Chapter 1When my stepsister Jade and I both got caught in an avalanche, the rescue team finally reached us.
But there was only one stretcher. Only room for one person to make it down.
My father grabbed my hand, his grip tight.
"Vivian, sweetheart, you know Jade's always been delicate. Be a good girl and let her go first. Just wait here—the next team will be here soon."
In my past life, I believed him. I gave Jade my chance to survive.
But then the storm picked back up. The rescue was called off. And I froze to death on that mountain.
Meanwhile, Jade inherited everything I owned.
She and my fiancé—who she'd been sleeping with behind my back all along—lived happily ever after on my fortune.
My spirit hovered above my own memorial service, and I heard my father tell the guests:
"That girl was always so difficult. At least dying to save Jade gave her life some meaning."
When I woke up again, I was back at that exact moment—my father's hand gripping mine on the frozen slope.
This time, I nodded through my tears and gently helped Jade onto the stretcher myself.
They want a sacrifice? Well. I'll get them one. Just not the one they planned.
...
The storm was picking up fast. Within seconds, the rescue team vanished into a wall of white.
I dragged my ass through the snow, every muscle screaming in protest.
Finally, I found a slope sheltered from the wind and carved out a makeshift snow cave, cramming myself inside and curling into a ball.
Cut off from the howling wind, my body temperature slowly started climbing back up.
I fished the satellite phone out of my inner jacket pocket and powered it on.
The screen lit up, casting an eerie glow on my ghostly white face.
Full bars.
I dialed. He picked up on the first ring.
"Well, look who it is. Finally grace me with a call, your highness? Thought you were off conquering Everest without us peasants cramping your style."
Zeke. My ride-or-die from back in my extreme sports days.
An absolute maniac who'd choose life over a paycheck any day—and who didn't give a damn about anyone except me.
"Zeke," I said quietly. "I'm stuck in an avalanche zone."
Dead silence.
Then—CRASH—a chair hitting the floor, followed by his voice exploding through the speaker.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! Viv, where are you?!"
"Chill." I rattled off my coordinates, my voice flat and cold. "I'm okay for now. But I need you to pull me out."
"What about search and rescue?"
"They airlifted Jade out." I might as well have been reading off a grocery list. "Dad told me to wait my turn."
Beat.
Zeke knew exactly what kind of circus my family was.
"Wait your turn? Wait your fucking turn?! Like hell you will!"
He was losing it now.
"I checked the forecast—there's a monster blizzard rolling in within twelve hours. They'll ground everything. No flights, no rescues, nothing!
"He's basically signing your death warrant!"
"Yeah," I said flatly. "I know."
"Sit tight, Viv. I don't care if I have to steal a goddamn helicopter—I'm getting you off that mountain."
Call ended.
I slumped against the icy wall and closed my eyes, rationing what little energy I had left.
Meanwhile, down in civilization? Oh, I knew what was happening.
My devoted father was probably standing in front of a news crew right now, playing the heartbroken dad forced to be brave after "losing" his beloved daughter.
And my sweet, fragile stepsister?
Definitely tucked into some luxury hospital suite, soaking up five-star medical treatment while everyone fawned over her with sympathy.
Oh, and my fiancé?
Yeah. He was probably right there at her bedside, holding her delicate little hand, murmuring that none of this was her fault.
Because that's EXACTLY how it played out last time.
Bored out of my mind, I opened the satellite phone's browser.
The signal crawled, but it was just enough to load a few headlines.
"Heroic sister: Heiress Missing After Avalanche While Saving Stepsister"
"Sisterly Love Moves Nation: Vivian Montgomery Sacrifices Herself to Save Stepsister"
"Devastated Father Vows: 'We Won't Stop Searching'"
I almost laughed.
"Heroic sister." "Sisterly love."
Whoever wrote this garbage deserved an award for creative fiction.
I clicked on one article. The photo made my stomach turn.
There was Dad—red-rimmed eyes, looking like death warmed over, practically collapsing into his assistant's arms.
Jade was propped up in a hospital bed, pale as a ghost, IV in her arm.
And my darling fiancé? Perched on the edge of her bed, carefully peeling an apple for her.
What a touching tableau. Father and daughter. Star-crossed lovers.
I saved the photo. Then shut the damn thing off.
Time dragged.
I wrapped myself tighter in the emergency blanket, curling into the smallest ball possible.
Even with the cave blocking the wind, the cold burrowed deep into my bones.
I lost track of how long I'd been sitting there when the satellite phone finally buzzed again.
Zeke.
"Viv, you there? We're in the mountain range now. Can't land the chopper—we're hiking up. Just hold on a little longer, okay?"
