The Mauve City skyline shimmered under the late-night moonlight, a deceptively serene blanket over a world about to unravel for Jocelyn White. A pounding headache, a souvenir of two unexpected glasses of wine, brought her groggily awake in a familiar hotel suite. It was the same hotel hosting Lily White's jewelry competition gala, an event Jocelyn had tried to endure.

A faint murmur from the adjacent suite drew her attention. She slid off the bed, her bare feet silent on the plush carpet, and approached the slightly ajar door. As she reached out to push it open, a scene unfolded within the narrow gap, freezing her hand in mid-air.

A woman, her blonde, wavy hair spilling over a fair shoulder, was wrapped intimately around Howard Jung, Jocelyn's boyfriend. The woman's back was to Jocelyn, but her voice, syrupy and possessive, sliced through the air. “Howard, how do you find me?” she purred.

Howard's response, breathless and utterly adoring, was a dagger to Jocelyn's heart. “Amazing… You’re simply amazing!”

Then, the woman chuckled, a sound Jocelyn knew all too well, a sound that now filled her with icy dread. It was Lily White, her stepsister. Lily’s next words confirmed Jocelyn’s worst fears, pulling back the curtain on years of insidious betrayal.