twood Prep brochure at the breakfast table, pointing out the

dressed impeccably, a sacchari

nstead," she said, pouring herself a coffee. "Westwood's AP science c

owed with worry. She

't lower the paper. "That won't be a problem," he sai

He looked at Candac

. The "Vaughan Science Center" wa

our building!" She turned to Ira, beaming with pride. "See,

t down and spoke, her voice even. "I don't need a

ce, adding softly, "

e a needle under Candace's skin. "We'll s

d across the table toward Ira. "You'll need some things befo

ng the embossed letters of her new name

Sterling. "I'll go

! I know Rodeo Drive like the back of my hand. I can help

ed in a thick laye

her refusal polite but firm

on, in front of Sterling and Henriett

ot on Rodeo Drive, but at a sprawling electronics

phones, heading straight for a niche shop that sp

t made his eyes widen in surprise. She selected the most powerful processor on the market

ss?" the tech-savvy owner a

like that,"

total came to just over forty thousand dollars. Sh

she carried the boxes straight

e worried, Sterling," she confessed. "She didn't bu

losed door. A smile of approval touched his lips. "It means our da

sat humming quietly on Ira's desk. It was

i-layered firewall, a digital fortress of her o

she frequented. A single post was pinned to

edented fee offered for consultation. Patien

cker of something cold and dismissive passed through her eyes

on to a research paper on novel neurotoxins and their antido