y when Clara returned to the Montgo

first-floor storage room-the only piece of her past that Dominic'

t her in the grand corridors

aiting her formal exit, a discarded shadow whose

fel bag down the south gall

oom, the sound of a raised, frantic voice ca

as V

under strict observation in the private burn ward across t

nto the thick runner rug, inching closer to t

iled floor, her left arm tightly bound in thick white medical dressings. She was hol

account in Zurich!" Vivian hissed into the receiver, her voice

er hand resting flat aga

d you to perform full facial reconstruction surgery on me six years ago to copy Clara's exact bone structure-if he finds out

stopped

with a deafening,

her so dizzy she had to grab the doorfram

year

ire at the old Montgomery

harity gala. When the explosion ripped through the wine cellar, she h

onscious Dominic pinned be

ng him out through the broken French doors onto the back

ty, only waking up three days later in a public hospital, where the news repor

she was merely an accidental lookalike-a pathet

't the s

ho had bought Clara's

m. "Destroy the original maxillofacial scans. Burn the intake records from that private clinic in Pennsy

uffocating fury surged

y had drained from her arm. Every cold, brutal word Dominic

on a grotesque,

pulling out her cracked smartphone. She unlocked the screen and pressed

fted on the

rom a nearby vase crunche

he sunroom cut

ng as she spotted the silhouette st

's t

, pointed steel florist shears from the pottin

and ran with everything she had,

oice turning into a feral shriek.

main staircase reacted instantly. They stepped into Clar

s clumsy and slow. One of the guards tackled her by the wa

ers, sliding across the polishe

against the guards. "Dominic! Call the p

lery, the heavy florist shea

ls clicking rhythmically against th

distic force, brought her sharp stiletto heel d

unch echoed th

as bone bruised and ski

ed steel blade of the florist shears flat aga

ed, her hazel eyes dancing with madness. "

ng up through tears of blinding pain. "Domi

rill, mocking sound

ars. "You're a convicted arsonist who just signed a confession for attempted murder. You are

ruined hand, and kicked the dropped

asement security cell beneath the wine cellar. Lock the reinforced

ara yelled as the guards hauled her backw

e guards dragged Clara toward the dark stairs lead

nt slammed shut, plunging Clara in

thick with the damp, earthy stenc

ght against her chest. Her crushed right hand throbbed with a relentless

ours blended into an endless

ound echoed from t

y door swung open. A harsh beam from a tactical flashlight hit

he cell, followed b

down on the small wooden tab

aid, his voice flat and emotionless.

ll for support. She moved slowly toward the table, her eye

ader, the bold legal typ

EA AGREEMENT: VEHICULAR MANSLAU

from exhaustion. "What is this? I

tsteps sounded in t

ree-piece suit. The tailored wool and his expensive arctic pine

swollen hand and her hollow, pale

rate financial quarterly report. "She had a trace amount of wine in her system from dinner. Her vehicle struck

, her jaw dropping