lowly raised a hand to point at her own cheek - re

w furrowed - just for a second. Something f

napped back lik

ar-streaked. "Maybe she didn't mean it... My head hurts."

ightened. "We're going

out his wallet, and tossed a bl

by his assistant. Tonight was the first time he'd han

bill to my assistant." His tone was fl

rd bounce. A hollow

h the card. "Wh

His patience was gone.

an arm around Alona, and h

uit. This time he didn't speak. He just turned his face aw

Auntie Alona" her son talked about every day. The one who bough

view. The Bentley pulled away, its tires

g, but she no longer felt the cold.

t there before her phone rang.

? You missed your ev

as a psychologist. She owned a small, well

her voice strange and far awa

zed with sudden, terrifying clarity: in the life she had built,

fingers trembling, she ordered a t

ery. It was full of Leo. But in the most recent photo

she wasn't as fun as Auntie Alona. Inez had blamed herself, believing she had neglected

faced middle-aged man handed h

The simple kindness from a s

sion on the hill she shared with Dominic, but to a small apartment in the he

the hot water wash away the chill and the humiliation. In the steamed-up mi

-deceit - wiped awa

ptop, ignored the flood of work emails, and opened a blank document. Her fingers hov

da Reeves - the iron-fisted matriarch who ruled the family - would never all

r. What she needed right now was a

contact. Her heart hammered - a frantic, trapped bir

let's get