LOGIN"Finish that sentence." My voice cut across hers. A beat passed. A shift crossed her eyes. Then she said it anyway. "Cleaned houses for people like us." The room went completely quiet. "My mother." I stopped. "Worked with her hands for people who believed that made her less than them. People exac
Alicia’s POV The pen was in my hand. I hadn't moved since the door closed. The page in front of me, the same line, and now I knew someone had been observing me return to it, watching long enough to count each return. I had spent three years believing he never saw the parts that weren't performed.
"He also mentioned Vera Sorel has made her attendance at the follow-up conditional on yours," I said, letting the other piece of the weight land between us. "He wanted me to know that." The pen halted in her hand. She took a breath, slow, through her nose, and the line of her throat moved once befo
Edward's POV Phillip arrived at twenty past ten. He settled into the chair across my desk and set his coat on the arm of it. The draft was already in his hand before he opened his mouth. "Signed and filed as of this morning. Your name on the minority position. Clean." He set a single folded page
"I don't know." "You said it to him. Not here." The pause that followed remained too long to be casual. "What are you afraid of?" I didn't rush it. "That I'm seeing it right. And it still falls apart anyway." She shook her head slightly. "That's not uncertainty. That's you refusing to close y
Alicia's POV Elena didn't turn when I came in. She was at the counter, spoon hovering over a bowl she hadn't touched in a while. The kettle had gone cold long enough to feel intentional. My bag hit the floor by the door. She didn't look at it. "You came back wrong." "I came back two days ago."
Edward's POV I had turned from Harrison, the last words about the package still hanging in the air. She was gone. Tables. Chairs. Faces. Laughter. Cameras. Nothing. My eyes swept the room. Guests leaned into conversations. Laughter punctuated the quartet. Crystal caught the light and threw it b
Darkness felt thick. Heavy in a way that wasn’t sleep. Heavy like sinking, like something pressing me down while sounds brushed the edges of my hearing. A soft beep. A soft hiss. Footsteps. A curtain shifting. Someone said my name, or maybe I imagined it. The sound drifted too far away. A war
"How sweet." Vivienne's smile didn't falter. "Why don't you sit down, sweetheart? You look pale. Let me get you something. Tea? Or maybe some juice?" "I'm good. I'd pass." "You should have something," she insisted, already moving toward the cabinet. "Something warm. Tea is good for settling nerve
Alicia's POV I moved down the terrace steps with my head low. Harrison's voice still echoed somewhere behind me. Edward caught in that sound, pulled away before I could reach him. The night air touched my face, soft at first, then bit down sharply. I didn't pull away. I needed something that felt







