"You bought him."

Clara’s voice was a fragile, trembling whisper that threatened to shatter at any second. She pointed a shaking finger at the laptop screen, her eyes wide with horror as she backed away from the desk. "You bought Julian."

Victor stood by the door, entirely unbothered by the accus

The piercing scream of a circular saw echoed through the cavernous, unfinished lobby of the new downtown arts center. Plaster dust hung thick in the sweltering afternoon air, coating Clara Vance’s hard hat in a fine, chalky film.

It had been exactly one month.

Thirty agonizing days since she had

The bright, blinding afterimage of the camera flash burned itself into Clara’s retinas. She threw her arm up over her face, stumbling backward until her spine hit the doorframe of the bathroom.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Clara screamed, her voice cracking with terror and disbelief. "How did y