"Relax. I'm not dying yet." I licked my cracked lips. "Do me a favor though."
"Shoot."
"Check flight records in and out of Manhattan over the past week. See if there's a passenger named Julian Bradford."
Julian Bradford. My CHARMING fiancé.
In my past life, I didn't find out until after I was dead—he'd been screwing Jade the entire time.
This whole "arranged engagement" thing? Just a scam. The three of them plotting together to swallow up everything my mother left me.
He played the perfect fiancé to my face. Behind my back? He and Jade were inseparable.
Zeke went quiet for a second. Then I heard furious typing.
"Got it. He flew back from Paris three days ago. First class."
Three days ago.
The day before the avalanche.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
So that's how it is.
Couldn't even wait, huh?
Chapter 2
"Zeke, one more thing." My voice was ice-cold.
"Get photos of Julian and Jade together in that hospital room. Then send them to every gossip site in Manhattan. Anonymously."
I paused.
"Subject line: 'Heiress Still Missing, Fiancé Already Cozy with Stepsister in Hospital Suite.'"
Zeke let out a low whistle.
"Damn. Remind me never to cross you."
"Finally playing dirty, huh? About time. Those bastards deserve it."
"This is just the appetizer," I said quietly.
After hanging up, I forced down the last energy bar. I needed to conserve my strength.
The real fight was waiting for me below.
---
Eventually, darkness swallowed everything. Inside the snow cave, I couldn't see my own hand.
Just when my body started shutting down, I heard it—boots crunching through snow, voices cutting through the wind.
"Vivian!"
"Miss Montgomery!"
Zeke and his people!
I summoned every ounce of strength left and dragged myself out of the cave.
Through the blizzard, I spotted them—figures moving toward me with flashlights cutting through the white.
Zeke was leading the pack.
The second he saw me, he rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Holy shit, you're actually alive!"
His voice shook.
I patted his shoulder weakly. "Told you I wouldn't die."
"Yeah, yeah. Save the tough talk. Let's get the hell out of here before we all turn into popsicles."
Immediately, one of his guys threw a heavy parka over my shoulders. Another handed me a thermos.
Hot coffee burned down my throat. First real warmth I'd felt in hours.
---
The climb down was brutal.
Zeke's team strapped me into a harness and kept me sandwiched between them for safety.
Even then, I nearly slipped and fell more times than I could count.
"Vivian, hold ON!" Zeke yelled over his shoulder.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep moving, one step at a time.
I couldn't die here.
Not before I got to watch my loving father and darling sister go down in flames.
---
After what felt like an eternity, we finally made it to base camp.
Instead of heading to the main rescue site, Zeke steered me around back where a black SUV sat waiting in the shadows.
"Get in. We'll sort everything out once we're back in the city."
The heat slammed into me the second I climbed inside. My frozen muscles started to unthaw.
Zeke pulled a first aid kit from the back and started checking me over.
"Could be worse," he muttered while wrapping gauze around my fingers. "Frostbite, exhaustion, some cuts. Nothing life-threatening."
As he worked, he kept up a steady stream of curses under his breath.
"Richard Montgomery, that son of a bitch—when we get back, I'm gonna have someone break both his legs!"
"Don't." I caught his wrist. "Assault lands you in prison. I want him destroyed in ways that hurt way worse than broken bones."
Zeke went still and stared at me.
"Viv... you're different."
"Yeah, well." I leaned back against the seat, exhausted. "Dying has a way of changing you."
---
The SUV tore through the night, mile after mile, until finally the city lights blazed into view.
Zeke brought me straight to a penthouse suite at the Waldorf in Midtown.
"Stay here for now. Whatever you do, don't go home. That place is a viper's nest."
I didn't argue.
"What about my dad—"
"Already handled," he cut me off. "Got people watching him round the clock. He breathes wrong, I'll know."
Then Zeke tossed me a brand new phone.
"Your number's already ported over. Anything comes up, call me immediately."
---
I took a long, scalding shower and changed into clean clothes. Finally felt like a human being again.
Standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows, I stared out at the glittering Manhattan skyline. Inside, though, I felt nothing but cold emptiness.
After Mom died, I'd completely fallen apart. The depression nearly killed me.
Dad and Jade were the ones who "saved" me—wrapped me up in all that warmth, all that concern, all that picture-perfect family love.
But now I understood the truth. They never wanted to save me.
They just needed me alive long enough to slowly bleed my inheritance dry.
My phone buzzed. A text from Zeke.
[Photos sent. All the outlets bit. Tomorrow morning's gonna be a circus.]
I typed back: [Perfect.]
Then I scrolled through my contacts and dialed another number.
Uncle Chen. Mom's lawyer. The only person she'd ever truly trusted.
