A Rebirth

A Price To Pay

Chapter 3: A Price to Pay

The threat came in the form of a text message. A photo attached—her and Adrian in bed, tangled in silk sheets, his lips pressed to her neck. The message was simple:

Steal the Diamond Eclipse necklace or this goes public.

Her breath hitched. The necklace belonged to a client of Adrian’s, a piece worth millions. She knew exactly where it was kept. Panic clawed at her chest, but she had no choice. If this got out, Adrian would lose everything. And she… she would be nothing.

The night of the gala, she slipped into his office, her heart hammering. The velvet box sat there, unguarded. It was too easy. But as she turned to leave, the alarm blared.

Guards stormed in. Adrian arrived minutes later, his face a mask of fury as they searched her. And there it was—the necklace, hidden in her clutch.

She had no words. No excuses. The betrayal in his eyes cut deeper than any wound. "Get out," he said, his voice cold, final.

She tried to explain, to beg, but he wouldn’t listen. The disappointment in his eyes was worse than his anger. “I trusted you,” he muttered before turning his back on her.

Tears blurred her vision as she fled into the night, the weight of her choices crashing down on her. She had played a dangerous game.

And she had lost.

With nowhere to go, she wandered the streets, the once-glamorous dress now a symbol of her downfall. The night air bit at her skin, but nothing compared to the hollowness in her chest. She had always been running—from her past, from her pain. And now, she had nowhere left to hide.