otes dancing in the air. Amelia zipped up the last of her suitcases. It was

a crisp, clean sound

es, Hunter's chief of staff, his face a carefully neutral mask that couldn't quite

hick with all the things that couldn't be said. They stood by the marble c

ling a thick stack of papers.

se paragraphs of legal jargon, the clauses and sub-clause

page, her eyes finding the empt

re cracking slightly. "Perhaps you should review the a

lat, devoid of emotion. "I'm not taking anythin

e quiet room. She signed her name-Amelia Head-with a steady, fluid stroke. Not

the table toward Alan. The gesture was fi

folder and pulled out a thin, crisp slip

" he said, sliding it toward

were supposed to represent her value, her silence

the table with two fingers, as

hing. That was the agreement." She stood, smoothing th

jected check, clearly

lked to the hallway, retrieved her suitca

obby without looking back. The heavy door clicked shut behind

before a window that overlooked the concrete canyons of the financial district

d, refused the check, and left. The enti

ike a fool. All her previous resistance, her pleas, her tears..

d until the wood splintered, a sharp shard di

n Alan, the red light on his private internal lin

the button

money, cut through the speaker. "Hunter. I don't have time for pleasantries. This weekend is

"Mother, that's not possible. Amelia and

Catherine snapped. "Are the papers fin

, b

aughter-in-law. And I expect to see her o

ne wen

feeling suffocated. He looked out the window at the sky, which had turned a bruised, stormy gray.