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The silence after the bank call felt heavy, settling over Nora’s apartment like dust after a demolition. Her phone buzzed twice within sixty seconds—automated alerts from subscription services and utilities abruptly bouncing as the frozen card rejected them. She hadn't realized how deeply her entire life was tethered to that single piece of plastic until the umbilical cord was snapped in an instant. / Chapter 1 / 20

Chapter 1 - The First Avalanche

The silence after the bank call felt heavy, settling over Nora’s apartment like dust after a demolition. Her phone buzzed twice within sixty seconds—automated alerts from subscription services and utilities abruptly bouncing as the frozen card rejected them. She hadn't realized how deeply her entire life was tethered to that single piece of plastic until the umbilical cord was snapped in an instant.

Outside, the delivery truck had moved on, replaced by the rhythmic drilling of a construction crew down the block. Nora walked to the full-length mirror in the hallway, staring at her reflection. She looked composed. Her blazer was sharp, her hair was tied back with a tortoiseshell clip, and her posture was rigid. No one looking at her would guess she had just torched a hundred and forty thousand dollars of her own hard-earned capital to stop a parasite she had kicked out six months ago.

Her phone buzzed again, but this time it wasn’t an automated bank notification.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

“Nora? Hey, it’s Liam from Rosecliff. We have a slight emergency with the seating charts for the gala on Saturday. The deposit transaction from your corporate black card just kicked back with a fraud alert. Can you call me back ASAP? We have three hundred VIP guests arriving in four days, and if this isn’t cleared up, the venue locks the gates.”

Nora stared at the screen. A cold, electric thrill shot down her spine.

Saturday.

Three hundred VIP guests.

Rosecliff Estate.

Caleb wasn't just living large on her dime; he was throwing the party of the century. And based on the vendors—Bellamy Event Design, Harbor & Finch Catering, Sterling String Quartet, White Orchid Floral Company—he wasn’t hosting a modest gathering. He was staging a high-society extravaganza.

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The question wasn't what he was celebrating.

The question was who he was pretending to be.

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