Chapter 1

The night before our engagement gala, my fiancé’s childhood best friend told me she had a surprise for the bride.

She lured me to the hotel’s penthouse glass conservatory, locked the heavy doors from the outside, and activated the full industrial sprinkler system.

It was a freezing December night. Ice-cold water rained down on me from above. Surrounded by transparent glass on all four sides, I was trapped in a showcase of misery.

Down below on the terrace, guests raised their phones, recording me as I trembled.

She laughed, looking pure yet utterly vicious.

"Doesn’t Victoria love acting so proud and untouchable? Let's show everyone what she looks like when she's frozen and begging for mercy."

My fiancé, Julian Montgomery, stood down on the terrace. Looking up at me through the pouring mist, his voice was chillingly detached.

"Just make sure she doesn't die."

"A girl from a small town needs to suffer a bit to realize the Montgomery family isn't an easy door to walk through."

Later, I shattered the glass and climbed down from the terrace.

Wiping the blood from my face, I dialed my legal team.

"Notify the board. Divest all capital, freeze the escrow accounts, and cut off all project funding for Montgomery Enterprises first thing tomorrow morning."

"And send tonight’s footage straight to the police."

"Unlawful imprisonment, intentional assault, violation of privacy. Don't leave out a single charge."

The moment the ice-cold water drenched me, the breath was knocked clean out of my lungs.

The conservatory door was locked from the outside. With glass walls on every side, the harsh lights illuminated my humiliation with nowhere to hide.

On the terrace of the banquet hall below, a crowd had gathered.

Holding champagne flutes, they watched as if enjoying a well-orchestrated performance.

Some laughed. Some whistled.

Others raised their phones, zooming in on my soaked, shivering face.

"Now this is wild."

"Julian really knows how to throw a party. Quite the surprise for his bride-to-be the night before the engagement."

"Surprise? Didn't you hear Celeste? It’s a test."

"A test to see if she's worthy of becoming a Montgomery!"

Taunts drifted through the sound of rushing water, cutting straight into my ears.

My fingers clutched the door handle desperately.

It wouldn't budge.

Outside, an electronic padlock glowed with a mocking red light.

Celeste Hayes stood on the other side, wearing an immaculate evening gown, her makeup flawless like a pure gardenia.

Holding a white umbrella, she smiled brightly and shook the remote in her hand at me.

"Victoria, don't look at me like that."

"Everyone just wants to see how much you really love Julian."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the spectators around her to hear.

Another wave of laughter erupted from the crowd.

I wiped the stinging water from my face, my voice shaking with cold. "Celeste, open the door."

She tilted her head, as if she had just heard the funniest joke.

"But the game just started."

"We took bets on how long you can last before begging for help."

She stepped closer, staring at me through the glass.

"Haven't you always claimed to be so independent, so tough, so capable?"

"Prove it to us, then."

Looking at her innocent facade, my heart turned to ice.

Tonight was the eve of my engagement party with Julian Montgomery.

The Montgomery family had booked the entire mountaintop luxury resort. Tomorrow morning, all major business press outlets would arrive.

Julian had told me this was the grand celebration he owed me.

He said I had stayed by his side through Montgomery Enterprises’ hardest three years, helping him rise from an illegitimate son marginalized by the board to the undisputed head of the company.

He said I deserved this title.

For a time, I genuinely thought I was happy.

For this engagement party, I pushed back three critical board meetings and personally verified every guest list and funding transaction.

Yet now, the man who promised me dignity was standing right in the center of the terrace below.

He didn't come up. He didn't order the door opened.

Sheltered beneath the dry awning, Julian stood bathed in warm, elegant light, clad in a crisp black suit, looking on coldly as I shivered under the freezing cascade.

I shouted his name through the glass.

"Julian!"

"Tell her to open the door!"

I thought he would at least frown.

Instead, he casually flicked the ash from his cigarette.

"Victoria, Celeste is just having fun."

"You're older and more mature than her. Don't be so petty."