bulbs wer

avy weight on the small of my back, his fingers digging into the fabric of my dress, holding me in place. To th

ne in Silicon Valle

ice a low command meant only for me.

t just over the photographers' heads. My face felt like a mask, tight and unnatural. I was Ava Reed, a

Sterling! Is it true Sterling Innova

public smile brilliant and cold. "We're always looking for new oppo

he narrative, just like he controlled ev

er to wait. I stood perfectly still, a doll on a shelf. People' s eyes slid over me, some with pity, some with contempt, most with the

eadable. He didn' t say a word, just took a glass of

it,"

, but I took a si

smile playing on his lips. "I

tle faster. His tas

e crowd. "Roderick Vance. He' s the last holdout on the OmniCorp b

is gaze locked onto a gray

ngs." His voice dropped, becoming thick with disdain. "I need you to keep him occ

d in my stomach. It w

with dark amusement, "when I walk by with his wife, I want y

nk with shock. This was a ne

"Is that too difficult for you? I pay you eno

und my art for a lifetime. A sum that was mean

said, my voice a

s eyes on me, a physical pressure. Roderick Vance was exactly as Leo described. He pree

rner of my eye, a woman with a stra

umbled, just as planned, and the cold liquid splashed

rned to stare. The humiliation was a hot fire crawling up my neck. I could hear Leo'

e with rage. "You clumsy

nsults, the stares, the judgment. T

for me, I finally let the mask drop. I leaned against the cold glass of the floor-to-c

t mean anyt

ere was only one picture there. A man with kind eyes and a gentle smile, lying i

. My

re. The reason I en

my phone' s screen. It was a simple progress bar, fil

onment Va

Leo St

00% disillusionment to

ce of my soul that Leo tried to crush, it all serv

ine of Ethan' s f

ered to the empty room. "I pro

' t crying from sadness. I was crying from a deep, burning resolve.