s barely noticed. She drove on autopilot, the familiar streets of th

ear friendship, all of it a lie. The sheer scale of the deception made her feel nauseous. Her mother's cheer

city, the skyline glittering coldly in the distance. She pulled

steady, chilling rain. The cool, damp air filled the car,

ing a million other lives that were, presumably, not imploding at this

, a strange new feeling began to surface. It

li

e perfect girlfriend. Free from the pressure to get married. Free from a m

er chest. She was done livi

ansion overlooking the Hudson Rive

hogany desk. The air in the study was thick with the

ron will he commanded his family, slapped a glossy portfolio ont

low and dangerous. It was not a request. "The merger with Sinc

e is not a business transaction. I

doesn't secure a dynasty. You think you have a choice in th

ne they'd been having for weeks, b

hed the phone from its cradle on his desk and ja

a clipped, professi

ry one of Andrew's accounts. Credit cards, bank accounts, trust fu

away,

ne wen

rned to ice. His fathe

aid, his voice dropping to a deadly wh

saw him only as a pawn in a corporate game. Any lingeri

word. He simply

em on the hall table. He took out his wallet, removed his driver's license, and placed the wa

past the worried face of his assistan

rtico, the heavens opened. A torrential downpour de

n with nothing but the clothes on his back. He started walking, a

. It was time to go home. To her new home. The small one-bedroom apartment she

ng up with the deluge. The rain was coming down in sheets n

that led back toward the downtown area. Her vi

suddenly stumbled out from the side

with his lighter, trying to shield a final,

in terror. Her foot sl

the car hydroplaning for a terrifying second before t

an came to a dead stop just

his lighter. The cigarette, his last small comfort, fell from