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The alcohol dried quickly on my skin, leaving behind a bitter, medicinal sting that burned like acid. But the physical chill was nothing compared to the ice settling in my chest. / Chapter 9 / 9

Chapter 9

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Alexander pulled a sleek, heavy titanium card from his inner pocket and tossed it onto the ivory tablecloth. It clattered against the crystal water glass, sliding to a halt inches from the restored silver cuff link box.

Alexander pulled a sleek, heavy titanium card from his inner pocket and...

The silence that followed Victor’s words in the kitchen was not empty. It hummed with the suffocating weight of a decade built on sand.

The silence that followed Victor’s words in the kitchen was not empty. I...

The crystal chandelier overhead hummed with a low, electric frequency that vibrated straight through Evelyn’s teeth. Below, the ballroom was a sea of glittering silk, pressed linen, and expensive champagne. Two hundred guests—her colleagues, her father’s business associates, people who had sent silver trays and crystal decanters—were laughing, turning their heads expectantly toward the grand staircase.

The crystal chandelier overhead hummed with a low, electric frequency th...

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