service road behind the Sterling Estate. The driver

oor and stepped ou

ed the gravel paths. She knew the blind spots of the se

oor-to-ceiling windows, Chloe saw lawyers in rumpled suits and public rela

cient iron grate covering the ventilation shaft had a rusted latch that Victoria had refused to pay to replace. Chloe crouched, her uninjured left arm doing all the work as she pried the grate loose with a quiet scrape. She slid feet-first into the narrow, pitch-black chute, navigating the tight space with practiced ease. She dropped si

stop

edroom. The room with the gra

pink. A massive canopy bed dominated the space

erena and Carter Knight. Serena kissing Carter's ch

ge of bile in her thro

desk. The drawers were overflowing with ex

ers against the hardwood floorboards beneath the

the tiny gap between the wo

rd popp

the hidden compart

r breathing stopped for

the floorboard was empty, it meant the cleaning s

nd looked at the base

on the white paint. It

her fingers under the wooden trim and pu

sat a thick, v

a heavy metal flash drive and th

ocket. Serena had taken the room, but sh

oed from the hallway ou

the lawyers say!

proached. They wer

loset and stepped inside, pulling the louvered

reeked of expensive scotch. His tie was

ena's heels across the room. They

uttered, falling face-fi

stared at the ceiling. Then, hi

rfectly. A sliver of Chloe's dark,

t up. He

he closet. He grabbed the ha

fusion lasted only a second before his

doorframe, blocking her exit. "Look who crawled out of the r

or the collar of her shirt. "You

d not st

t to her left leg. He

h the side of Carter's knee. The impact prod