I fly out of the backseat of the car and rush up the driveway. “Garnar!” Thea wails. Some of the neighbors turn their lights on. Eyes start peeking through the windows. The door opens a crack. “Go home, Thea!” Garnar shouts. “Before I call the police!” “You wouldn’t do that to me! You love m
“You have no right,” Dad says, his own face twisting with anger. “I have every right, as someone who cares about Esther, to speak up when I see her being mistreated. And you, sir, are mistreating her.” “How dare you!” Mom gasps. “Is she or is she not your daughter?” Miles asks them both, shift
This is a pretty shabby house for being listed at such an expensive price. Hugo warned him already about the lead pipes. If it wasn’t historic, Miles would suggest having someone tear this whole place down and rebuild it. As it is, they need the right buyer to come around with a passion for restorat
I see on the news that a demon of my past, Mr. Carpenter, has turned himself into the police. The police searched his home, and found disgusting content involving minors on his computer. It was enough, with his confession of having paid for underage victims that sealed his fate. Meticulously, I wa
He steps closer to me, staring down at me with an intensity that makes me feel seen. Exposed. Vulnerable. “Miles…” I say again, weaker than before. I don’t know how to counter something so utterly heart-wrenching. God, I am in love with this man. Maybe I’m not ready to say it aloud, knowing we are
I immediately hold Violet close as her sobs shake her body. Iris is more mad than sad, but her voice still shakes as she adds, “Dad’s going to leave us behind.” That’s news to me. Loving our daughters is the only thing Garnar and I have in common. “What makes you say that?” I ask. “Rachel,” Ir
“I am his ex,” I tell her. “Oh.” She pauses a moment. Just as I hope I’ll finally have some civility now, she says, “That must be why you are in his phone as bitch.” “Great. Thanks for that. Please put Garnar on the phone now.” “I don’t think I will,” Rachel says. “I know how you exes are. It
The rage I’ve been repressing since talking to Rachel on the phone comes bursting out of me, and before I really know what I’m doing, I’m opening the door to Miles’s office and stepping inside. I realize only after I closed the door that I didn’t knock. The rudeness of it makes me freeze. Miles
“We should watch the rest,” I tell him, though my voice is shaky. “No,” Miles says, more firmly. I breathe a sigh of relief. For my job, I know we have to hear it. But personally, I would like to go the rest of my life without even thinking about Edward Zimmer again. “The numbers are already u
Edward’s response comes in the form of a video message. Crystal set it up on the television on the wall, while Miles and I huddle closer to the screen. Miles holds tightly onto my hand. “Whatever happens. Whatever he says. We will stand against him and we will win,” he says. I believe him. Last
How could I say anything but yes? A thousand times over, yes, yes, yes. I’ve tried so hard since that first night, sleeping with Miles while thinking him a call boy, to not fall in love with him. Yet, as hard as I tried not to, my heart kept pulling me straight back to him. My love for Miles is so
We hold the press conference in front of the headquarters, setting up a podium outside the double doors. The news media organizations have been notified, so they send reporters and cameramen, who have set up around the podium. The release we sent out already told them that the conference would be
Later, I’m going to have to have a meeting and call in all the employees to discuss this. Their care is appreciated, but I need to be able to do my job. For now, though, it seems as if Crystal gets the hint. With a shallow nod, she continues her report. “Mr. Zimmer has been quiet since the inter
Garnar, knowing I was giving a difficult interview tonight, offered to watch the kids. Since they are at Garnar’s house, I expected the house to be empty when I finally returned. Instead, I see Miles’s car parked in my driveway and the additional security staked out around the premises. It’s a rel
Jean was warned about the story, but she still gasped. My eyes went a little wide. We came here to talk about this, but Daphne’s direct wording leaves me speechless. Daphne didn’t come here just to tell a story. She was ready to reveal her truth, once and for all. “Esther and I were victims,” Da
In the Harbinger HQ, in one of the studio sets arranged to look like a fancy living room, Daphne and I sit side by side on a white couch, facing an interviewer, a woman interviewer named Jean, who sits on an arm chair facing us. The setting is intimate, and Jean is a kind, middle-aged woman, who i
“Miles…” Emotion overflows within my heart. There are so many things I want to say, to express – my gratitude, my own affections, explanations about why this has been so difficult for me to accept – yet in the moment, everything gets tangled up in my throat. “Miles…” My tears fall from my chee