Chapter 1
My name is Amber Summers. Damien Blackwell and I grew up together in a psychiatric ward—childhood sweethearts, if you could call it that.
In our circles, people said the Blackwell family had produced a king and queen of the underworld. No one dared cross either of us.
"Amber, we're demons who crawled out of hell. We should hold each other close and keep each other warm. Neither of us gets to leave."
On Damien's birthday, I delivered the final piece of his empire—the deal that completed everything he'd been building toward.
What I got in return was the news that our twin sons had been killed in a car accident.
The driver had been drunk. He fled the scene.
On the eve of the trial, Damien set off fireworks across the entire city to celebrate his "recovery." He stood before me, holding the hand of a pregnant girl.
"Joy is the only light in my life. She's the one who saved me. This matter ends here. Stop making a scene."
My eyes were bloodshot. "Damien—they were your sons too."
His voice was flat, almost bored. "The boys are dead. But you still have me. You're still Mrs. Blackwell. We can have more children.
But Joy—her father is the only family she has left in this world."
He didn't give me a chance to argue. He held out a settlement agreement.
"Amber. Be good. This ends now."
I stared at the document in my hands, then at him. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"You want me to settle—with the man who killed our children?"
"Amber, do you remember when the Starfire Syndicate ambushed me? Joy took three knife wounds shielding me. She's the reason I survived.
Her father is the only person she has. I owe her this. You're my wife—you should know better."
I tore the settlement agreement to shreds.
"Damien Blackwell—those were your own sons! Do you even hear yourself?"
"Amber, it was an accident. Joy's father didn't mean to—"
"An accident?" My voice cracked. "Our boys had fractures in every bone in their bodies. The autopsy report stated—in black and white—that they were run over repeatedly before they died. And you're telling me it was an accident?
And that ambush by the Starfire Syndicate—that was clearly—"
Before I could finish, Joy Quinn dropped to her knees in front of me, tears streaming down her face.
"I know this is my father's fault. I know. But he's the only family I have in this world—please, I'm begging you, let him go.
I know you're angry. If someone has to pay for your children's lives with their own—let it be me."
"Fine. I'll grant your wish."
I raised my gun and placed my finger on the trigger.
"Enough!"
Damien threw himself in front of Joy and wrenched the gun from my hand.
"Have I been too lenient with you, Amber? Is that the problem?"
At his signal, bodyguards swarmed in and pinned me down.
Damien lifted Joy into his arms with exaggerated care, then glanced back at me. His eyes held nothing.
"Joy is innocent. She saved my life. I will not allow anyone to harm her. I've already taken care of the prosecutors, the judges—everyone who matters. My name on that settlement carries the same legal weight as yours. There's nothing left for you to fight. My wife is unwell. Take her back to the old estate. She is not to leave without my permission."
*****
I was confined to the Blackwell family's old manor.
Each season's latest designer collections arrived at my door on schedule. The finest jewelry from every luxury house was still mine for the choosing. On the surface, nothing had changed.
"Ma'am, maybe you should just... give in a little? We can all see it—you're the one he truly cares about."
The young guard at my door tried his best to reason with me, his voice earnest and pleading.
