struggled to window, D

den tabletop. It was the number for the nursing home where he

el

was frantic. "Seraphina! It's your father. He collapsed.

the table blurred into an mean

he apartment, hailing a cab with a wild wave of her arm. The ride thro

losed door to the emergency operating room. A kind-faced doct

ssive coronary event. We stabilized him, but he ne

her voice hoarse. "

e need you to handle the financial arrangements first. The hospital requires a

s an astronomical sum, an amount she couldn't possibly produce in a month, let alone in t

world who could produce that kind

life was on the line. She walked to the end of the deserted hallway, her back

told you to st

roken. "Damien, please. I need your help. It's my father... he's dying. He had

the way it stripped her bare. She was giving

e was long and heavy. For a crazy, stup

id of any emotion. It was as

S

of a physical blow. She blinke

bled into his tone. "Seraphina, I've been waiting for this. For

her own ragged breathing. The cruelty was so

g in her sweaty palm. "Why do you hate

ther what he did to my family. What he did to my sister. He deserves to suffer

ne wen

the linoleum floor. His words echoed in her head. 'My sister'- Aria. The beautiful, fra

sudden ruin... it wasn't just bad luck. It was a demolition. And Damien Blackwood had been holding the

when she saw Seraphina on the floor. "Ma'am? We reall

from the brink. Reality, sharp and

eyes, when she opened them, were no longer filled with despair. They were burning w