The new dress was a masterpiece of deception.

Woven from midnight-blue silk that clung to Sienna’s curves like liquid shadow, it featured a high, elegant neckline and long sleeves that perfectly concealed the bandages wrapped around her lacerated arm. No one looking at her would ever suspect that

The crystal flute felt heavy in Sienna’s hand, the chilled glass weeping condensation against her skin. The champagne inside bubbled merrily, looking like nothing more than a harmless, expensive vintage.

But Sienna knew better. She stared at the pale golden liquid, swirling it gently.

"To my ret

The first thing Sienna registered was the suffocating, noxious fumes of low-grade gasoline.

It burned the back of her throat and stung her nostrils, snapping her out of the chemical darkness with the violent jolt of a defibrillator. She gasped, her lungs expanding against the tight constraint of r