Something was… off today.

Usually, she wasn’t very smart.

Usually, I had her wrapped around my finger like a silk ribbon. Obedient. Predictable. Easy to manipulate.

But today?

Today, she was… different.

She hadn’t cried. She hadn’t screamed.

She hadn’t begged for answers.

Instead, she had been calm. Composed. Too composed.

That unsettled me.

Especially now—watching her move across the dance floor in the arms of him.

Dominic.

Of all people.

The second richest man in the room. The only man Christian actually feared. His so-called best friend.

What a joke.

Christian hated Dominic—because Dominic was everything Christian pretended to be.

A self-made billionaire. Charismatic. Ruthless. And worst of all… respected.

Christian could never compete.

And now, his bride—our little pawn—was dancing in Dominic’s arms, looking like she meant it.

That was not part of the plan.

We had spent years working toward this. Years of molding her, making her believe we were her friends. Her safety nets. Her family.

Mary was going to be our golden key—to her father’s fortune, to the empire. And if Christian had to marry her for a few months to make that happen, so be it.

She was supposed to follow the plan. Whether she liked it or not.

That's why something was very… off today.

Usually, Mary wasn’t very smart.

Sweet? Yes.

Trusting? Always.

But smart?

Never.

I had her under my thumb for years. She told me everything. She never questioned me. But today... today she was acting out of place. Too calm. Too confident. Too unlike herself.

And I didn’t like it.

Especially not now—watching her laugh and sway in the arms of him.

Dominic.

Let’s be honest he was, Christian’s biggest threat.

Christian and Dominic wore the masks of best friends, but Christian hated that man with every breath. Dominic had earned his empire. Built it from nothing. Unlike Christian, who had to beg, steal, and sleep his way into power. With my help, of course.

But Mary... she was never supposed to be dancing with Dominic. She was supposed to be helpless. Obedient. Predictable.

I watched them from across the room, my stomach twisting.

Because if Mary was getting smart… it would become a problem. A very serious one.

It had taken me years—my whole life—to maneuver myself into this family.

And no one knew what I had to crawl through to get here.

My mother had been the architect of this plan. A tired, overworked secretary who fell in love with a worthless drunk and had a daughter—me. Bethany.

We had nothing.

While Mary was born into silk sheets and silver spoons.

Mary had everything.

Everything I ever wanted.

Everything I was told I didn’t deserve.

But I learned early: if I couldn’t have her life… I’d take it.

I smiled in her face. Played the best friend role to perfection.But deep down?

I coveted every damn thing she owned.

Her home.

Her laugh.

Her father’s attention.

Yes, even her creepy, perverted father.

The man who had a taste for younger women—something I used to my advantage. If I couldn’t be his daughter, I’d be his obsession. I knew how to control men like him. I had learned from the worst. Then there was Christian.

Handsome. Ruthless. Easy to mold.

Together, we planned to use Mary to gain access to everything. Her family. Her company. Her legacy. But the key to taking everything Mary had… was becoming her. And that had always been the plan.

Which is why her getting smart—her thinking for herself—was unacceptable.

She couldn’t be allowed to win.

So I would smile. I would hug her. I would play my part.

But slowly—very slowly—I would infiltrate every part of her life.

Until her entire world fell into my lap like a plate of gold. And when the time came to eliminate her?

I would do it with a smile.

So when I saw her smiling up at Dominic like she wasn’t being devoured from the inside, I moved. Quickly. Directly.

I strode across the floor, all silk and confidence, and broke between them like a blade sliding through velvet.

“Um, can I steal the bride for a moment?” I asked sweetly. “Just need a quick word with my dearest friend. You don’t mind, do you, Dominic? She is supposed to be with her husband tonight, after all.”

Dominic turned his gaze to me, slow and cutting.Then he smiled.

A lazy, dangerous smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.“I’ve never liked you,” he said flatly.

I blinked. “Excuse you?”

He leaned in, his voice still polite but laced with venom. “You’re excused.”

And then—like it meant nothing—he took my hand…

And kissed it.

I flinched, pulling away instinctively. “What the hell was that?”

He just smiled again, already turning back to Mary.

But her eyes…

Her eyes didn’t look like Mary anymore.

And that was a problem.