the polished floor. He couldn't shake the image of Adelina's eyes-the way she looked at him

e cried into his suit jacket. "I should have been more careful. I didn't mean to lose my ba

ked out. "She's out of immediate danger," he said flatly. "

d pulled off the platinum wedding band-the one he was supposed to exchange. He didn't look at it. Just tos

al. "The wedding is off. Engagement terminated. My

walked away. Caroline tra

ul. It was a mess of memories that weren't hers. Explosions shaking her b

fe played in vivid, horrible detail: a mission gone wrong, a trap, and the face of her most

er had gasped, his blood war

a Hughes's own despair. Two lives. Two betrayals. Two currents o

s snapp

slowly lifted a hand, flexed her fingers. A young hand. Pale. No scars. Not the ca

her temple. For the soldiers she lost. And for the girl na

oded in-a lifetime of quiet suffering. Cold indifference from her adoptive parents. Constant,

rest now. I'll take your name. I'll take your revenge. Every hum

short when she saw Adelina's eyes open. They weren't the soft, timid eyes from the

rse stammered. "How...

ame out dry and r

at left no room for argument. Nurse Evans, uneas

ina calmly assess

ed. Penniless.

the knowledge, strategies, and

again, searching for a key, a foothold. Then she found it. A trust fund, left by Adeli

cument stored deep in Adelina's memory. One peculiar c

to be

arriage was a contract. A means to an