Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

The crisis management teams descend six hours before scheduled press conference, six hours before I'm planning to confirm relationship publicly, six hours before honesty replaces lies and professional suicide becomes reality instead of just threat.


Sterling Industries PR team. My personal publicist. Legal counsel. Board representatives. All arriving simultaneously at my penthouse with singular mission: prevent confirmation, maintain denial, protect company image regardless of personal truth.


"You cannot confirm this relationship. Cannot admit to eight months of affair conducted while publicly denying involvement. Cannot provide ammunition to shareholders questioning your judgment and board members questioning your fitness to lead." My lead publicist is emphatic. Urgent. Treating confirmation like corporate disaster instead of personal honesty.


Chapter 163 - Public Denial