calm silence. Chloe let herself be exam

nternal bruising. But the equipment here was top of th

gave nothing away. Called her only "Miss." Deflected every question

as on h

osed her eyes. Gisele and Drake's fac

to fade. Something hard

ot in the barren wreckag

d make t

loe forced herself to swallow every drop.

could walk. Her body

in her room as silen

it up with a news conference. Headline: "Hutc

of theatrical grief. She spoke of he

hand on Gisele's back. He delivered a heartfelt eulogy, v

Nails dug into her palms. Her whole

e snatched the tablet a

he crack of it echoed t

Ashton. "I'm going to the police," she snarled

sion as calm as if he were obs

?" A note o

presence a cold counter

Hutchinsons' legal team can argue that black is white and have a judge sign o

r. Extinguished her rage. L

ht. She wa

, "you are currently on a private, untraceable of

to the floor. The smooth, cool surface did no

d she'd believed in. A joke

a whisper. "Why did you s

her level. For the first time, his dark e

oice a low command. "Tell me how

on. But she had no other cards to play. H

ld him ev

ike an outsider in the Hutchinson home. Gisele's subtle, lifelong campaign

that he'd only ever been interested in the t

the edge. The shock of Drake's hand on her back. The f

Her voice stayed eerily calm. Each word a ston

unreadable mask. But she saw a sharpening in his

hed, the silen

. Looked down a

d. Brutal. "Your kindness and y

se she knew it was the truth. Her own foolishness had gotten h

n her eyes. The flicker of ho

his voice a low, seductive whisper that coi