Blanchard family and Mayor Thompson, the men who had ordered his father' s murder. David Miller, investigative journalist, silenced on t

d

Chennault from his life. It was the only way to keep the B

erilous, life-altering missi

ettled in his ches

va, a place once filled with music and laughter, now a maus

soft laugh, then a deeper, male murmur

t had become a pattern, a so

in his jacket pocket. Humiliation, sharp and bitter, rose in his th

loosely tied. Julian followed, a smug look

eyes, once warm for

she said, her voice

led out a wad of cash, and t

s. Now get out. We

of his perceived worth in her eyes n

The gesture, a physical e

ghtened. He ign

y him? Wh

understand, even though understanding wouldn' t change his path. It was a

n? He' s here. He' s kind. He' s not a sellout w

they did. Each one a reminder of the

gh a sudden downpour in the French Quarter. Her music, his designs, their dreams intertwined. They were the golden couple, their passion

too close to the Blanchards. The first, subtle

n he told her he was taking a job with a construction firm known as a Blanchard front. He' d painted

ar swerving. Then the screech of tires, the sickening crunch. A h

said she needed a rare, complex surgery, a specialized

s a m

d through contacts his father had cultivated, contacts who owed David Miller, Ethan became her anonymous donor. He gave a part of himself, literally, to save her. He woke up in a different hospital, pain s

nchards thought they' d silenced the Millers. They didn' t know Ethan had copies of his father' s most critical files, the ones David had entrusted to him days before his death. He was the sole witness to their ultimate

d living room, Ava' s ey

ow us away for them?" Her voice was softer

greater one. He could end her suffering with a few words, tell her the truth. But t

ssion, letting the vi

y. Power. You woul

er for her. He saw the last flicker of hope die in her ey

he had to keep maki