lived in a world

his grief into concrete and his fury into a financial empire. He had convinced himself th

lked into hi

rs, Alexander's heart didn't just skip a beat. It fel

backed chair rotated, his

ph

had been replaced by a woman made of polished marble and razor-sharp angles. Her charcoal bl

k was a form of refin

s, I see a project through to the end"-the guilt and rage h

o idea about the blindfolds, the damp cellar, the forged documents, or the week

beneath the mahogany table. He needed to explain. He needed t

room cleared, she swept out like a storm, her hee

ting up the distance. He wasn't going to l

he profile of her face, his gaze dropping to the rapid flutter of the pulse in her

ors chimed open into the marble lobby. "We need to talk about

Mr. Kingston," she cut in, her

with a frantic, desperate urgency. Alexander went to reach f

ceiling glass windows of the lobby c

pressed his small hands against the glass to watch the rai

tantly knocked fro

lexander stared at the boy, his mind violently coll

born tilt of the chin that Alexander saw in his own mirror ever

striking, pierci

ngston

w to the sternum. Sophia hadn't run away because

p as his chest heaved. He took a predatory, desperate step fo

er step, Sophia threw hers

, fiercely protective lioness. She physically blocked his view of th

ew she would have killed him on t

ce piercing Alexander's soul. The boy reached out, his tiny fingers wrap

ng through the boy's small hand, squeezing it with an overwhelming, desperate tenderness.

, my love,"

solute iron tone that made a shudder run down Alexande

er, catching one last glimpse of the boy's guarded gray eyes. That was his blood. His son. A piece of his own soul,

protect them both. But the sheer, unadulterated hatred burning in Sophia's eyes anchored him to the floor. If he

a sharp, final vow as she began to back away, keeping her body

y, watching the only woman he had ever loved walk aw

re consuming him now. Marcus Thorne hadn't just stolen his company and his wedding

, Alexander's jaw tightened, his knuc

s going to tear this city apart, destroy everyo

ter th