lence, its vast courtyard echoi

Tucker, the family's loyal housekeeper. Her express

was undeniable. Finally, they stopped in front of a secluded room at the f

, this is

nd the door. She pressed her lips together, fig

ire-a man who had climbed to power at an age when most were still searching for directi

me people who had once praised his name had disappeared witho

o shield his darling Lacey from the shame of marrying a man lost to a coma. Craig couldn't bear for his favorite daughter to sacrifice her future, yet

offering. A pawn no on

amily-an empire of wealth and legacy-loomed before her like a maze she had been for

allway. Her dazed steps halted before an ornate, heavy wooden door. Lucy, ev

ide the room was the man who had risen from an illegitimate child to the head o

ing window. The air held a stillness, as though time itself had paused here. In the center of the space

d on Jonathan, and for a mom

dows against his now pale skin. His nose was high and sculpted, his lips thin but firm, pressed together

ave thought she was staring at a painti

He was alive, yet trapped in a s

Valerie, edged wit

ccident, meticulously explained his care routine to Va

ntly as Lucy described everything in detail-the care schedule, the feedi

et attentiveness seemed to so

y pulled back the thin bla

anslucent. The sharp contours of Jonathan's abdomen appeared like faint shadows, and further up-Valerie's eye

. Heat crawled up her neck, rushing to her ch

angled as she hurriedly averted her g

" She waved a hand toward the neatly organized medical supplies nearby. "I heard you graduated f

ed for breakthroughs that would change the field. But when her mother's accident shattered her world, she left it all behind and turn to medi

ould save her mother-Craig stole it away. He hid

e. Hatred clawed at her ribs, desperate for release. But

small chance of rescuing her, s

With that, Lucy stepped away

the spot, her gaze inevitably r

ensive medical training, Valerie had

hought she loved-there had bee

t. Then, a thought-sharp and cold-set

different from a

an might have been alive in body, but in every way

e breath. Steeling herself, Valerie pulled back