st coated the desk, and the mattress was stripped bare, smelling faintly of neg

o hire a maid to run a duster over the furniture. They despised her-that was no secret-but

t the next twenty minutes wiping down the surfaces. Only when the room met he

n't mak

ou're fina

perfectly tousled, she looked less like a woman getting ready for bed and more like an actre

alking. "Move, Jordi

ut to grab Bailey's arm. "Mom said you've been staying out for days. People are

cticed ease. "Still listening at keyh

rs. The venom returned to her eyes the moment she saw Bailey, but it melted into a sickening swe

lene's screeching that could wake the d

artyr to perfection. "I just wanted to make su

hat she is. Bailey, stay in your room tomorrow morning. Jordin's fiancé is coming over for lunch.

the two of them-the doting mother and the two-faced sister. "Don't worr

high-stakes lunch or the Morrows' VIP guest. Instead, she went for a grueling five-mil

to a messy, high ponytail. Dressed in tight black leggings and a cropped athletic tank, she radiated

aybach parked near the entrance. The custom license plate was a s

ght to the kitchen for water, but the heavy, oppressive sil

ng as the financial magazines claimed-crisp white shirt, sharp, unforgiving features, and a cold authority that seemed to suck the

damp skin catching the light of the foyer chandelier. She d

d onto hers. The reaction was microscopic-a sudden stillness, a slight tighte

xact temperature of her skin, the way she breathed when she was ex

letic appearance as if Bailey had dragged a corpse onto the rug. "What are you doing? I told y