ind numb. The physical pain was a distant hum compared to the gaping void where her heart used to be. The doctors spok

he was gone. The brilliant, resourceful investigator had been replaced by a hollow shell. Her five years of devotion, her sacrifice, her love-it h

erformance, a way for Marcus to show his clients that everything was under control, that his top agent w

ched her. He wasn't alone. Celeste was clinging to his arm, her re

said, his voice holding a stra

you think, darling? You really should get more res

ked at them, her expression bl

. "Celeste and I have been talking. We think you need to take a real break.

g her, painting her as unstable, all while his new partner looked on with tri

r in place. She just felt tired, a deep, soul-crushing weariness.

s sharp, and she stepped forward, blocking Ava's path

te," Ava said, her voice

g against Ava' s injured shoulder. An involuntary cry of pain escaped Ava' s lips. S

heatrical gasp and staggered backward, her stiletto heel catching on the plush carpet.

, her voice trembli

quiet. All eye

side, his face a mask of fu

narled, his voice low and menacing as h

ste whimpered, burying her face in his

ice flat. The lie was so blatant, so ri

k at you. Cold. Uncaring. I don't know what's happened to you, but this isn't the woman I hired." He cradled Celeste prote

p as a paragon of virtue while painting Ava as a monster. The man she had saved, the man she had loved

, who had been nearby, had thrown himself in front of her, taking a shallow cut on his arm that was meant for her. Later

, now felt like another betrayal. A l

the stares of the crowd feeling like physical blows against her back. She push

lustrade, trying to breathe, when a

va

nanny, but he had slipped away. He was holding a small paper

e said, holding it up to

icated love that she had been so starved for. He saw her bandaged ar

wrapped his small arms around her

he whispered. "Don

knelt, ignoring the searing pain in her side, and hugged the little boy back, holding onto him as if he were the only s