"Uncle Chen. It's me, Vivian."
A sharp intake of breath on the other end.
"Vivian? But I thought—weren't you stuck on that mountain—"
"I made it back," I said evenly. "And I need your help with something. I need a complete inventory of everything Mom left me—every stock, every account, every single asset. After that, I need you to draft an emergency freeze on all of it."
Long silence.
"Vivian... what's going on?"
I stared at my pale reflection in the dark glass.
"Someone just tried to leave me for DEAD on that mountain," I said quietly. "And now they're coming for everything Mom left me."
Chapter 3
The next morning, my phone went off like a bomb.
Notifications flooded the screen, one after another, until I could barely see straight.
**#MontgomeryHeiressFiancéCaughtCheating**
**#HighSocietyScandal: Was It Murder?**
**#JadeMontgomeryExposed: Victim or Manipulator?**
The media had plastered yesterday's cozy hospital photo right next to my headline.
The irony was chef's kiss.
And the comments section? Absolute chaos.
*"Wait, WHAT? Vivian's still missing and these two are already hooking up?"*
*"I KNEW Jade looked sketchy. Total fake bitch vibes."*
*"Poor Vivian. She literally sacrificed herself to save a snake."*
*"And the fiancé's no better. His girl's not even COLD yet and he's moved on? Disgusting."*
Just like that, public opinion flipped overnight.
Jade and Julian—yesterday's tragic heroes—were now getting absolutely torn apart online.
I smiled.
This was only step one.
---
A few hours later, Montgomery Group scrambled to issue an emergency statement.
In it, my father condemned the "vicious slander" from "unethical media outlets" and threatened legal action against anyone spreading "baseless rumors."
Then he announced a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. at Montgomery Tower to "set the record straight once and for all."
I texted Zeke immediately.
[3 PM. Montgomery Tower. I need you to set up my grand entrance.]
His reply came back instantly.
[Say less. It's gonna be EPIC.]
---
By 2:50 p.m., the plaza outside Montgomery Tower was already swarming with reporters.
I sat in the back of Zeke's SUV, sunglasses and mask firmly in place, watching the feeding frenzy unfold through tinted windows.
"Everything's set," Zeke said, glancing back at me. "You'll slip in through the side entrance. My guy will get you backstage without anyone spotting you."
"Perfect."
At exactly 3 p.m., the press conference began.
I stood backstage, watching the whole thing unfold on a monitor.
Three people sat at the long table in front of a wall of cameras.
My father, Richard Montgomery, sat front and center—looking haggard, grief-stricken, every inch the devastated parent.
Jade and Julian flanked him on either side, both with their heads bowed in perfect synchronized misery.
Dad leaned forward into the microphone, his voice thick with emotion.
"First, I want to thank all of you for coming during this incredibly difficult time."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"The lies circulating online have caused my family immeasurable pain. My daughter Vivian remains missing—her fate still unknown—and yet, instead of support, we've been met with vicious attacks on my other daughter, Jade, and my future son-in-law, Julian."
Another pause. Perfectly timed.
"Jade and Vivian grew up together. They were inseparable. Vivian risked her LIFE to save Jade on that mountain. And now? Jade blames herself more than anyone. She's barely eaten. Barely slept. She's only holding on by sheer willpower."
His voice wavered just slightly.
"As for Julian—he and Vivian were like family. The MOMENT he heard what happened, he dropped everything and flew back from abroad. He's been at the hospital around the clock, taking care of Jade because that's what Vivian would have wanted. He's been there because Jade needs to survive—for Vivian's sake."
Then came the crescendo.
"What they share is pure, familial love. And yet these VULTURES have twisted it into something filthy and disgusting."
He looked straight into the camera, eyes blazing with righteous anger.
"I have to ask—do any of you even have a CONSCIENCE?"
The performance was flawless.
Several of the female reporters were already tearing up.
Then it was Jade's turn.
She reached for the microphone with trembling hands, her eyes red and puffy.
"I'm so sorry...This is all my fault. If Vivian hadn't tried to save me, she wouldn't have—"
She couldn't finish. She pressed both hands over her face, shoulders shaking with sobs.
Right on cue, Julian leaned over and gently took her hand in his.
"Jade, don't," he murmured softly. "None of this is your fault."
Then he lifted his head and looked directly into the cameras, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Jade and I are INNOCENT. And I truly believe—wherever Vivian is right now—she wouldn't want to see us destroyed like this."
God, the ACTING.
I stood there watching them through the monitor, and my smile grew colder with every passing second.
Alright then.
Show's over.
Time for MY entrance.
I pulled out my phone and sent Zeke the signal.
Let's deliver my little gift.
