Chapter 1

For three years, I followed my father’s orders, starting as an intern and working my way up. I turned a failing division into Bennett Group’s most profitable business, doubling its profits and earning the company’s highest performance ranking.

I thought my hard work would finally earn my father’s respect.

Instead, he handed the presidency to Chloe, his adopted daughter, who could barely read a balance sheet.

When I challenged his decision, he called me too ambitious and accused me of threatening the company’s stability. Then he hurled a coffee mug at my head, leaving blood running down my face.

My mother blamed me. My boyfriend rushed to comfort Chloe. And my father threatened to disown me if I walked away.

So I did.

But I wasn’t leaving empty-handed. I had an algorithm that could change everything—and a new opportunity waiting beyond the doors of Bennett Group.

They thought I was nothing without the family empire.

Soon, they would learn what the empire was without me.

****

At an executive meeting, my father, Richard Bennett, announced his decision to the room.

“With the board’s approval, effective immediately, Chloe Bennett will serve as president and chief operating officer of Bennett Group, with full authority over the company’s core operations.”

From my seat among the division heads, I wondered if I had misheard him.

“Dad, is this some kind of joke?”

Three years earlier, I had returned to New York after finishing my degree in London. I wanted to join the family company and lead a team, but my father turned me down flat and insisted that I start as an intern.

“You’re my daughter. If I put you in management the moment you arrive, what will the people who’ve worked here for years think?”

“Prove yourself and earn your promotions. Then I’ll have a real reason to be proud of you.”

I believed him.

I started by making coffee for meetings and organizing files. Then came the all-nighters and one demanding project after another.

For three years, I led an East Coast division that had been on the verge of closing. In my first year, we turned a profit. In my second, we doubled it. By the third, we had become the most profitable division in the company.

Last month, we ranked first in the companywide performance review.

Now my father was putting Chloe in the president’s office.

Chloe was my parents’ adopted daughter.

She had lost her parents as a child and had lived with the Bennetts ever since. My parents believed she had already suffered too much, so they tried to give her whatever she wanted.

Now they were preparing to hand her the entire company.

My father avoided my eyes, his voice low.

“Claire, you’re too ambitious, and you take too many risks. You still need a few more years to learn restraint.”

“Chloe is more easygoing. She isn’t interested in competing with you. For the sake of the company’s stability, she’ll take the position for now.”

I looked at Chloe, who was sitting beside him.

There wasn’t a flicker of surprise on her face. She looked as if the position had always belonged to her.

Whatever hope I had left disappeared.

“She can’t even read a balance sheet. Is this what you call stability?”

“Dad, this makes no sense. Your biological daughter has to start at the bottom, but your adopted daughter gets to walk straight into the executive suite?”

My father’s expression darkened.

I unclipped my employee badge and tossed it onto the conference table.

“Since I’m apparently standing in the way of your so-called stability, I’m done.”

“From now on, pretend you never had a daughter.”

I walked out of the conference room.

Behind me, Chloe lowered her voice.

“Dad, is she angry? If the position means that much to her, you should give it to her. I don’t mind.”

“Don’t say that.”

My father answered without hesitation.

“That position belongs to you. No one is taking it away.”

“Claire has always been like this. If she doesn’t learn to control herself, she’s going to cause serious trouble one day.”

His voice rose as he spoke, and his anger soon spilled into the hallway.

“Claire Bennett, get back in here right now!”

I stopped when I heard employees murmuring nearby.

“Do you know how much money Claire has made for this company over the past three years? The East Coast division used to lose money every year. Now it’s the most profitable division we have.”

“Keep your voice down. Didn’t you see Vice President Victoria Shaw’s face? The chairman has made his position clear.”

“But Claire is his own daughter.”

“So what? Chloe knows how to make people like her. She plays golf with the chairman and never misses a family event. What has Claire done for the past three years besides work?”

My fingers slowly curled into my palms.

They were right.

What had I done for the past three years besides work?

On my father’s birthday, I had been in Boston closing a deal with a client. Chloe had been the one who celebrated with him.

When my mother was hospitalized, I had been putting together a major acquisition proposal. Chloe had visited her every day and brought her meals.

I had missed the company’s annual gala because a project had fallen behind schedule. Chloe had stood onstage and sung my parents’ favorite song, bringing my mother to tears.

Maybe everything that happened today had been set in motion back then.

“Claire, don’t be angry.”

Chloe hurried out of the conference room and came over to me.

Satisfaction flashed briefly in her eyes, but her expression remained earnest.

“I know you’ve never thought I was ready for this, but I can learn. If you really can’t accept my appointment, I’ll step down.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

My father immediately strode out and pulled Chloe behind him.

He pointed at me, his voice shaking with anger.

“Look at how considerate Chloe is. Then look at yourself.”

“All you care about is position and authority. You don’t care about this family at all.”

“Position and authority?”

I laughed, even as a sharp ache spread through my chest.

“Dad, the East Coast division lost money for three consecutive years. I made it profitable in my first year. I doubled its profit in my second. In my third, I turned it into the most important division in the company.”

“And in your eyes, all that proves is that I’m hungry for power.”

“Last year, Chloe misplaced a critical bid package. I worked through the night to fix her mistake.”

Chloe’s face went pale for a moment.

She clutched my father’s sleeve.

“Dad, Claire is right. I did make a mistake on that project.”

“I’m sorry. I disappointed you.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

My father grew even angrier and turned on me.

“Everyone makes mistakes. Chloe is only twenty-five. She needs time to grow.”

I looked at him as my disappointment slowly settled into something colder.

“When I was twenty-five, you sent me to Europe to open a new market on my own.”

“You told me not to come back to New York unless I signed the client.”

“Why is Chloe allowed to learn at her own pace?”

The conference room fell silent.

Several directors who had worked with my father for years exchanged glances. One shook his head. Another sighed.

That was when Victoria spoke.

“Claire, the chairman must have his reasons for making this decision.”

“Chloe may lack experience, but she’s personable and good at bringing people together. That matters in a leadership role.”

Another executive who supported Chloe quickly agreed.

“Exactly. No one denies that Claire is capable, but she can be heavy-handed. Some employees have complained about her management style.”

More voices joined in to defend Chloe.

Then Olivia Reed, the marketing manager, suddenly stood.

“I object.”

Every eye in the room turned toward her.

Olivia was a manager I had personally mentored. Her face was flushed, and her voice trembled with emotion.

“Mr. Chairman, all seventy-eight employees in the East Coast division have signed a petition.”

“If Claire doesn’t receive the position she has earned, we will resign together.”

She pulled a thick stack of papers from her folder and placed it on the conference table.

Every page was covered with signatures.

My father stared at the petition without speaking.

Chloe’s eyes darkened.

Two seconds later, her innocent expression returned.

“Olivia, please don’t do this. This is all my fault.”

“I never should have accepted the appointment.”

She turned to me, her voice pleading.

“Claire, please talk to Olivia. The company can’t afford to lose so many key employees at once.”

“Shut up.”

I looked at Chloe and exposed her performance in front of everyone for the first time.

“You don’t know anything about what this division has been through. What gives you the right to speak for these employees?”

My father’s eyes widened.

“Claire!”