Chapter 1

"You really think that piece-of-junk phone can wipe out billions of dollars?"

Joseph Stout scoffed and snatched the phone from my hand.

He slammed it onto the tile floor. The screen shattered on impact, and a few shards flew up and nicked my ankles, leaving thin streaks of blood.

His expression flickered before he let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "No one's going to take a lunatic seriously. You sit at home tapping away at a keyboard and think that makes you some elite hacker?

"Stout Group's firewall is maintained by one of the best cybersecurity teams in the world. And you think you can get through it?"

I glanced at my shattered phone on the floor.

I'd already hit "Enter." The Trojan was already embedded deep inside Stout Group's core systems, and the 72-hour countdown had begun.

When it hit zero, his entire financial empire would be gone.

Joseph finally lost his patience. "Hold her down."

Two burly attendants stepped forward and pinned me by the shoulders, one on each side.

The attending physician raised the stun baton. "Cooperate, Ms. Lillian. It'll hurt less."

I lifted my head and looked Joseph straight in the eye. "Joseph, you're going to regret this."

"Regret it?"

He looked like I'd just said something ridiculous. He stepped closer and grabbed my chin, squeezing until his knuckles turned white and my jaw ached.

"You're nothing but Rebecca's stand-in. I only kept you around because you learned to act like her. And you think someone like you can make me regret anything? If Noah didn't still have that patent I need, do you really think you'd still be alive?"

Joseph released me. "Do it."

He pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his fingers as if touching me had disgusted him. Then he tossed it in my face.

Blue electricity ripped through my body, and unbearable pain shot through every nerve. My entire body convulsed beyond my control.

I gritted my teeth and stared straight at him, refusing to beg or scream. I just kept looking at the man I'd loved for three years.

For those three years, I'd hidden who I really was for him. I'd cooked for him, taken care of him, and put up with knowing that every time he looked at me, he was seeing another woman.

But now, the dream was over.

The current surged again, and my vision started to darken. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Rebecca covered her mouth and huddled against Joseph, pretending to be scared. "Joseph, Lillian looks like she's in so much pain. Maybe that's enough?"

Joseph's voice turned cold. "No. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll never learn her place."

He walked over and slapped the psychiatric evaluation papers onto the table in front of me. "Sign them."

I forced my head up and gave him a mocking smile. "In your dreams."

Joseph didn't hesitate. "Shock her again."

The third shock was more than I could take, and everything went black.

When I came to, I was strapped to a hospital bed. The walls were stark white, and the air reeked of disinfectant.

The door opened, and Rebecca walked in alone.

She was wearing a couture dress and carrying a limited-edition bag.