LOGINThe discussion about Colt's new school happened that evening, over takeout pizza on the living room floor."So," Clara said, setting down her slice. "We found a school for you."Colt looked up suspiciously. "What school?""Royal Academy. It's a private school in North Dallas. Very prestigious. Very fancy.""How fancy?""They have a planetarium."Colt's eyes went wide. "A real planetarium? With stars and everything?""Real stars. Real everything.""And dinosaurs?""I don't think they have dinosaurs. But they have a science lab. And an art studio. And a playground that's the size of our entire apartment building."Colt considered this. "Will Timothy be there?""No, baby. Timothy is in Brisbane.""Then I don't want to go.""Colt—""I want to go back to my old school. With Timothy and Ms. Patterson and my real friends."Clara and Imogen exchanged a look. This was the same argument they had been having for weeks. Colt had been bribed with a dinosaur encyclopedia. He had been promised adven
Dallas, TexasThe apartment was nothing like Clara had expected.When Mr. Aldridge had promised a three-bedroom unit in a nice area of Dallas, Clara had pictured something modest. Clean, functional, comfortable. The kind of place a mid-level manager might rent while on temporary assignment.This was not that.The building was a gleaming tower of glass and steel in the heart of Uptown Dallas, with a concierge in the lobby and a rooftop pool and a fitness center that looked like it belonged in a luxury hotel. The apartment itself was on the thirty-second floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Dallas skyline. The kitchen had marble countertops and stainless steel appliances. The living room was furnished with pieces that looked like they had been curated by an interior designer.And the bedrooms. Three of them. Each with its own bathroom. Each with walk-in closets."Mommy, this place is huge!" Colt tore through the apartment like a tornado, his sneakers squeaking o
Monday Morning, BrisbaneThe apartment was empty.The furniture was gone. The walls were bare. The windows looked out onto the jacaranda trees that Clara had loved, but they were not her trees anymore. They belonged to whoever would move in next.Clara stood in the center of the living room, her suitcase at her feet, and let herself feel the weight of goodbye."You ready?" Imogen asked, appearing in the doorway with her own suitcase."Almost.""Take your time."Clara walked through the empty rooms one last time. The kitchen where she had cooked her first celebratory dinner. The living room where she and Imogen had assembled nursery furniture and laughed at instructions neither of them could follow. The hallway where Colt had taken his first steps. The bedroom where she had cried for Emory, where she had held her newborn son, where she had rebuilt herself from the ashes of her old life."Thank you," she whispered to the empty walls. "For everything."Then she turned, picked up her suit
Texas, United StatesThe Saturday morning sun streamed through the windows of the Kingsley estate.Cassian had been awake since dawn. He had reviewed reports, answered emails, and spoken with the head of security about the school incident. But his first priority, as it had been every morning since Emory came home from the hospital, was his daughter.He walked down the hallway to her room and pushed open the door.Emory was still asleep, her dark curls spread across the pillow, her pink cast resting on top of the covers. The stuffed bear from the hospital gift shop was tucked under her good arm. She looked peaceful. She looked fragile. She looked like the most precious thing in the world.Cassian sat on the edge of her bed and gently stroked her hair. "Emory. Time to wake up, sweetheart."Emory stirred. Her gray eyes fluttered open, and when she saw her father, she smiled."Good morning, Daddy.""Good morning, my love. How's your arm feeling?""Itchy.""That means it's healing. The doc
Brisbane, AustraliaThe Friday night party was held at a rooftop bar in the heart of Brisbane's central business district. The city lights glittered below them like a carpet of stars, and the Brisbane River wound through the darkness like a ribbon of silver. Whitmore Fashion Group had rented out the entire venue for the night, and Clara's colleagues had filled it with balloons and banners and a cake that said Good Luck, Clara! We'll Miss You!Clara stood at the center of it all, a glass of champagne in her hand, surrounded by the people who had become her second family over the past five years."I remember the first day she walked into the office," Eleanor Vance said, raising her glass. "She was wearing a charcoal blazer that was two sizes too big, and she looked terrified. I thought, this woman is never going to last a week."The crowd laughed. Clara covered her face with her free hand, already blushing."But then," Eleanor continued, "she implemented an inventory system that reduced
The drive to St. Catherine's Hospital took fifteen minutes. Cassian spent every one of them staring at his phone, waiting for updates that did not come. His mind was a hurricane of worst-case scenarios. Head trauma. Internal bleeding. Permanent damage. The same words the doctors had used five years ago when they told him Clara was dead.He could not lose Emory too.He would not.When the car pulled up to the emergency entrance, Cassian did not wait for the driver to open the door. He was out of the car and through the sliding glass doors before Mike could even unbuckle his seatbelt.The waiting room was crowded. His mother, Elena, was pacing near the windows, her face pale and drawn. His father, Alexander Sr., was sitting rigidly in a plastic chair, his hands clasped so tightly his knuckles were white. The school principal, a nervous man named Mr. Whitfield, was standing in the corner, wringing his hands. Emory's homeroom teacher, Ms. Delgado, was beside him, her eyes red from crying.







