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ella
te clung to my fever-drenched skin. I pressed a trembling hand to my chest,
teady, frantic beat
nch furniture, the balcony overlooking the gray expanse of Lake
my stepmother, Catherine, had played God in the Rowland family parlor. In that life, she had handed me to Harrison Davies, the golde
ctacle of champagne and lies. Clara's wedding, by contrast, had been a grim affair at the Cook County Courtho
g him into a senator. I thought I held power in Washington. But Clara had
rrow streets and speakeasies of the West Side. He spent his nights at The Green Mill with his mistresses, letting the city think he
d Harrison's entire political career. He proved that the law was just a weapon for the strongest predator. My lifeheavy gold wedding
the script
to the monster. She thought she was condemning me to a living hell. She ha
at me since he slipped this ring on my finger. To him, I was a forced ba
idn't need his affecti
staring back at me was pale, but her eyes were no longer those of a naive g
dding, and I had spent most of them
d me from my thoughts. It was
st in that ingrained display of mafia deference. "Your broth
's loyal lapdogs, coming under the guise of a family visit to i
said, my voice steady and devoid of
ind a broken girl trembling in the devil's lair. I smoothed the fabric over my hips, stepping
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