ly around the long dining table. They carried
front of her. It was filled to the brim with boiling hot lobster bisque. Thick
save for the faint clinking of
it up, looking across the table at Aubree with a
Courtesy demanded she return the gesture. She re
But instead of grabbing the silver, Allyson faked a sudden, clumsy stumble. She let out a soft gasp, her arm flailing outward to catch her ba
ina tipped o
ured off the edge of the table. The scaldin
oiling soup immediately, trapping the extreme heat
ooden chair tipped backward and crashed on
t her paralyzed vocal cords failed her. No sound came out. She could only gasp
lyson let out a piercing
it to her chest. A few tiny drops of the sou
k so hard it scraped against the floor. He rushed a
panic. He gently pulled her hand away from her c
eat. "Call a doctor! Get the c
to pull the boiling, sticky fabric away from her skin. The pain was blinding,
completely blurred by tears of p
her. He did not even g
and turned toward the door. "Tell the driver t
oom, carrying Allyson like
head back just long enough to sneer
ing room door
or Augusta sitting frozen at the head of the
tack of wet, ice-cold towels. She dropped to her knees beside
istened to the distant roar of the Maybach's en
a dull, throbbing numbness. Inside her chest, the last
the edge of the table and pulled herself up. Her legs sho
/1/115036/coverbig.jpg?v=f020a14557cd7d06031b8a92c8e64bea&imageMogr2/format/webp)