LOGIN“Savannah darling, look at this letter we got!” My mother was practically vibrating with excitement. She waved a letter in my face and I grabbed it. The paper was heavy and cream-colored. There was a crown at the top of the page, along with a coat of arms. Frogsham Manor. Cheshire.I scanned it quickly.“We would like to extend our most sincere thanks…” “your tireless dedication and parental love…” “the remarkable young woman our granddaughter, Claire, has become…” “You will always have our deepest respect and friendship…”“What the fuck is this?” I crushed the letter in my fist, fighting the thick, heavy paper to do so, and tossed it on the floor. “It’s from Claire's real grandparents. They’re earls!” Mom was grinning from ear to ear. “Brian! Brian, come look at this!” She picked up the crumpled letter and smoothed it out. My father took it carefully. He pointed to the top of the letter, smiling, “Look, they have a crest! ‘Luctor et emergo’” he read out. “What does that mea
“Are you sure you guys will be all right?” I asked Maya. “I just got back to work. I feel terrible leaving you again right away.”“I still can’t believe Lady Althea is your grandmother!” Maya said. “Does that mean you’re Lady Claire now?” “I don’t know,” I replied, somewhat irritably. “I thought you were a leftist. Your hair is blue. Aren’t you against the aristocracy?”“Well, sure. In principle,” she said. “But Lady Althea is really nice. And she gave us this huge gift basket of British snacks. Look, they have Italian cheese and port flavored potato chips!” She waved a gold and white bag at me, grinning cheerfully.I frowned.“Okay, okay!” She sobered up. “We’ll be fine. If we really need help, we’ll call Kurt.” “Is that the last Italian cheese one?” Madison had come up behind me. She rummaged through the gift basket. “Aha!” She held up a bag triumphantly. “You know, Claire, of all the NGOs I’ve been at, you’re the only founder who actually showed up for work on a regular basis. Th
I felt the blood drain from my face. I’d pretty much accepted that I’d never have a real family. At least, I knew I’d need to create my real family. Emma was my family. Ethan. Even Derek. Now this woman was telling me she was my long-lost relative. Blood of my blood. Someone who could give me a solid base to stand on. Tell me about my history. I almost didn’t want to believe it. It would hurt too much to find out it wasn’t true.Lady Althea had been watching me closely. I had the feeling that she could read every thought that crossed my mind.“We received a letter,” she said. “An actual letter! I was delighted.” She reached into her purse and took out an envelope. She slid it across to me.High-quality paper, lightly textured. Bänziger Law Group, Basel, Switzerland. “I know these people,” I said. I opened the letter and skimmed its contents. “Your daughter Charlotte…” “taken in by the Brooks family…” “now living in…” I put it down on my desk with numb fingers.“They sent us a lock o
I looked around the office, frowning in confusion. It was quiet—too quiet. We didn’t have many visitors at this time in the morning, but there should be the background hum of the staff working away. I knew for a fact that Cody often came in early to go over old cases. And where was Madison? Our front desk person was usually the first to enter and the last to leave, even though I’d told her many times she didn’t have to. She should at least take a long lunch to make up for the extra hours, but she wouldn’t do that either. I slipped to the side so my back was to the wall and I had a good field of vision taking in the whole office. Wrapping my purse’s strap tightly around my hand, I wondered about its usefulness as a flail. It was heavy enough to deal out a serious blow. If I survived this, maybe I could ask Isabella for some pointers. There was a clattering noise from Madison’s desk.I balanced my weight on the balls of my feet and got ready to sell my life dearly. “SURPRISE!” Madi
“So, give,” I said. “Tell me how you did it.” I tilted my head and gave Derek my most winning smile. He leaned back in his chair, still favoring his lower back. For a moment it seemed like he’d stand on his dignity and wouldn’t answer me, but he gave up with a sigh.“Right,” he said quietly. “Well, it turned out that getting those reservations was more difficult than I anticipated.” He looked off to the side, his expression haunted.I followed his gaze, but it was just a guy dressed as Pikachu. Nothing to look so traumatized about. In the background the children were eating fried rice served in the shape of a star and entering a state of food-induced bliss. The chaos had settled into a low hum of contented chewing. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping. “Yesterday, Kimura told me the only way he’d give me a reservation for nine people…” He looked down, covering his eyes with his hand. “Was if I filled in for his sick busboy.”I stared at him. Derek—the man who wore silk shirts be
The children had made some changes to their orca poster. They’d added a few sharks. And a sinking yacht… with little figures of people flailing around in the water. “I hope your father never sees that,” I said to Emma. “He’s always wanted a yacht.” “They’re bad for the fish,” she told me seriously. “Now what do you think of this one?” She held up a pretty green dress with flowers embroidered on the bodice. “It’s lovely,” I said. “Now go change. We don’t want to be late.” She scampered off, and I turned to Ethan. He showed me a pair of black jeans, then rummaged around in his dresser. He found a shark t-shirt and held it up with a sly smile. “Now, now,” I said. “Derek’s coming with us, you know.”Ethan went very still. “He’s the one who got us the reservations,” I explained. “If it wasn’t for him, we might have to go to Burger King or something.”Ethan relaxed slightly.“There’s that anime convention this weekend,” I continued, “and Samurai Sizzle is absolutely slammed. It’s a ki
My daughter sat quietly on the couch, watching TV with the sound turned off. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, and someone who didn’t know her might think she looked peaceful. But I knew better. Her posture was rigid with disappointment she was trying very hard to hide. When Claire was here
Emma waved a squishy bunny toy. “Look, Mom!” she said. “Nicholas gave it to me!” She yawned delicately, covering her face with her hand.I smiled at the paramedic and thanked him. He finished packing up and waved goodbye. Ethan showed me and Adrian his squishy fish. The children looked rumpled and
I tugged at my arm, but my harasser had a good strong grip.“Be patient, babe,” he muttered. “Got a nice truck. Crew cab. Plenty of room in the back seat.” He leered at me.I whimpered. For some reason, I couldn’t get it together to scream. Fight back. Anything. I was too groggy and weak. It was al
I yanked open the front door. “Savannah,” I said. “Claire.” Her hair was mussed and her eyes were sparkling with rage. In the morning light, she was incandescently beautiful. “What do you want?” I was done being gracious, especially with her.“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she said, moving f







