Chapter 1

Kate's POV

"Alex! Please open the door! PLEASE!"

I pounded frantically on the heavy storage room door, my knuckles already bloody and raw. The basement was pitch black except for the thin sliver of light seeping through the crack under the door.

"I swear to you, I will NEVER betray you! Alex, this is the biggest opportunity I've had in ten years!" My voice was already hoarse, but I couldn't stop.

The clock on the wall mercilessly pointed to 9:45 AM. Fifteen minutes until my partner interview at Morrison & Associates.

Fifteen minutes!

And here I was, locked in my own basement by the husband I loved most.

"I can't take that risk, Kate." Alex's resolute voice came through the door. "Anna has never been wrong. This is for our marriage."

Anna! That damn Anna Cross!

Three hours earlier...

I woke up at 5:30 AM. On my phone screen lay the email that would change my destiny—the final interview notice from Morrison & Associates. Ten years of diligent work, all for this moment.

Million-dollar salary, top-tier New York law firm, Kate Sterling's name about to be carved into the highest building on Wall Street. I had even planned it all out—after getting the partner position, I'd buy Alex that Rolex he'd been dreaming of, we'd move to a bigger house...

But when I walked into the living room, Alex hadn't slept all night, his eyes bloodshot with fear.

"Today's the day that changes our lives, Alex." I said excitedly.

"Kate, I'm worried... Anna said some things last night..."

Anna Cross. That mysterious woman who had moved into the mansion next door a month ago. PhD in psychology, claimed to have prophetic abilities, and worst of all—her predictions were disturbingly accurate.

Last month she predicted old Johnson would have a heart attack, and three days later an ambulance pulled into his driveway. Two weeks ago she predicted Mrs. Miller would discover her husband's affair, and now the Millers were in the middle of divorce proceedings.

Every single prediction came true with nightmare precision.

And now she had set her sights on us.

"Alex! You can't destroy me like this!" I continued pounding on the door, my throat feeling like it was tearing apart. "I'm a professional lawyer, not some naive little girl! I know what's best for my life!"

But silence was my only response.

Last night...

The doorbell rang frantically as Anna stood at our door, clutching that damn crystal ball of hers, candlelight dancing around her like demon eyes.

"Alex! Kate! Emergency!" Her voice was shrill. "I've seen a terrible future!"

Alex practically rushed to open the door. In that moment, I knew my husband had been completely brainwashed by this woman.

Anna burst into the living room, the crystal ball flickering with eerie light: "Kate, you absolutely CANNOT go to that interview! I saw William Morrison, that silver-haired man will tempt you with power and money! You'll get lost in the intoxication of success, and then..."

"Then our marriage will be OVER!" Alex finished, his face pale as death.

"That's impossible!" I was practically screaming. But Anna turned to Alex, her voice becoming sorrowful and manipulative:

"Alex, do you see? Kate is already defending something that hasn't even happened yet. This is the first sign of corruption. To save your marriage, you must stop her from going! Sometimes the deepest love requires the most painful decisions!"

In that instant, something insane and desperate flashed in Alex's eyes.

So this morning, when I was getting ready to leave, he forcibly dragged me to the basement despite my protests.

"It's 9:50!" I cried desperately. "Alex, I'm going to be late!"

But my only response was Alex's muffled sobbing: "I love you, Kate. Because I love you, I can't let you go. Anna's right, success changes people, I can't lose you..."

Ten o'clock sharp. The official start time of the interview.

I completely broke down.

"You don't love me at all!" I roared. "You only love your own possessiveness! Someone who truly loved me would support my dreams, not lock me in a cage!"

Rage made me lose all reason. I pushed over a row of heavy wine racks, trying to make enough noise to get the neighbors' attention.

The oak wine rack crashed down thunderously, hundreds of wine bottles smashing to the floor, glass shards flying everywhere.

Then a heavy iron bracket struck me directly in the head.

The world plunged into blood-red darkness.

When I woke up, it was hell.

Hospital emergency room, 3 PM. Harsh white lights, the smell of disinfectant, and excruciating pain radiating from my head.

I struggled to sit up: "The interview... my interview..."

"Kate! Thank God you're awake!" Alex gripped my hand, his eyes full of tears and guilt.

I pushed him away, trembling as I reached for my phone. My colleague Jennifer had sent a message: Morrison & Associates' interview was over, they had chosen another candidate.

This opportunity would never come again.

"I'm sorry, Kate." Alex choked out. "But this was all for our marriage..."

I felt like the entire world was collapsing. Ten years of effort, ten years of dreams, destroyed just like that.

"Anna was right," Alex continued with those words that made me sick, "success changes people, I couldn't lose you..."

I turned to look at Anna standing in the corner, concern painted on her face, but I caught that flash of satisfaction in her eyes.

"Anna Cross," my voice trembled, "you're happy, aren't you?"

"Kate, I just wanted to protect your love." Anna approached the bed, her voice gentle as a poisonous snake. "Sometimes pain is necessary, but eventually you'll thank me."

I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face.

Not anger, not revenge, just endless despair.

I had lost my dream, and maybe I would lose much more. And the man who was supposed to protect me, support me, was personally pushing me into the abyss.