My Karma

ight curiosity, the questions stirring deep in her mind. The connection to her family's downfall was still too faint to be a

t had left her family's business in shambles

g replayed in her head, a reminder that perhaps he knew something she didn't. But that only strengthene

on her family's downfall. She'd known him through her father, back when her family still owned Hale Enterpris

rowd. The man who sat across from her had aged, his graying hair framing tired eyes, but his

you since you were a teenager. I'd recognize those

"Good to see you too, Tom.

houghtfully. "Heard you'd gone into finance. Not surpr

to her voice. "But I'm not here about my career. I need to talk

cleared his throat. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while. It was a

fully, keeping Lucas's name out of it for now. "I need to know if there's an

ou know I covered that story inside and out. But... there were a few names invo

ke

has his hands in the dealings of powerful people without ever really showing his face. And word was that he had a con

ame stirring a faint memory.

rebuilt himself under a new identity. And guess who was rumored to hel

she'd expected-an actual link between Lucas and one of the shadowy players responsible

e barely a whisper. "Are you saying h

stries. And it's not surprising, considering how Marconi has managed to avoid the law all these ye

s-this was on another level. She couldn't help but feel a strange, almost dizzying blend of excitement and fear. She fin

she murmured, her

Grant isn't someone you want to be on the wrong side of. If he f

d whirled with everything she'd learned, her pulse racing with an edge of adrenaline. She

d with a quiet undercurrent of suspicion. She kept her findings to herself, choosing not

e. One evening, just as she was preparing to leave her of

M. Your favori

The nerve-the presumption that she would just show up. But the thrill of the chase

ere she and her parents had celebrated birthdays back in the day. She felt a pang

r as she crossed the room. The maitre d' showed her to the table, and she cou

voice smooth and almost

utral. "I didn't hav

e found her defiance amusing. "Of course you

down, her gaze fixed on his. "You se

ing with amusement. "Confidence is

moment to steady herself. "So, why did you invite m

ust slightly. "I thought we could both use a moment to... clea

back down. "There's a lot I'd like

d. "You never kno

o test him, to see how far he'd go.

readable crossed his gaze. He took a slow sip of his wine before he answ

sharpening. "Because it seems he

re. "Marconi was... an acquaintance. Someone with inter

low. "An acquaintance who helped

een there before. He set his wine glass down, his gaze never leaving hers.

"Convenient answer, Mr. Grant. But you

made her heart pound. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet but laced with a warni

back down, even as a sliver of

w something vulnerable beneath his steely exterior. But it vanished as

s voice barely audible. "Jus

ving Sophia feeling as though she were standing at the edge of a p