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"Kiss the Ugliest Girl in the department." That was the line that shattered my life four years ago.

I stood frozen in the courtyard, the taste of Leonard Saint-Claire’s lips still on mine, while the crowd erupted in cruel laughter. He smiled that lazy, golden-boy smile, treating my humiliation like a cheap party trick. I ran away that night, leaving my dignity in the dust. But I didn’t die. I evolved.

Four years later, I walked back into his world. Not as the fragile girl in the oversized cardigan, but as Noelle Duval, the Creative Director holding the fate of his failing fashion empire in my hands. He didn’t recognize the woman in the tailored silk suit until I dismantled his authority, piece by piece.

"You're stripping back everything I built," Leonard growled, cornering me in the atelier, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination.
"I'm not stripping it," I whispered, stepping into his personal space until he stopped breathing. "I'm correcting it. And you’re just a spectator now."

He thought he could apologize. He thought a rainy night and a confession would fix the cracks. But glass doesn’t heal, Leonard. It cuts. And I was ready to make him bleed.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the duct tape binding my wrists, and the second was that I had been kidnapped by a billionaire mafia boss who grabbed the wrong girl.

I would like to say my first reaction was brave, but it was mostly just panic. I was shoved into a massive stone mansion—the kind with gold columns and chandeliers the size of cars. If I was going to be kidnapped, I honestly expected something a little less... expensive.

I was dragged into a room full of terrifying men in suits. That’s when he walked in. Adrian DeLuca. Tall, broad-shouldered, with intense green eyes and a calmly dangerous physique that made everyone else in the room freeze. He was the CEO of Kidnapping, and annoyingly attractive. He stared at me, his sharp jawline tight, and said calmly, "This isn’t the Viper’s daughter. Who is this?"

I exhaled. "Well, you kidnapped me by mistake. Can I go home now? I have tuition to pay."

But Adrian didn't laugh. He stepped closer, his presence suffocatingly powerful. He had run a background check. "Your mother's maiden name is Volkov," he whispered, his eyes dark with a lethal promise. "The woman we intended to kidnap is the Viper’s daughter... and so are you."

My brain stalled. My absentee father was a ruthless crime lord?

"You are useful to me now," Adrian commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. "You will remain in this house. You will go where I tell you, and you will do what I tell you."

I glared at him. "You don't own me!"

He leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. "I do now."