ally escorted Aria from the cold north wing toward the heart of the mansion. His s

umble. "She is... protective of her position

rstood the complex web of family politics she had just stepped into.

e doors. Theodore gestured to the one on the

ed the door

bedroom and more like a shrine. Or a private, high-end medical faci

nking machines, was a large, advanced medical bed. A

e stillness, he was breathtakingly handsome. He had sharp, aristocratic features, a strong jawline shadowed with a day's wor

a deep well of sorrow. "The doctors say there is no brain a

ther. His eyes were pleading. "The fortune tellers, the mystics my wife used to consult... they all spoke of a 'lif

his wasn't just a cold transaction for him

softly behind him, leaving her alone in

bathroom, and a bedroom with a four-poster bed. But it felt cold and empty. She took a quick, hot shower, letting the wa

ghtgown and, despite herself, found she was drawn back into Hadley's room.

in the dim light. "You're causing a lot of troub

once. Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead. She looked at the massive, empty space on the king-siz

in the quiet room. "You're not exactly using it. And you'

ng under her weight. The sheets were cool and smelled faintly of him-a clean, subtle

on won. She was sound asleep

long time. The only sound was th

Sinclair's eyes ope

focused. They were sharp, intelligent,

. He had been awa

. He had heard his grandfather's pathetic, grasping hope. He

rom the Rust Belt who had just called h

ad on the pillow, the movement so slight i

o the defiant, sharp-tongued girl he'd heard challenging Vivian and T

the intrusion, contempt for his family's pathetic scheme, an

ios

ster? And what was s

d oblivion. But his mind was racing, a storm of calcul