding planning strictly on my shoulders.

"Where's Mom, Dad? She went to the caterer to figure out the cake and sweets, but she hasn't come back yet," I ask as my father walks into the living room.

He’s carrying a few flower arrangements for the garden ceremony while the crew works on setting up the altar.

"She left early and said she’d head to the hair salon right after the caterer," he replies, stepping closer to my desk.

I notice how pale he looks and worry about his heart condition.

"When are you going to stop working so hard, sweetie? Your wedding is the day after tomorrow!"

"I'm almost done, Dad. I just need to review this article and send it over to the Gazette's editors.

Tomorrow I’m dedicating myself exclusively to the wedding and my fiancé. I promise!"

He smiles and walks back to the garden to supervise the setup.

I close my laptop, but an unexplainable sense of unease keeps gnawing at me. I've always trusted my gut, especially when it comes to investigations, but today I just can't shake this bad feeling.

I decide to head over to Jason’s house. That way we can lock down the final details of the wedding and our honeymoon trip.

"Dad, I'm heading over to Jason's! I won't be back for dinner," I call out, grabbing my purse.

In the garage, I hop on my black Harley-Davidson Iron 883 and take off through the streets of Silverwood. The ride is short, but the anxiety only tightens in my chest.

When I arrive, I'm surprised to see Jason's pickup truck parked in the driveway. Parked right beside it is my mother's SUV.

"What is Mom's car doing here?" I mutter, pulling out my copy of the key.

I step inside quietly, but there’s no sign of anyone in the living room or the kitchen.

Then I spot my mother's purse sitting on the island counter and her high heels kicked off near the stairs.

My stomach drops into a tight knot as I catch the sound of voices and quiet moans coming from upstairs.

I head up slowly, taking care not to make a sound. The master bedroom door is standing ajar, and what I see through the gap makes my whole world crumble.

Jason is in bed with Eleonor—my own mother. The two of them are so lost in each other they don't even notice me standing there.

The man I’ve shared my life with for almost four years is cheating on me with the woman who gave birth to me. And it’s happening just two days before our wedding.

I stand frozen, completely unable to process what I'm looking at. The pain is so sharp and intense I can't even cry.

I push the door wide open and flick on the light.

Jason gasps, startled, and by pure reflex leaps off the bed, grabbing his service weapon off the nightstand. When he spots me at the doorway, he points the gun straight at my chest.

I hear a gunshot before a blinding, agonizing pain tears through my chest. My legs give out, and I collapse onto the floor.

"My God, Jason! It's my daughter! You shot Angel!" my mother screams, wrapping herself in the bedsheet.

I lie there on the cold floor, struggling to process what just happened. As if the ultimate betrayal wasn't enough, my own fiancé just shot me.

"Angel, hold on! I'm calling an ambulance! Don't move!" Jason yells, rushing out of the room.

My mother drops to her knees beside me, pressing the sheet against my chest to stop the bleeding.

"Angel, don't close your eyes! Stay with me, baby!"

"Why... Mom?" I manage to choke out, tasting the metallic rise of blood in my mouth.

She keeps begging me to stay awake, but the excruciating pain and dizziness make keeping my eyes open an impossible fight.

As my consciousness slips away, the last image burned into my mind is Jason and Eleonor together in that bed.

A rhythmic beating sound of heart monitors pulls me back. A strong smell of hospital disinfectant hits me, and I force my eyes open.

I'm lying in a hospital bed.

So, I survived.

Turning my head, I see my mother sitting in an armchair next to the bed.

"Angel! You're awake!" she gasps, rushing closer with tears welling in her eyes.

Eleonor reaches out to stroke my face, but her touch fills me with pure disgust. The memory of that bedroom instantly flashes back into my mind.

"Your father has been so worried. He's going to be so relieved to know you're awake..."

"W-where's Dad? How is he?" I ask, my throat raw and dry.

My thoughts instantly race to his fragile heart. My God, he must have been destroyed when he learned I was shot.

"Your father had a terrible shock when he heard what happened. He suffered a heart episode and had to be put under observation," she explains, reaching to hold my hand.

I yank my hand away immediately.

She looks startled by my reaction, but before she can say anything, the door opens.

"Sweetheart! You're awake!" Jason walks toward the bed, a look of deep concern plastered on his face. "Thank God you're okay, my love. You'll be out of here soon and we can still get married..."

He leans in to kiss me, but I turn my face away.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here right now," I say, my voice weak but laced with steel.

Jason and my mother exchange a quick, guarded glance.

Eleonor steps closer, playing dumb to my hostility.

"Sweetheart, why are you treating your fiancé like this?"

I can't believe the sheer audacity of this woman.

"Are you really asking me that, Eleonor?" I say, refusing to call her Mom.

"What did you two tell everyone about what happened?"

Jason steps closer again, completely ignoring my rejection.

"My love, you must still be confused from everything that went down."

He pauses, dropping his tone into something controlled before continuing:

"An intruder broke into my house and nearly killed you. But thank God, I managed to step in just in time."

"Don't you worry about a thing, just focus on recovering. This isn't going to get in the way of our wedding."

I am left completely speechless.

An intruder? He actually thinks I'm still going to marry him?

What are these two scum bags even talking about?