k felt like

e mirror transform her face. The color was wrong. Too bol

necklace, the one that had belonged to his grandmother, the one that marked her as property. His fingers brushed he

met hers in the glass

e lie they'd sold to magazines and shareholders. She arranged her face int

you, da

and appearances were currency. Frederic handed her out, his grip firm, his smile fo

g light on Frederic's arm. Inside, the Waldorf's ballroom swallowed them in gold and crystal. Three hundred of New

mured. The McLaughlin wi

e crowd

wo, her eyes the same pale blue as her grandson's but stripped of any warmt

ied. Designed to carry. "How lovel

usy. Not working. Not contributing. Rested

the flat plane beneath the silk gown. The cane

ility specialist. Remarkable success rates with women your age. Difficult cases." She smiled,

ted their champagne flutes, the crystal rims conveniently obs

nd rounded, pressed into her palms. The pain was distant. Useful. She f

ing at the ceiling, at the chandelier, at anything but her. His champagne glas

was copper. Blood from whe

evel. Pleasant. The voice of a woman discussing w

rs. Wanted collapse. Wanted the satisfaction of

ze. Held the smi

turned away, dismissing her with the cane's tap. The c

Laughed at the appropriate jokes. Her hands stayed clasped, hiding the cresc

the pressure of three hundred watching eyes.

Frederic's arm, light,

ook at her.

lm, and then cold air, real air, filled her lungs. The city spread below, a grid of light and sh

r. From the shadows where the terra

Low. F

t her problem. Someone else's indiscretion, som

. Frederic's laugh, the one he used

oles, and walked. Silent. The years of ballet, of deportment classes, of learning exactly how a McLaughl

fluted. She pressed herself against its s

the wall, his hand under her thigh, her skirt rucked up. The wo

otographs. In progress reports. In thank

tion college student. McLaughlin Foundat

ard. The scream stayed inside, vibrati

voice, breathless, triumphant. "Can't ev

Don't think about her. Think about the ap

s tangled in his hair, pulling. "The

ed her throat.

e. The camera app. She didn't think about the light, abo

obscene. The sound recorded too. The promises. T

button. Her heart hammered so ha

. Behind h

ood turne