storm inside her had passed, leaving behind a desolate, e

, but it held the unyielding weight

med more intrigued than angry, as if a lab sp

motion. "I will not destroy an innocent man. If you want to destroy

abdication of the will to fight. She was giving him permiss

r of something unreadable-confusion? frustration?-crossed h

neered, picking up the unsigned document. "

oceeds as discussed," he said into the receiver. "And arrange a press

sharp, pierced through Emilia's n

uniforms walked in. They were large and impassive, and o

atric hospital. A place where they coul

eyes fixed on Knox's back. She wanted to burn this image of him into her memory-the man wh

spoke, her voice a soft, hol

g to regret

dn't turn around. After a beat of silence,

ith no windows, cutting her off from the world. Time ceased to h

l opposite her flickered to life. It was a live

e. He looked powerful, confident,

was not

d in an elegant cream-colored dress, her smile perfectly poised. She clung to K

phones. The flashbulbs went

ement to Ms. Genevieve Carlisle,"

ast hurt. She watched, detached, as if v

r, but a new one. He opened it and slid a diamond onto Genevi

erfect together. A handsome, powerful couple, united by wealth and, no

rced onto her was still there, tight and cold against her s

she didn't know she had left began to slide from

reston stood staring out a floor-to-ceiling window. His d

s. Lawrence has been deliver

ledgment, his gaze fix

s friend, and secured his family's alliance with t

hy couldn't he shake the image of her dead, empty eyes? It left a strange, unsettling fe