The silence in the prep kitchen was deafening, save for the continued, frantic chatter of the television broadcast. Vanessa’s tearful face was replaced by a massive red banner scrolling across the bottom of the screen: *THORNE INNOVATIONS STOCK PLUMMETS 12% FOLLOWING PATERNITY SCANDAL.*

Clara could

The faded canvas of Clara’s duffel bag swallowed the meager contents of her life in rapid, frantic gulps. Three pairs of jeans. A handful of plain t-shirts. Her worn culinary school notebooks, their edges curled and stained with ancient grease from a time when she still believed hard work was enough

By 9:00 AM the next morning, Toby Vance was playing video games in a sprawling VIP suite on the top floor of St. Jude’s, blissfully unaware that the two massive men in dark suits standing outside his door were Julian Thorne’s elite private security contractors.

Clara, on the other hand, was standi