The Ghost Heiress: Rising From Shadows

r knuckles turned the color of bone. She wasn't looking at the architecture. She was counting. Inhale for four. Hold for

seal on the back felt hard and uneven against her thumb. It was th

es. The strobe lights were relentless, a lightning storm contained w

f Huff Enterprises. He wore his tuxedo like armor. On his left arm was Ainsley, his twenty-year-old daughter

t stood Har

. She laughed at something Grafton said, throwing her head back,

One more of the family

oser. They moved in sync, a three-headed hydra of wealth a

forcing her face into the blank, porcelain mask she had perfected over

arble stairs, a sharp, rhythmic

hand raising automatically. Then he saw her eyes. They were dark, flat

e children's allergies she had diagnosed-they looked right through her.

nd Grafton. The scent of his cologn

ce the way an animal senses a shift in barometric pressure. When he finall

he hissed, his voice low enough to slide und

lue legal folder. She held it out with both hands, elbows tucked in. It was

if it were contaminated waste. He flicked his eyes

cut through the hum of the room like a scalpel. "It's t

y turned, his champagne glass

r from her hands to stop the scene from escala

whispered, stepping into her space. "We

her aunt from head to toe, her lip curli

sic. "Really, Katharina? The theme is Champagne Gold.

and practiced. She placed a hand on Ainsley'

her voice a silken weapon. "Some people just don't u

lder. "Thank god you're here. You actually

t between the heiress and the media darling, with the d

d. She pointed a manicured

Grandma's eme

ainst her pulse. It was the only thing her grandmother had l

clashes with that hideous dress. Harlow needs something g

for him to say that the necklace was personal property. She waited fo

ress line watching them hungry for drama. He l

ina," he said. "Don't m

o ash. The connection snapped. It wasn't a loud break;

and from her neck

uck," s

out of the ballroom, past the security, and into the cool night air where a b