Chapter 1

My boyfriend’s “one true love”—his precious Carol Laurel—stole highly radioactive material from my home, putting me at risk of a prison sentence.

When I confronted her, she denied everything, playing innocent like it was second nature.

Worse, my boyfriend, Nathan Reed, refused to testify for me, instead doing everything in his power to throw me under the bus.

What neither of them realized, though, was that I worked for a top-secret government research facility.

And the material they stole? It wasn’t just dangerous—it was lethal.

The radioactive material I’d been tasked with transporting was stolen from my apartment overnight.

Nathan, my boyfriend, was out of town at the time. The only other person with a key was Carol—his “close family friend,” though everyone knew that was just a convenient label.

I didn’t hesitate. This wasn’t a situation I could take lightly. I called the police immediately.

When Carol was brought in for questioning, she played the part of the innocent victim perfectly.

“Claire,” she said, her voice trembling, “I know you don’t like me, but accusing me of something like this? That’s just cruel.”

Nathan burst into the room moments later, his face red with anger.

“Claire, are you serious right now?” he snapped. “Carol’s already been through enough because of you. She lost her baby! And now you’re trying to pin this on her?”

Because of me?

I stared at him, stunned by the sheer audacity of his words.

This was the same man I’d caught in bed with Carol just weeks ago. I’d returned early from a work trip to find them lounging together, scrolling through maternity websites and picking out baby items.

I had demanded we break up on the spot, but Nathan refused to let me go.

As for Carol, she disappeared for two days before reappearing, pale and fragile, as though she’d just been through hell.

“Claire,” she’d said softly, tears streaming down her face, “I terminated the pregnancy. Please don’t blame Nathan. It wasn’t his fault—it was mine.”

Her “sacrifice” had driven an even deeper wedge between Nathan and me, turning our fractured relationship into an all-out war.

But now wasn’t the time to hash out personal grievances.

“The missing material,” I told the officers, “is Iridium-192. A highly radioactive source.”

The room shifted instantly. The officer in charge straightened, his expression turning grim.

“That’s an incredibly dangerous substance,” he said. “We need to locate it immediately.”

He turned to the small group in the room, his sharp gaze cutting through the air like a blade.

“If anyone has it, hand it over now. Stealing something like this isn’t just theft—it’s a felony. You’re looking at serious prison time.”

Carol broke down, crying as though the weight of the world had just fallen on her shoulders.

Nathan rushed to her side, his voice trembling with anger. “Carol is a public figure! She’d never risk her reputation by doing something illegal. We have surveillance footage to prove it.”

Carol was an up-and-coming social media influencer who made her living as a product promoter. Her career relied heavily on her public image, so Nathan’s confidence made sense.

But something about his tone put me on edge.

We had a security camera in the hallway outside my apartment, installed for safety reasons.

When the footage was reviewed, my stomach dropped.

The video only showed me entering and leaving the apartment. There wasn’t a single trace of Carol—or anyone else, for that matter.

“This can’t be right,” I said, my voice faltering.

But Nathan and Carol exchanged a knowing glance, their expressions smug.

That’s when it hit me.

This was a setup.

They had tampered with the footage.

Nathan stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger at me. His voice was loud, filled with righteous indignation.

“It was you,” he declared. “You staged this whole thing. You stole it yourself and are trying to frame Carol!”

The same hands that had once held me, that had promised me love and loyalty, were now pointing at me like I was a criminal.

I locked eyes with him, my voice calm but firm.

“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”

If I was charged with theft, I’d be looking at years behind bars.

Was his hatred for me really that deep?