Chapter 12

The Grand Palais in Paris was a chaotic, glittering epicenter of high fashion. Outside the massive glass-domed venue, hundreds of paparazzi clamored against velvet ropes, their camera flashes exploding like lightning in the crisp evening air.

Tonight was the highly anticipated Damien S

Chapter 13

The Grand Palais had fractured into total bedlam. The pristine, highly curated atmosphere of Paris Fashion Week dissolved into a riot of flashing cameras, shouting critics, and a stampede of luxury buyers furiously texting on their phones.

Above the obsidian runway, the sixty-foot scre

Chapter 14

The morning sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse corporate office in downtown Paris. For the last three years, this office had served as the global headquarters for the Damien Sterling brand.

Today, the massive silver "DS" logo on the glass double doors was