CHAPTER 1: THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T BELONG
The luxury beauty salon smelled of expensive perfume, hot curling irons, and money.
Crystal chandeliers reflected across enormous mirrors while wealthy women sat beneath soft golden lights sipping champagne during thousand-dollar appointments.
Everything inside the salon whispered status.
Perfection.
Control.
Then suddenly—
SNIP.
The sound of scissors slicing through hair shattered the room.
A young woman gasped as long strands of dark hair fell onto the polished marble floor.
Every stylist froze.
Every client turned.
Phones appeared almost instantly.
The girl sat trembling in the salon chair while tears filled her eyes.
Half her hairstyle was gone.
Ruined.
Standing above her was Vanessa Beaumont.
Beautiful.
Rich.
Cruel.
“You don’t get to look like me!” Vanessa screamed.
The salon fell completely silent.
The young woman desperately tried to cover her damaged hair with shaking hands.
“I didn’t do anything,” she whispered through tears.
But nobody moved.
Nobody helped.
Because Vanessa Beaumont was powerful.
The daughter of one of the wealthiest real estate families in the city.
People feared her money more than they respected basic kindness.
Vanessa pointed toward the mirror.
“Check her booking.”
Her voice dripped with contempt.
“Let everyone hear what kind of girl thinks she belongs in this salon.”
The girl lowered her head.
Humiliated.
Broken.
Then something slipped from her lap.
A small white booking card.
It fluttered onto the marble floor.
One stylist bent down nervously and picked it up.
At first she looked annoyed.
Then confused.
Then suddenly terrified.
Vanessa noticed immediately.
“Well?” she demanded.
“Read it.”
But the stylist wasn't looking at the crying girl anymore.
She was staring toward the waiting area.
Toward a man sitting quietly in a dark tailored suit.
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For the first time all afternoon, the stylist's hand began trembling.
And suddenly everyone realized something was very, very wrong.
