Chapter 25

Vanessa hunched over a cracked Formica table in a rented room, the air thick with the stale scent of cigarettes and regret. The walls peeled at the edges, yellowed by years of neglect, and a single bulb flickered overhead, casting jagged shadows across her face. She’d traded her sleek apartment for this hole after the scandal drained her savings—creditors hounding her, friends vanishing like smoke. The red dress from Derek’s office hung limp on a chair, a taunt of her failed gambit. She’d lost everything, and now she sat with nothing but a laptop and a burning need to make them pay. The screen glowed with the latest headline: “Derek and Elena: The Unstoppable Duo.” She sneered, scrolling past photos of them—smiling at a gala, signing deals, their penthouse a fortress of glass and gold. Her fingers hovered over a picture of Derek, his jaw set, eyes sharp. He’d been hers once—late nights in his old loft, laughter over cheap wine, promises whispered in the dark. She’d thrown it away, chasing fame, and he’d moved on. To Elena. Perfect, poised Elena, who’d stolen her life.