ed like money and success, a scent I barely remembered. Outside the floor-to-ce

professor I once knew, the man whose dreams I had helped build. Now, he was a titan, a king in this w

voice smooth and low.

d through the mud. I knew who was behind it all. I was looking right at him. I stood before him, a g

e playing on his lips. He enjoyed

o him stood a young woman, Sarah Hayes. His adopted protégé. She looked

se sympathy, "I heard about your troubles. Your father'

y father. The reason I was here.

r. Maxwell. A very important alliance for my company." He paused, letting the words hang in the air. "U

ng every bit the fragile flow

he contract is signed." He slid a check across the polished desk. It stopped righ

n insult from a man who built his empire on a foundation I helped lay. It was just enough to cover

ry Mr. Maxwell. They say he's an invalid, a hermit. You won't even have to se

I stepped forward and picked up the check. The paper felt heavy, like a death se

red, the words tasting

ir, the picture of satisfaction. He dismissed me with a wave of

like a spider's crawl. "I'm so sorry it has to be this

doors were closing, but I stopped. I couldn't leave, not yet. Some instinct made

r smooth, but sharp with irritation

ce was different now too, stripped of its sweetness, replaced w

s about a broken heart." He laughed, a short, ugly sound. "The arrogant fool. She has no idea I orchestrated everything. Her company

ake, a casual breakup. He had systematically destroyed

if she finds out he isn't some old inv

locked away in that mansion. By the time she realizes the trap she's in, it will be

t just revenge. This was a meticulously crafted hell, and he had just gleefully pushed me inside. My father's life was the bait, and I had taken it withou