oft glow of the lights framing her face like a portrait. She was applying a fresh

zed on the ma

her sycophantic friends. It was an email from the

attachment with

wider. Her perfectly glos

te. The Obsidian Estate. The fortress of the Lawrence Group. There were photos of Ayla confronting their mother in front

d until her knuckles turned stark

rosive-burned up her thro

on, her voice low and venomous. "How the hell d

shallow, transactional mind, there was only one logical explanation

of expensive perfume and pots of designer makeup crashed to the hardwood floor,

thumbs flying across the

the luxury SUV to an anonymous burner account-o

ing with poison. Selling her body to old men to pay for her t

nd every major gossip group chat. The message spread like wildfi

at behind a massive oak desk. The storm had passed, leaving the night sky clear and cold. He was sti

se. He carried a thick manila folder stamped with red classif

boss," Morgan said, his brow deeply fu

thick stack of papers and began to read, h

da orphanage. It showed terrible grades-Ds and Fs across the board. Multiple truancy records. A brief stint wo

Every signature was perfectly legible

She's a street rat. A nobody. Whatever skills she has, she must have picke

ion record, his dark eyes unreadable. His long, calloused finger bega

Tap

ada-a girl who never finished high school, who has no formal education, no training, no credentials-know

wly from his face as the inescapabl

ssed it dismissively back onto

clean. Every stamp is flawless. Every signature is perfectly legible. Every gap is neatly filled. Someone built thi

ainframes. Federal databases. The kind of clea

argument. "If we keep digging, we'll trip whatever alarms she's set. I don't want to spoo

ys of St. Jude's, Ayla and Clotilde

e no longer just staring and whispering; they were openly pointing, laug

r snickered to her friend as they strutted past, loud enough for

her fingers shaking as she opened the school forum.

baby! They're saying you're sleeping with old men for money! There are pictures of you get

herself at the Obsidian Estate-slightly grainy, but unmistakabl

ark, genuinely amused smirk

st felt a profound, almost pitying sense of bemusement for whoever was stupid eno

voice terrifyingly calm. "Words

the hall. But her eyes-cold and calculating-were already sc

me had