This is How it Starts

Power built on secrets never stands for long.

Laila never belonged to this world. She wasn't raised in it. She didn't want it. But when her father's debt put a target on their backs, she was forced to survive the only way she could-by stepping into the shadows that ruined them.

Now she's in deep, and there's no clean way out.

At the center stands Emir-untouchable, calculated, and quietly watching her every move. She doesn't trust him. He doesn't trust anyone. But when the cracks in his empire start to show, Laila is pulled into something far bigger than a debt.

Someone inside is betraying them.
Files are missing. Enemies are closing in.
And every clue points to the one place no one wants to look: within.

Omar wants the truth.
Nura tries to keep the peace.
Yasmine is never where she says she is.
And someone is working with the enemy.

Laila didn't come here to take sides. But she's already on the board.
And when the lies fall apart, no one will walk away clean.