ary of her apartment, sent a shiver down Sera's spine. Her heart hammered again

was as if the world she had briefly stepped into, a world of opulence and hidden agendas,

ghtstand. She was more than a little rattled, and the thought of facing her friend, of explaining

drifted from the back room. "I brought over some of those new herbal

e concern, was a comfort, a lifeli

to project a calm she didn't quite f

touch of teasing in her tone. "You know how easily you get lost in stories. But y

was a woman of incredible intuition, her friend, her confida

replied, her voice a mere wh

do you mean? Did that... Julian Thorne man try something? Did yo

in this instance, Sera couldn't blame her. The encounter with Julian Thorne, the proposition, the silver objec

ice barely a whisper, her fingers tightening ar

u should sell, you know. It would be great for you and your mom. Imagine a whole new chapte

her throat. She was so close to revealing everything, to sharing the impossible burden t

cated than that. And

n, fell silent. She sat beside Sera on the

world that suddenly seemed to be tilting on its axis. "Tell me what's

position, the implications of his offer, the hidden agendas and uns

on. But even with Olivia, her rock, her soulmate, her confidante, the words seemed to stick in

ed. Not in the form of a letter, or a phone call, but as a whisper on the wind,

personify the innocence she was losing. It was an article about a charity gala held the previous evening

d aloofness, stood beside a woman, her smile as brilliant and as sharp as a diamond, her eyes piercing, her presence as commandi

hotograph, th

nevieve Beaumont: A M

through the lens of the Sterling Hotel, the world of opulence and ambition, was a world of secrets, a worl

on for her mother, it was all part of a larger game. A game she didn't unde

e dazzling smile and the knowing

Julian Thorne echoing in her ears: "Time waits for no o

of her life, a choice that could save her mother or lea

had a diffe

fying, a problem that brought a chill to her

ispered: "The gam