DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE

PROLOGUE

Choose, Mrs. Rodriguez."

The voice was slick—too slick—coated in arrogance and laced with veiled threat. The man lounged behind the desk like he owned the city, his rotund frame barely contained by a designer suit.

A glint of amusement flickered in his eyes as he leaned forward, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Your husband… or your career."

He stood, slow and deliberate, the leather chair groaning under the shift of weight. The rustle of his suit was the only sound in the room. Then he turned, pausing at the door.

"You’re a smart woman, Arianna. I trust you’ll choose wisely."

A smirk—a slash of condescension—curved across his face.

"I await your decision… Barrister Arianna Rodriguez."

He walked out, the echo of his footsteps leaving behind a silence that rang louder than any verdict.

---

ARIANNA RODRIGUEZ.

At twenty-eight, she was a force in the courtroom—razor-sharp, relentlessly principled, and unapologetically fearless. She didn’t just win cases; she dismantled the corrupt. Her name was etched into headlines and whispered in backrooms where power tried to hide.

The woman who brought down a sitting governor—she was the nightmare of every crooked official and the last hope for those justice had forgotten. Even the President had taken notice.

But now, the law had turned inward.

Her husband—the man who had once been her calm in every storm—stood accused of conspiracy and obstruction. The evidence? Overwhelming. The implications? Career-ending.

If she stood by him, she’d be sacrificing everything: her reputation, her oath, her name.
If she turned against him… she might destroy the only man she ever truly loved.

The courtroom was where she thrived. Logic and facts were her weapons. But now, she was at war with herself.

The law demanded integrity.
Her heart demanded loyalty.
And the truth—cold, ruthless—demanded a decision.

Arianna Rodriguez wasn’t just facing a case.
She was facing the ultimate trial.

And this time, the verdict might cost her everything.