lick of the bolt was a small, definitive sound. She sagged against the cool wood, her body f

on the faucet, she plunged her hands under the icy stream of water, then splashed it on

n the mirror. A stranger stared back. A woman with wild, haunted eyes, pale skin, and streaks of black ma

e darkness behind her eyelids offered no peac

nding white li

eight on top of her, his body hard and unyielding. The door to the suite c

ion or concern, but with a pure, unadulterated hatred that had frozen the blo

his voice a low, venomous promise of retribution.

g in ragged pants. She pushed herself away from the memory, away from

, buzzed. A notification. An Inst

her phone. Her thumb, slick with water, swip

necklace that lay shattered on her bedroom floor. It was artfully draped over a velvet jewelry box. In

d: He always kn

't an assistant's choice. He had picked it out for Sloane. And then, as

ve of nausea so intense it made her double over. She gagged, a dr

m her chest. It started as a low chuckle and grew into a wild, unhinged laugh that echoe

iceberg with the warmth of her body, only to b

ned to stone. With swift, precise movements, she navigated t

e opened it, her eyes scanning the legal jargon until she found the relevant clause. The undersigned, Arden Price, hereby waiv

She was walking a

word reply. Perf

f a physical weight had been lifted from her should

of a surgeon, concealing the redness around her eyes, erasing the tear tra

o a sleek, severe chignon at the nape of he

ousers, and looked in the mirror one last time. The broken woma

sing by stopped short, startled by the sudden intensity of h

o the bustling Manhattan sidewalk. She raised a hand,

terling Tower," she told the dr

he city flashing by, her reflection a pale ghost against the g

t from Lauren. The project te

a quick repl

purse. She had a job to finish. A