he bedroom floor in pale gray. Chloe hadn't slept. Her eyes were gritty
shmere, but in a severe, impeccably tailored Tom
om and made her way downstairs to the small, secondary study on the groun
irring the only sound in the silent house. Page after page of dense, legal tex
them into a simple manila envelope. She sealed the flap, forgoing
r tray with a single cup of coffee in her hands. Lena was in her late fifties, a woman who had worked for the Car
al attire, the stark envelope on the desk. H
"I'm leaving him, Lena," she
polished silver. Lena set the tray down on a side table, her hand flying
nspiratorial hush. "Be careful. The Carlisl
I'd rather have nothing than stay in this marriage for one more day." She met Lena's gaze, h
eezed Chloe's hand. "If it comes to court," she said, her voice thick w
eart. She gave Lena's hand a grateful squeez
wn the long corridor toward the morning room, wh
out of the dining room like a cannonball, slam
to steady him, but he slapped he
a grotesque parody of his father's. He pointed a finger at her nose. "A
ing her completely off guard. "
his hips in a posture of belligerent certainty. "She said
a shard of ice thr
es on his level. "Ethan, that's not true. What
back, his eyes, so much like Julia
You're a selfish monster! I
ing the air from her lungs. A suffoc
rd to grab Ethan's arm, to
d, grabbed a small, delicate orchid in a ceramic pot fr
elain and dark, damp soil exploded outwards, spat
t her feet, then at the furious, hostile child who was supposed to be he
son with him. She did
and walked toward the dining room
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