tepped out, and stood for a moment on the familiar sidewalk. Once, walking into this building had given

rently, he hadn't gotten around to deleting her access yet. The eleva

sweet floral perfume that didn't

he walked toward the master bedroom, her heart like a cold, heavy stone. On the nightstand where her photograph used to sit was a new silv

of brand-new, brightly colored designer dresses, their tags still at

d out, wrapped in one of Ethan's luxurious white towels, her hair still wet. She g

y, "I never expected to see you here. Didn't Ethan tell you? Thi

, Seraphina asked, "

ctly manicured finger toward a storage cabinet at the end of the hallway. "Ethan

ars of work, and even the small, worn wooden music box-the only connection she still had to her parents-had all been tossed into a dusty corner like g

e hadn't even realized she was st

important portfolio and the music box, clutching them tightly against her chest. The clothes, shoes, and pers

oward the door, Scarlett walked over fro

a velvet jewelry box. "Your anniversary gift.

year before. When he had fastened it around her neck, she had cried with happiness, belie

the necklace inside. It caught the afternoon sunlight for a brie

Ethan this." Her voice was as cold and hard as the dia

action she had wanted. She had expected tears, despera

the apartment, the elevator doors

ully manufactured sobs in her voice, she embellished the story, describing how Seraphina had

nd chuckled softly. "She's still fighting it," he told Mark, who stood n

ightly to her chest. The sounds of the city swirled around her, yet she had never felt more alone.