Chapter 1

An Oscar-winning actress’s secret child was kidnapped. To please his childhood bestie, my husband secretly deleted the text message informing me of the last-minute location change.

By the time I rushed to the scene, the first round of negotiations was already over.

Before I could even ask what was going on, my husband went on the attack:

"If it wasn't for Chloe, you wouldn't just have gotten the actress's son killed today—you would’ve gotten all of us killed!"

"Hurry up and thank Chloe! We're counting on her for the rest of this."

I was so angry that I laughed out loud. "Fine! Since you have so much faith in her, I sure hope she doesn’t disappoint you."

My friends all felt sorry for me, thinking I had just lost the biggest payday of my life.

What they didn't know was that the kidnapper, Leo Vance, was a notoriously ruthless criminal. If he weren’t, he would’ve been behind bars years ago.

In all these years, I was the only negotiator who had ever successfully cut a deal with him.

And my husband was about to pay dearly for his choice.

An Oscar-winning actress’s secret child had been kidnapped. Given her privacy and the kid's safety, she chose not to go to the police right away.

Instead, after hearing about my flawless track record, she hired me to handle the hostage negotiations.

The payout was astronomical—plus a luxury villa in the best part of town as a bonus.

It was easily the biggest deal I had ever landed.

Knowing Leo Vance was cunning, calculating, and extremely dangerous, I had drafted dozens of negotiation tactics and psychological scripts.

Yet the night before the meet, while I was in the shower, my husband secretly deleted the text Vance sent changing the meetup spot.

By the time I pieced everything together and scrambled to the location, the first negotiation was already over.

The actress tore up our contract right in front of my face, cussing me out for being an overrated fraud.

"You’re nothing but a coward! You had the guts to take the job, but not the spine to show up! I never should’ve trusted you!"

Something felt completely off. I froze for two seconds, opening my mouth to explain.

Before a sound could come out, my husband walked out of the room.

He pointed a finger at me, accusing: "Sierra, you've gone too far! Do you have any idea how much trouble your running away caused us?"

"If it wasn't for Chloe, you wouldn't just have gotten us killed—you would’ve gotten her son killed, too."

He said it with complete self-righteousness.

If I hadn't already recovered that deleted text, which was sitting clear as day on my phone right now, I might have questioned my own sanity.

Ten-thirty last night. The only people in our penthouse were him and me.

He had deleted that text. A hundred percent.

And now, watching him play the innocent hero, I wanted nothing more than to slap him across the face.

Just as I was about to call him out, he added: "Hurry up and thank Chloe. She’s the one handling the rest of this."

Hearing that, I would have to be an absolute idiot not to realize what was going on.

It suddenly hit me—the day I landed this contract, Chloe was sitting on our couch.

She had said with a smirk, "Must be nice, Sierra. You make millions just by opening your mouth."

I caught the passive-aggressive jealousy in her voice, but I didn't bother wasting my breath on her.

Seeing that I ignored her, she had leaned toward my husband, Logan, putting on her sweetest pout.

"Logan, negotiating hostage deals sounds so thrilling. I really want to try it."

Her intentions couldn't have been more obvious.

Back then, I just laughed it off inside and paid her no mind.

Who would've thought that seconds later, Logan would test the waters:

"Babe, why don't you let Chloe get some hands-on experience? You could mentor her."

I blew my top on the spot and chewed him out.

Logan’s face turned sour, but he didn't dare push back. Chloe, acting like I had personally humiliated her, stormed out in tears.

A matter of life and death, and to them, it was just a game.

It was an insult to my profession, and an insult to me.

Of course I was furious!

Afterward, Logan apologized over and over, admitted he was wrong, and swore he would never interfere with my work again.

I genuinely believed the matter was settled.

Turns out, he had just set a trap waiting for me here.

Furious as I was, reason prevailed. I knew this wasn't the time for a petty argument.

Out of professional duty, I turned around to warn the actress about the real danger of the situation.

Then I saw Chloe standing beside her, looking smug.

"Ms. Campbell, don't worry," Chloe chirped, soaking in the praise. "Tomorrow at eight p.m., as long as we deliver everything we promised, they will release your boy."