lly began to move. She would not let them have the last word.

e elevator doors slid open, plan

t Hartley's chest, a pict

enough to be heard clearly. "I'm so sorry to have taken up Hartley'

meaning was a boastful dagger. *Our connect

y on Hartley. She ignored Amaris as if she

d of any emotion. It was not a request. It was a comman

turned on her heel and walked towards the heavy door of the stairwell

ked shut behind her, sealing her in the

uckles ached, trying to keep from collapsing. The enclosed space amplified the lingering scen

ed, dry heaves racking her slender fr

mouth with the back of her hand. Hartley was standing i

, a tissue, or a single word of comfort. He just s

scorn. "The performance is getting ridiculous. Do you

te. He saw the exact same symptom in two women and judged it completely differently. One w

killed the very last fli

She pulled a tissue from her purse and delicately

nd hard as the concrete stairs beneath her feet. "

stairs, her heels clicking a rapid, angry rhythm. She

. The long mahogany table was set for two. A perfectly cooked st

glass of water in front of her. She st

went. The silence str

soothing her, caring for the child he so clearly wanted. While hi

realized she was clinging to-that he might choose his mar

med, each note a funera

chance

deep red wine, swirling it, watching it catch the light. She brough

y. She

e illusions she had harbored for a decade. She had lost more than a husband. In her desperate attempt to be the perfect Mrs. Curtis, she had lost

terrifying resolve was being forged. She would not be a victim.

-ceiling windows at the gli

mbag Hartley. But Elisha is abo