, fueled by a surge of pure hatred. "Don'

ll wrong. He had expected defiance, greed, maybe even tears of remorse. Not thi

t nothing until I get what I want. You violated the terms of our separation. You returned

ldren-stoked the fire in her gut. She wanted to claw his

countered, his voice dangerously low. "A son who lo

ek office seemed to melt away, replaced by the suffocating darkness of the Hilton suite. It wasn't that she recognized him-she firmly believed her attacker was a faceless monster-but Arc

ponse for the dawning horror of a guilty woman being cornered. "What's the matter, Annelise? Finally rea

ut, the words tasting like ash. "You

he Sanders name with your infidelity." He turned away from her, walking back to

nfirm those children are not mine, so I can charge you with f

ren, even if he thought they weren't his, just to punish her. Or worse, if he discovered how exceptionally gifted they were, a ruthless tyrant like

er voice shaking but firm. "Th

ed a button on his desk console. A large screen on the wall flickered to life, showing a live fe

readable in his eyes. "So much potential. It would be a shame to s

lise felt the air leave her lungs. He would

I'll sign your damn paper. But you sign the divorce decree. Now. We take

ebrow. "You're in a po

battle that will drag your precious name through the mud

n her, even as he despised what he believed she represented. He was about to agree, to call

wall, now the only source of light, tur

xt appeared, typed

y from m

t the screen, stun

ds to open the door to her room. Or the Sanders Towe

gasped. "

Archibald asked, his voice

fear. "And he's not bluffing. He once flooded our apartment building'

. It was a dark, incredu

son," Ann

en who was trying to break out of a high-security cell. The bo

, the scre