The morning bustle of Manhattan was a jarring contrast to the silent, suffocating panic in her own head. Ta

shop tucked into a side street and

w," she commanded, he

sure her own back was to the window. A paranoid part of her brain imagi

ooking at the menu. She needed the bitterness, the scalding heat,

sion a mixture of concern and impatience. "Okay, we're out of the hotel. We're hidden

water on the table, her fingers tracing the condens

dden, flashed

mach churning with a sick feeling she couldn't shake. Her fiancé, Brenton Wood, had been acting distant all night - not cold ex

to a secluded side lounge, intending

e he was

nds that had slid an engagement ring onto her finger eight months ago, the hands she had held at his father's funeral - were buried deep in the dark hair of his new assistant, Mara, pulli

first time. The ease of them - the way Mara's fingers were already familiar with the buttons of his shirt

door from the opposite sid

Elaine could see Alaric's fiancée, Genevieve Sinclair - polished, beautiful Genevieve, who had smiled at Elaine at every charity gala and called her darling and asked after her mother

of them h

had the audacity to look mildly inconvenienced rather than ashamed. Brenton straightened up and cleared h

-" he s

ked out before he coul

on his phone, his voice low and absolutely controlled, the voice of a man who had rehearsed for catastrophe. Within

e problem as if

slept with. A man who dealt wi

gh her. She shook her head,

tney's voice w

iend couldn't possibly understand. "I need to get

five minutes ago you were acting like he b

rp, desperate edge. "He's... complicated. He's a prob

e, replaced by a shrewd seriousness. "Okay. Big p

simple. He kn

ed the cup, the heat searing her palms. She took a s

nce," Courtney said, h

ared at h

ess transaction. "You pay him off. A lump sum, in cash. Get him to si

e window, her voice losing some of its confidence. "I mean, I've

zed with a sinking heart, perfect. It was a language Alaric would understand. It redu

ving mode. "Five thousand? Ten? I can lend you wha

she was paying off was Courtney's own uncle. The web of lies was already too tangled. But the desperate need t

her voice tight. "Do you actua

Courtney said casually, reaching into her designer tote. She pulled out a slee

stack of bills as if it were a lifeline. "Thank you. I just

tation vanishing as practicality took over. "Same-day delivery. T

's chest. She could fix this. She could erase him, just

was in her personal account? Could she sell

ou're about to be sick again." She sighed, a wistful note in her voice

she felt it - a deep, aching protest that shot up from her bare, blistered soles all the way to her hip. The lobby marble had been punishing enough. The cracked pavem

s narrowed. "Y

Elaine said,

rally listing

lked to the counter, pulling out he

the cold concrete found every raw patch on the bottoms of her feet at once. She took

d organize the courier immediately. And above all, she had to figure out how to quietly pull five thousand dollars from her tr