was a smell Aurora hadn't encountered in years, yet it triggered

reaking stairs. The graffiti on the walls had changed, bu

tated, her hand hovering over

d a cough. A dry

art clenche

died just six months after her wedding. He had died alone because Sterling had forbidden her from visit

y she kept hidden under the loose moldi

rs swun

ing in a worn velvet armchair by the window was Arthur. He looked olde

lasses sliding down

weak, but hi

him, falling to her knees beside his chair. She buried her face

ing hand. "Child, what's wrong? Why a

d her eyes. "I left him, Grandpa

bout the money or the penthouse. He let

"I never liked his eyes.

ough her tears. "Y

he automatically filled the kettle. "I need to cr

me, Rory, Arthu

to him, she casually checked his pulse. Weak

ment was

r broken?

is year, Arthur mum

d her when her parents died. He had sold his car to pay for her coding camp when

gain, s

work, Au

He pointed to a loose floorboard near the ra

oze. "Gra

. "You need a start.

he saw the pride in his

consider it an investment. I'

were stacks of wrinkled twenty-d

red dollars and placed

. "I'm calling the delivery co

to protest, but the look

ven hundred dollars. It wasn't much. To Sterlin

hour, she said. "I ne

eposited the money into an old, dormant account she had kept hidden from S

ading platform app sh

rket data. The trends were

se numbers from the sidelines. She knew exactly which pharmaceu

ard P

uldn't yield enough with her limited cap

cause the market expected the drug trial to succeed. The leverage was insane. If the st

it Ex

r Fi

, her heart racing not from fear

d when she returned, seeing

ra said, opening her laptop to secu

$4,700 wouldn't just be doub

you type, Arthur not

urora said. "I'm

g out of the closet and

, Rory, Arth

floor. It kee

taring at the c

ne right now. Elias Thorne was probab

them

nce was b