Sienna’s perfectly glossed lips parted in shock, her eyes darting from the heavy, protective arm locked around Clara’s waist up to Julian Thorne’s unreadable face. The smug, triumphant sneer she had worn only seconds ago melted into a mask of pure, terrified confusion.

Beside her, Clara’s ex-fianc

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