Burning silk

r was

old lantern posts. In a quiet neighborhood tucked between a bookshop and a florist, Leina Carter stirred a pot of h

plush bench beneath the kitchen window served as a lookout point for Brownie, her golden-furred spaniel, who now lay curled on

minutes," she murmured, as if he

egance in her posture, in the warmth of her smile, in the calm steadiness of her decisions. While others chased spotlight and status, she fo

e faint hum of an old jazz record playing in the background. She had built t

f black steel and glass that pierced the clo

s wrapped around the room, offering a view of the city he practically ruled-but Adrian rarely looked out. His mind was al

eather chair, fingers steepled, gaze distant. Billionaire. Innov

t see was the man be

betrayal, ambition, and grit. He trusted very few, spoke even less. But those within his guarded circl

ent. That he secretly funded animal shelters. That he visited the

rld kindness. He didn't be

y she was

ture. She had looked him in the eye without blinking, challenged hi

y his name. His em

the man-and h

ldn't stop thin

s frosting a fox-shaped cake for a baby shower. Brownie bark

hone between her shoulder and ear, still hold

ldings. Mr. Blackwood has a for

d, eyebro

equested you, specifically. He's asked to meet at Rykell

head as she offered Brownie a small

ork for billionaires who thin

the line. Then, a second voic

asking," came Adria