n caught Darlene by the wrist and yanked her into the

el clicked sh

r shoes clicking angrily on the tile. He cursed under his breath, kicked

ly. She slid down the cedar-lined wall onto the floor,

ression utterly detached as he

oking down at her crumpled form. "

ed banister of the grand spiral staircase, for

of scotch in one hand, gesturing grandly to three senior members of the b

chandeliers overhead flicke

artet's music

ut among the guests as conve

head of the room. Two burly security guards wheeled out a m

t up with a b

l of St. Luke's Private Hospital-the result of the blood sample Clayto

, the letters read cle

a massive dosage of an illicit, high-grade liquid

men covered their mouths in horror, their eyes darting im

ilted, spilling amber liquid acro

ace turning an ugly shade of magenta. "Today is a famil

e estimated ingestio

M. Las

eyes with blinding clarity. A wave of white-hot fury burned away

," Darlene said, her voice shaking with unshed tears and

rd her, his finger

you trying to ruin me

len

second-floor mezzanine

k felt like a hammer striking an anvil. Behind him, four senior partners f

reen s

rom the Waldorf Astoria's penthouse co

econds later, it showed the same assistant steering a semi-conscious Darlene toward Clayton's sui

nce was u

oard members who had been laughing with Demario moments

ail the head of your own family," Clayton sa

half-brother as if he were a piec

the Montgomery nam

the marble floor, sweat drenching his collar, h

oor, the betrayal and exhaustion finally catc

the ground, a strong, heavy a

he slipped off his heavy charcoal suit jacket and draped it over

burying her face in the fabric as

baritone booming with absolute authority, "she is no longer

son in the room

looked up, his face tw

d, spitting onto the floor. "You think she's pure? She's a w

es went comp

d a sing

Demario by his arms, and dragged him across the floor like

at the pale, shiveri

ive darkness flaring in his chest