er's

is name was Marcus, a man whose loyalty w

," I said, my voi

cough. "Mrs. Stark... Har

" I replied

. "I want every photograph of me and

. The staff had stacked the gold and silver frames in a high pile. A decade of my life: o

oar, consuming the smiling faces, melting the silver, turning ten year

the photos of

zzed. A tex

do it sooner than I thought. There's

g, a fragile spark in the vas

home. He walked into the garden, his face a mask of con

his arms, lifting me as if I were a broken doll, and carried me through the p

side me, pulling a thick, leathe

softly. "I know you think I don't under

fifty-one percent of the Stark Organization's legitimate front businesses

hain, forged in gold, design

re, Harper. You and no one else

ng a delicate, diamond-studded watch. He clasped it around my wri

stroking my pulse point. "So I'll always know you'r

wasn't for safety. It

the low, dangerous tone he reserved for orders,

d not

band supporting his grieving wife. He announced the share transfer, painting it as a tribut

the real p

voice booming, "I have a surprise for my beautiful

ll boy, no older than four, walked out. It

y adopting a so

my!" he yelled, the word sounding rehearsed, a

of of my husband's betrayal in my arms while the cameras fla

d, rushing onto the stage with a

y. "Cody has a severe allergy, he can't be around flowers." She was dressed as a social wo

er away. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed, loud eno

sion shattered the moment the door swung shut. He didn't release her

s than I thought," he m

ou're not so bad

ut not before the boy, Cody, saw me

as all Kasey. "You're not my mom," he spat, and then he d

. Eli's eyes swept over me, then the sc

. He turned to Kasey, his expression softening insta

And he was sending me h