partment building. She scanned the street, her nerves sc

window. A wave of warmth and relief wa

etached themselves from the shadows. They were the s

o feel surprised. In that instant, one thought flashed through he

r, Arthur Price, stood there, perfectly compos

voice polite but unyielding. "Th

me, she felt no anger, no urge to cry. She only felt tired - bone-deep, soul-crushing exhaustion. She

od there, quietly taking in the three men around her, and then gave a small nod. Faced with this absolu

ard Long Island. It stopped before a mansion so vast it

Shepherd. The old man was calmly pruning a rose, as if

e kind, his eyes sharp as

r own eyes cold and empt

er with a folder. "From now on, you will live he

to class, planning how to scrape together next semester's tuition. Today she was being told she was mar

already signed his consent and accepted ten million dollars," he said calmly. "L

new Jed was despicable, but she never imagined he could

gustus added smooth

nd floor. The windows were reinforced. All her perso

eliers, priceless paintings. Everything was too expensive to touch, but everythin

two days, a doctor came and adm

tly removed anything that could be used a

ounting the bars on the windows, the carvings on the ceiling, the number of days she c

was a shadow of her form

oom with a pristine white

raham will become legally effective

e she was numb. Resistance was futile. She needed to conserve her strength, to wait for an opportunity that might n

he was simply locked back in her room. The

n Geneva, Graham Shepherd had just conc

vate email to dea

, sat at the top of his inbox. The subj

as another one of the old man

contained only a video

was a legally binding marriage ce

's name was C