f Astoria, the air was thick with the s

e crowd. A string quartet played a soft classical piece, per

made, starry-night gown. She was surrounded by a circle o

er champagne flute with an overly sweet smile. "And to h

her left hand just enough to let the light catch the m

tion rippled th

. She soaked in the envy of the room, thrilled by t

ipped through the heavy doors, panting heavily.

hind a marble pillar. He pulled out his phone and sent a v

age. The bodyguards just took the

the side entrance when the audi

leather soles of his shoes screeche

ittle

ey's throat like a vine covered in tho

calculated the timeline. Five years since the divorce. The kid was

ught the pain had gone numb years ago, but the

closer, his voice trembling. "Mr. Hammond... d

od back down from his head. When he opened his

his voice com

shed open the heavy double doors

ter in the room died down. Every pair of e

d walked toward Godfrey with the grace of a proud peaco

rection. His gaze swept the massive room like

ed brightly and reached out

and stepped to the side, co

verything. The whispers started instantly, sprea

ation and venom crossed her eyes, but she qu

static ripped through the ba

had been playing a documentary about the Lee

stage. The string quartet

een audio waveform appeared. The entire roo

It was a cold, steady female voice. A voice

ow's headlines will have the absolut

ropped into the crow

toward Kendal. Her face drained of all

egant posture and sprinted toward the soundboard, desp

chaos, rushed forward. He and another uniformed hotel guard stepped out of the shadows and block

y, a slender figure in a minimalist blac

w. Her eyes tracked through the cro

ful smile cur