Page 1 of Darkest Deception

Prologue

No one should be happy that their parents are dead. And yet, here I am, standing with a masked smile at my father’s funeral.

Rain pours in sheets from heavy, dark clouds, an appropriate accompaniment for the crowd’s sombre expressions and attire. The black suits and modest dresses scattered in front of the church fit in, but the melancholy atmosphere never quite settles properly. The paparazzi are pressed against the metal gate of the church just a couple of feet away from the burial site. Their cameras keep flashing in bright starbursts, shattering the shroud of solemn observance, a news bomb ready to detonate and change everyone’s lives.

My head is bowed, my face partially shielded. My mouth is pinched in sorrow, eyebrows furrowed and shoulders held tight, but all I feel is freedom.

From his clutches, from his ruthlessness, and from the vise grip he had around my throat.

I am breathing.

I am alive.

And I will conquer his empire.

My empire. My rightful empire.

All everyone sees is a daughter mourning her loving father’s death. But my soul is ascending to the highest heavens. I will soar, but then I’ll plummet into the darkest pits of hell right after.

Lying is a sin.

Deception is a sin.

And, in my world, happiness is also a sin.

And I will be committing every single one.

The death of a monster should always be celebrated.

1

Apparently, I have been fired.

I am about to find out exactly why I have been let go when this whole company is supposed to be mine. No one has as much power as me within Glamorous, so the letter in my hand is meaningless.

My footsteps echo down the hallway with each heel-strike against the marble floor as I pass by managers’ offices on the thirtieth floor of the Glamorous building. The faint murmurs of hushed conversations and the shuffling of feet and papers pierce my ears as I pass. My heart pounds, and I brace myself for something big as I stride past everyone to the end of the hallway.

This tall building will be under my name. This is all mine.

All that is left is the announcement.

My younger sister has no interest in Glamorous, too busy with her own fashion line. But these two towers? They are mine. I am about to inherit the empire my father has built, and nothing will stop me.

Not even this piece of paper.

I reach the brown oak door decorated with a golden plate.

Chief Executive Officer.

Under it will be engraved Ambrose Torre. That thought alone has me jittery with happy nerves.

Opening the door to the office, I walk inside, ready to set in place whoever sent me this letter, but I come to a screeching stop.

It’s not the temporary CEO the company assigned, obvious from the lack of grey hair and the missing beer belly.

Rather, a man I have never seen before is in his place. He’s tall and dressed in a midnight-black suit. The double-breasted suit highlights his lean figure and long legs. My gaze catches on his polished shoe, which is casually crossed over his other knee. My eyes glide up his body, and I suck in a sharp breath at the intensity rolling off him.

It feels as if the whole office is holding a breath as our eyes collide.

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