eli

The candles had burned down to sputtering nubs, pooling wax onto the Belgi

folded demurely in my lap. The grandfather clock in the

This was the final act in the

Heavy footsteps echoe

ad when he saw me. He looked wrecked, his hair m

oying, floral notes of Chanel N

then at me. A flicker of sha

ell is this

ady as glass. "I thought a Don

s wor

hat she ca

I was standing right in front of him. I reac

son lipstick stained again

looked at me with that terrifying indifference, like I was n

relia. You're

your rin

his left han

eting. It commands the

ust scratches

ess and pulled out the envelope. N

it against

n th

ened it, scanned the header, a

," he said. "Ag

e being your incubator. I

ice dropping to a lethal growl. "You leave

s in his fist and thr

my space. "You think you have any power here? You are ali

steel and glass, not blood and bone," I snapped.

ent dea

bs like a trapped bird. "I know about the phantom construction projects in J

d. "You designed

gs. You turned them

l burn it all down. I will hand every ledger, every bluep

ur marriage, I saw genu

love. It

canary in the cage had

our son's inheritanc

his father's pris

n, with a sudden, violent motion, he swep

exploded. The cold roast beef sp

issed. "Before I forget tha

unch of bone china under my heel