eraphina's fingers shook so badly the tip hovere

ve," he said, his voice losing some of its sharp edges. "The board is trying to force a vote to rem

k at her. "I need this to look

But it didn't make the shame bu

er. "There are a thousand women in this city who would p

said flatly. "And you... you look like y

rmth she had felt from his explanation vanished. She stood up, pulling

rned t

been so tired lately, her small face paler than usual. The image of her daughter, struggling for breath after a simple walk to the park, burned behind Seraphina's eyes. Tw

nob. The cold metal felt like the

g her leg. "Mommy, what's

beautiful daughter who was running out of time. The

a. She turned around. She walked back to the coffee table, every step f

er voice raw and hollow.

, his expression un

night." She swallowed the bile in he

. He looked at Alex.

with an alert from her bank. The deposit was there. Fifty thous

he paper. Seraphina Fletcher.

et it down. "There's one more thing," she said, her voice barely a

worth a hundred and t

eep half. Donate the other half to the p

her to demand more, to grab everythin

d slowly

the kids' hands.

ing his phone into his