knew this was

ilded cage, was Liam Donovan's monu

ther, Elena, was a burning ember she banked deep insi

hance felt impo

Liam's voice, too loud, too cheerf

sn't

o the entry, pretending to be absorbed

It was always Sara

e, sickly sweet, drifted in. "After that

ht, but Maya knew the undercurrent. Every word, every gestu

lated t

from the quiet life she'd tried to build after her initi

rriage. She cal

beautiful, always successful, always a stark contra

tant. Sarah was his confidante, his rock,

rah trailing him. He stopped, looked

said, his voice flat. He d

undred-dollar bill from his wallet and tos

e way he equated her to hire

tightened on

ly whispered, her voice hoarse. She looked at Sara

d, a short,

night. "Are you jealous, Maya? After all this time,

member Phoenix, five years

t back to the past. The opulent kitchen around her seemed t

nt near the university, blueprints for sustainable communities spread ar

said, his arm around her. "Veridian S

'd loved him with an in

ce called it. Maya knew it was Alistair Finch, the corrupt developer her mother had been fighting.

from Finch's crosshairs, sh

-paying corporate job in New York, that

he disbelief, the hurt tha

y?" he'd yelled, his voice cracki

she'd said, her own heart sha

back, the image of his devastat

ed with a sudden economic downturn, pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. He called her, dozens of tim

Phoenix Fund," a blind trust. She'd anonymously funneled every cent into Veridian. It was he

o had always harbored a quiet crush on him. Sarah, who later "miraculously" found an

bitterness and a desire to prove her wrong, beca

e to track her down to the small, quiet town where she'd b

simply stated, "You owe me. You'll marr

, this life, w

uld destroy him. And the Phoenix Fund. Her secret gift. He thought Sarah had saved him. The irony was a constant, bitter taste in her mouth. Sometimes, she wondered if there was also a deeper,

y red-rimmed from un

pain, she k

action softer, almost curious. "Still carryi

otive that would validate his hatred.The present

even from himself, was still paramount. An

ice surprisingly steady. "You're righ

she pretended to be. Their future was a wasteland, an