CHAPTER ONE

SIENNA’S POV

I stood near the giant glass windows of Kane International’s grand hall, trying to catch my breath. My feet felt like they were on fire inside my high heels, and my back ached from standing straight for six hours straight. 

For three whole weeks, I had barely slept. I checked every single flower arrangement, tasted every single bite of food, and checked off every single name on the guest list. Our family event business was hanging on by a thread. If this one night went wrong, we would lose everything.

Around me, rich people in sparkly dresses and expensive suits laughed loudly. They held glasses of champagne and looked down at me like I was just a piece of furniture.

 A woman in a red silk dress walked past me, dropped her empty glass right on the floor near my feet, and snapped, "Pick that up, will you? And get me another glass of sparkling water."

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. "I am the event planner, not a waitress," I said politely, forcing a smile that felt like glass.

She just rolled her eyes and walked away without even saying sorry. That was how everyone here treated me. To them, I was just a hired worker, a nobody trying to sneak into a world I did not belong in.

I looked across the room and saw the main reason I was so nervous. Dominic Kane.

He stood near the stage talking to some important businessmen. He was tall, with sharp dark hair and a face that always looked angry or bored. He wore a dark tuxedo that probably cost more than my family's old car. 

Dominic Kane was a billionaire who owned half the city, and everyone was terrified of him—including me. He was the one who hired our small family business, mostly because his usual big-shot planners were busy, but he made it very clear he expected absolute perfection.

"Everything is going to be fine, Sienna," I whispered to myself, rubbing my sweaty palms on my skirt. "Just a few more hours, and you can go home and sleep for a week."

Then, the music stopped.

At first, it was just a small sound. A gasp near the main dining tables. Then someone dropped a plate, and it shattered loudly against the marble floor.

I turned around quickly. A man sitting near the front of the room was holding his stomach, his face turning pale green. He leaned over and threw up right onto the white tablecloth. People screamed. Chairs scraped loudly against the floor as guests jumped backward in shock.

Panic spread through the ballroom like a wild fire.

"What is happening?" a woman shrieked, running toward the exit.

Within seconds, three more VIP guests started coughing and holding their stomachs. One of them slid out of his chair and hit the floor. The room turned into total chaos. People were running, shouting, and pushing each other to get to the doors. My heart jumped straight up into my throat. Cold sweat broke out all over my arms.

No, no, no, my brain screamed. Not now. Please, not now.

Before I could even take a step toward the sick guests to help, the crowd parted. Heavy, angry footsteps echoed across the marble floor.

Dominic Kane was walking straight toward me.

His face was dark and twisted with pure rage. His eyes looked like daggers ready to cut me into pieces. The whole room seemed to go quiet as people watched him storm over, sensing a massive explosion.

"Sienna!" he roared, his voice booming over the noise of the panicked guests.

I froze. I could not move my legs. My mouth went completely dry.

He stopped right in front of me, towering over me. He was breathing heavily, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were stark white.

"Do you want to explain to me what the hell is going on here?" Dominic demanded, pointing an angry finger back at the sick guests on the floor. "People are poisoned! At my event! Under my roof!"

"Mr. Kane, I—I don't know," I stammered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely get the words out. "I checked everything. The catering team promised me all the food was fresh and safe—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Dominic shouted right in my face, not caring that everyone in the room was staring at us. "Look at my guests! Look at the damage this is going to do to my company's name! You let this happen!"

"I didn't let anything happen!" I said, my voice rising a little bit as fear started to turn into anger. "I worked day and night for this! I personally checked the kitchen arrangements this afternoon! Something must have changed behind my back!"

"Shut up!" Dominic yelled, cutting me off coldly. His eyes glared down at me with pure disgust. "You are completely incompetent. A blind amateur could have done a better job than you."

He took a step closer, leaning down so only I could hear his next cruel words, though the venom in them felt loud enough for the whole world to hear.

"People like you," Dominic sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance, "should know better than to think you actually belong in a room like this. You are out of your depth. You always were."

Those words hit me right in the chest like a physical punch.

For weeks, I had taken their rude stares. I had swallowed their insults. I had worked myself to the bone, trying to prove that my family was good enough, that I was good enough. And here he was, treating me like dirt just because he had money and power.

Something inside me just snapped. The fear inside me vanished, replaced by a hot, burning fire.

I stopped shaking. I stood up as straight as I could, lifted my chin, and looked right back into his angry eyes.

"Having money," I said clearly, my voice ringing out loud and steady across the massive room, "does not automatically make you right."

The moment the words left my mouth, the noise in the ballroom completely died.

It was like someone had hit a mute button on the entire world. The waiters stopped moving. The panicked guests stopped screaming. Even the people holding their stomachs paused and looked over at us. Complete and total silence filled the air.

Dominic froze.

He stared at me, his eyes wide with shock. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. He looked at me the exact same way a king would look if a tiny ant suddenly stood up and punched him in the nose. 

Nobody had ever talked back to Dominic Kane before. Nobody had ever dared to challenge him in public, let alone a tired, broke event planner.

My heart was beating like a drum, but I didn't look away. I held my ground.

I looked down at the expensive clipboard in my hand, the symbol of all the stress and misery I had put myself through for the past month. I opened my fingers, let go of it, and let it drop onto the floor with a loud clatter.

I turned around, leaving Dominic Kane standing there frozen in shock.

I walked away from the stage, past the staring guests, and straight toward the grand double doors of the exit. My face burned with humiliation, but deep down inside my chest, a fierce strength was growing. 

I lifted my head high, walked out into the cool night air, and made a solemn promise to myself never, ever to work for Dominic Kane again.