Chapter 10

The rain battered the concrete around them, a deafening roar that isolated them from the rest of the world. Under the dim, flickering light of the hospital awning, Clara stared up into Alexander’s eyes. They were dark, stormy, and utterly uncompromising. He already knew half the truth; h

Chapter 11

The morning sky was a bruised, heavy gray, reflecting the storm that had finally broken over Clara Hayes’s life.

She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the glowing screen of her smartphone. It had been vibrating incessantly since six in the morning. Notifications flooded her lock s

Chapter 12

The grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria was packed to absolute capacity.

Every major financial network, fashion magazine, and gossip publication had sent their top correspondents. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume, nervous sweat, and the electric hum of hundreds o