glass scraping against concrete. "Chloe? My God, you look... rough." Her eyes raked over Chlo

volatile cocktail of fear and anger. "You're ali

touched Chloe's li

ward, positioning himself slightly in front of his mother. He looked up at Pres

mean to my mommy?" he asked,

imple and direct,

nd who is this? The bastard child? I told

's face cracked, a flash of protective fury blazing in

tone perfectly matter-of-fact. "My mommy was married when I was born. So logical

Sienna momentarily speechless, her m

e saw a faint, fleeting resemblance in the boy's features-the shape of his j

waste your breath on them, sweetie," she said, her voice dripping with

er than any shout could have. It was a dismissal

osure shattering. She lunged forward, her hand raised, palm

ossibly swift and precise, she caught Sienna's wrist i

rength in Chloe's slender hand was unreal. It

ip of ice, "I was strapped to a bed, too weak to fight back." She squeezed

enna's hand away. The force was enough to make Sie

ntion. A pair of airport security guard

tened the sleeve of her turtleneck, her com

ing. "You think you can just show up like this and

oking him directly in the eye. The hatred in her gaze was s

carrying the weight of a death sentence, "is

ah tugged on her hand, a mi

" he whispered, just loud enough

ly sculpted eyebrow. "

they're ugly." He then stuck his tongue

uch a heavy threat, was so bizarrely incongru

the sound of her amusement the final, ultimate insult. She was no longer their

, enraged Sienna and a deeply, profoundly unsettled Preston in their wake. The ghost they had creat

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