Page 1 of Money Reigns

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Chapter one

War

The stain is long gone.

But I still see the blood.

Fresh hardwood stretches beneath my shoes, rich, dark, expensive. A stark contrast to the old floors, back when this place was all chipped wood and splinters, rust and rot.

Before Iboughtit.

Before Iremadeit.

Before Itriedto erase it.

I thought money could sand down the past.

But I remember exactly where he fell.

Noah landed just there. Four stories down.

It was fast.

Final.

But the sound—

The sound still echoes. Not the crash of glass or the scream. Just the sick, wet thud of a body giving up against concrete.

That’s what I remember most.

We were just kids.Thirteen.All sharp edges and stupid dares.

But Noah didn’t get a funeral without cameras. I didn’t get to breakdown without headlines.

It wasmyname they splattered across every screen.

The golden boy turned grim tragedy.

The headlines didn’t say “grief.” They said“guilt.”

Shame curled around me like smoke.

I never even got to mourn him.

Just got battered and branded.

The Killer Prince.

I shake it off. Doesn’t matter now.

I stand in the same spot we used to dare each other to reach. Back when the windows were cracked and we were stupid and alive and thought nothing could touch us.

I was supposed to go first.

I said I’d go first.

But Noah beat me to it.

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