mask. No one would guess that my hands were shaking inside my pockets. When the doors opened on the m

feel the power of my own name, the weight of the Hayes family name that I now carried. I was Chloe Vance, a respected

rah' s voice, sharp and panick

t didn' t t

ling her, looking sullen and sob

" I asked Sarah, m

wn. He' s safe,

id, and starte

voice rough with anger. "You come here,

, a slow, deliberate appraisal that took in his dishev

out a checkbook and a pen. I wrote out a check, the nu

ng with disdain. "And for the dry cleanin

s if it were a snake. Ethan

solve everything wit

nd," I replied. I turned and left them standi

amiliar emptiness. I had won the battle, but the war was endless. I parked in the garage of our cold, m

him to come home. Waiting for the apology that would never come. Waiting for a sig

g. He came in, slamming the door behind him. He didn't turn on the lights, but I could

self?" he asked, his v

d to do," I said

ed me. You hum

g, Ethan. Forgive me if I wasn't conce

e. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "She' s no

ved but never said aloud. This was a charade, and I was the only one pret

venom. "A deal my father made. And you' re a very,

ouse pressed in on me, heavier and more suffocating than ever before. The fragile