against the bar, his da

de murmured, his voice a low scra

icked up her tote bag and sto

ng against the hardwood floor, leaving Cade

oup headquarters. Adeline pushed through the revolving doors. She wore

voked it. The receptionist at the front desk looked up. Her eyes widened, darting nervously between Adeli

a signal; as she stepped into the elevator, the device vibrated frantically. A

It showed Evan and Piper standing in the breakroom, Evan's arm wrapped tigh

Guess someone's eight-year investment

smile touched her lips. She flipped the p

The doors slid open t

antly. Thirty heads snapped up. The silence

ing a ceramic coffee mug. She planted herself in

"I cannot believe you actually show

d Sarah up and down, her e

Adeline said, her voice carrying clearly across th

opened her mouth to snap back, but the

er's back. Piper wore a bright pink designer dress th

d. The memory of being tied to the chair flashe

els clicking loudly as she strutted up to Adeline. She

e sweetness. "Evan told me so much about you. Thank you f

s erupted from the s

of hand sanitizer. She squirted a generous amount into her palm and rubbed her

tone perfectly conversational. "Rec

hattered. Her face turned pale, then red. She spun

is fury-but the terror of bankruptcy snuffed it out. He stor

the woman who holds the key to the Stafford family

her index finger. She looked pa

ment se porte le vieux chêne dans le jardin sud du dom

her chest. She swallowed hard, gripping the strap of her

n tell me why the Stafford family representative missed the September charity gala for

k, her heel catching on the edge of the carpet. She

ne with pure hatred. "You are fir

pulled out a crisp white envelope a

r signed it. This is my resignation, effective imm

ved three encrypted hard drives. They held the core architecture she had built

d, his face pale. "You can

k the Q3 offshore vendor invoices, Martin. The ones you routed to your

been shot. He backed awa

er heels striking the floor like a gavel. She did not look back as she walke