The grandfather clock in the distant hallway chimed two a.m., but Clara’s mind was moving too fast to register the exhaustion pulling at her bones.

The studio was littered with paper. Dozens of sketches covered the massive desk, intricate webs of graphite and ink detailing necklaces, bracelets, an

The reflection staring back at Clara Vance in the floor-to-ceiling mirror did not look like a ghost-designer who had spent the last three years covered in graphite dust and polishing compound.

She looked like a weapon.

The gown Julian had arranged for her was a masterpiece of midnight-blue silk

The smile on Clara's face made Victoria freeze. The heiress took a hesitant step back, her raised hand dropping to her side as confusion warring with her anger.

"Are you insane?" Victoria demanded, her voice losing its venomous edge, replaced by a tremor of genuine unease. "Did you not hear what I