The Velvet Lie

ike a ticking clock against the

a Lane w

d just arrived

ong black coat fluttering like a raven's wings. Her sunglasses stayed on even under the gra

er skin had tu

e. But Sera merely tilted her chin-a gesture that said she belonged. He didn't

ps curled

ed this entranc

-

ambition. New York hadn't changed. The powerful still rule

n merging with the city lights. Beneath her skin, adrenaline pul

iming the life tha

l the truth buried itself beneath money and influence. The man who gained the most from her father's downfall?

a speech. The cameras caught the way he clasped

t, she knew he wa

-

. She was here to drag it out of him, piece by piece. Slowly. Eac

m already filling the air from the drawn bath. Peeling off her cloth

t Dominic Tho

practice smiling

-

with grey skies, the kin

e knot. The gallery was tucked between sleek buildings on the Upper East Side, a

ng the exhibit, of course. It was for c

he entered,

e in t

't her arrival that turned heads-it was her aura. That impossib

ion soft but unreada

mi

ic Th

lness of someone who commanded attention without speaking. His suit was charcoal, and his

n down what was lef

s hand gesturing slightly-controlled an

ally found her across

dn't l

-

n was brief-almost bori

voice, now touched with a subtle European

gaze sweeping over her slowly

"But I've heard of you,

the corners. "I hope

ppose that depends on whic

h something darker-something

his hand.

replied, sliding

ke that, th

-

tic, charming, present at the right galas, charity dinners, silent auctions. Al

minic

ame more pointed. He asked about her backgroun

r mother was French. That her father had d

t push. He si

how dangerous

-

hing changed cam

. A gala.

he party, her eyes scanned for him-and there he was, by the bar. She mo

ice was smooth

, ignoring how her

d at appearing a

nk. "Maybe I enjoy

you thriv

lly, lifting her chin. "A

faded. "

l down her spine-not

by laughter and clinking glasses, yet

ore about you," h

d. "You a

ured. "I don'

in that mome

world. Insi

rap w

o was

-

xit. Just as she reached the car, he caught her

s brushed

all," h

t smile t

'll

the car, the door closing like a

-

ror, her eyes caugh

raphin

o cried at her

iress who

woman reborn in ve

ontrol her, he was about to learn what h