Chapter 2

I had just reached the top of the stairs when my adoptive father's voice called out from behind me.

"Wait, Ava."

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"You can't just walk away," Richard said. I could hear the calculation in his voice. "Chloe lacks experience. You'll need to be her second chair."

Second chair?

I turned and stared at his hypocritical face.

"The two of you, working together. Sisters, joining forces for the glory of the Miller name," he said, his eyes shrewd. "The press will eat that up."

A touching story?

More like a perfect plan to find a scapegoat.

If the case was won, the credit would go to Chloe's "natural talent." If it was lost, the blame would fall on my "failure to supervise."

"And..." he paused. "This also ensures we don't leave anything to chance."

Liam immediately nodded. "He's right, Ava. Your experience combined with Chloe's innovative thinking—it's a guaranteed win!"

Chloe clung to his arm, her eyes full of hope. "Sister, can we work together? I'll be really good, I promise!"

Good?

She said the same thing in my past life, then fell asleep in court.

I looked at their hopeful faces, my heart turning to ice.

"Okay."

Richard's expression instantly relaxed, and he even managed a rare smile.

"Good. That's the daughter I raised." He patted my shoulder. "I'll treat you and Chloe equally. No favoritism."

Equally?

In twenty years, when had he ever treated me equally?

"This is great!" Chloe cheered, jumping up and down. "Are we going to see the client now? I have to go do an energy cleanse first!"

She ran upstairs towards her meditation room. Liam followed, muttering something about "staying positive."

An hour later, I was standing outside the Miller & Associates building.

The Manhattan sun was blinding. The streets were a blur of people and traffic.

Liam's silver Porsche pulled up to the curb.

I opened the passenger door and froze.

On the black leather seat was a new, custom pink cushion embroidered with the diamond-studded initials "C.M."

"What's this?" I asked, pointing at the garish thing.

Liam rubbed his nose, looking awkward. "Chloe said her energy field is sensitive and she needs this to stay balanced... Don't mind it, it's just a cushion."

Just a cushion?

We were engaged for three years, and there was never a single thing of mine in this seat.

She's been back for less than a month, and she's already marking her territory.

"I'll sit in the back."

"No, it's fine, I'll have Chloe sit in the back," Liam said quickly.

"No need." I pulled open the rear door. "The passenger seat is hers now."

Twenty minutes later, Chloe finally arrived.

She wore a white dress, wrists stacked with crystal bracelets, and a massive amethyst pendant hanging from her neck.

"Sorry, I was just cleansing today's negative energy," she said, sliding into the passenger seat and settling onto her pink cushion. "Damon Blackwood's aura is so aggressive, I had to prepare myself."

Liam started the car. "It's okay, babe. Good things take time."

Babe?

From the back seat, I watched the show with cold eyes. He had never once called me that.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the Blackwood Group's headquarters.

The fifty-story skyscraper pierced the clouds, its glass facade reflecting the harsh sunlight.

The elevator shot up to the top floor.

Damon Blackwood was already waiting for us in the conference room.

His deep, cold eyes swept over Liam and me before landing on Chloe.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Liam gave a slight bow.

"Mr. Blackwood, this is the lead attorney our firm has assigned to you, Chloe Miller!"

Damon's face was blank as he extended his hand halfway.

Chloe jerked back.

"I can feel a negative energy field of stress coming from you. To keep my own energy pure, I can't have physical contact with strangers!"

The air in the room froze. His assistant, standing by the door, looked like he'd swallowed a fly.

The color drained from Liam's face. He scrambled to smooth things over.

"Mr. Blackwood, I'm so sorry, Chloe is... she's naturally highly sensitive to emotional energy. She was just joking!"

Damon slowly retracted his hand, his expression unreadable.

But the temperature in the conference room dropped ten degrees.

I stood silently to the side, just watching.

The rumor on Wall Street was that he built his empire with Mafia money.

This was not a man who played games with wellness gurus.

Feeling Damon's hostile gaze, Liam pushed on.

"Chloe is the jewel of the Miller family. She can be a bit eccentric, but she's a genius from Yale Law, graduated with highest honors!"

Chloe propped her chin on her hands, leaning across the conference table and batting her eyelashes at him.

"Mr. Blackwood, I've looked at your case. It's super simple!"

"The other side's energy field is very dark, but I'll defeat them with love and light and make them feel the judgment of the universe!"

Damon frowned and turned to me.

"Ava, you were the one handling my case."

"And you're sure this… woman… can handle my case?"