ctuation to a life that had spiraled into a nightmare. They said I' d tried to kill him, my own best friend, Liam. A frame job so perfect, so complete, that even I almost believed it. It

se accusations, for every piece of mi

d a six-figure job. And Derek Stone, Chloe' s deadbeat ex-boyfriend, the man I despised, became a tech mogul almost overnight. Their good fortune was a perfect mirror image of my ru

s. An endless

piercing ring

ell. It was the clinkin

not a single flickering bulb, burned my retinas. The air smelled of expensive perfume and hors d'oeu

, holding a champagne flute. I was wearing a tailored black suit, t

ou okay? You look like

rson. She stood before me, radiant in a white dress, her smile as bright and as fake as I now

f the Peterson family mansion, on the very day my

n. The rage, the betrayal, the memory of dying alone on a prison floor, it all chur

, betraying none of the chaos in my mind. "

kling sound that now soun

ooped her arm through mine, her touch making my skin c

s partners, the so-called friends who would later turn their backs on me, who would whisper about

atched me and Chloe. He raised his glass in a mock toast. He looked exactly as I remembered him from that day, a vulture waiting for the kill.

ar and sauntered over, his eye

for those nearby to hear. "Ethan Miller, the struggling artist, final

my fists, a hot spike of anger and insecurity

st smiled. A ca

ational. "It comes and goes. Sometimes, the people who think they ha

ing my face for the familiar weakness, the easy target. He didn

ilent warning. "Derek, be

t want to spoil it." But he kept watching me, a new flicker of some

he shoulder. He was a big man with a booming voice and a

ellowed. "I' ve cleared a spot for you at the head table. Rig

nce spreading through my chest. Now, I knew what that spot

r, more genuine-looking smil

," I said. "I have a feeling my future

k of my rebirth was fading, replaced by a chilling clarity. They thoug

epeat. It was a

it to burn their enti