rom the 42nd floor of Voss

as. A palace built on ruin. A fortress of wealth, blood, and silence. During the

letto heels made no sound on the pristine marble floor. The security bad

e home except her. Her pulse was steady and she w

hive and slid the keycard. The door clicked open a

ned legal documents. This wasn't public company information, this was what the Voss Syndicate really ra

s inheritance contract, the one that proved Raelyn's father once owned

e date she knew by heart which was April 14, thi

led out a thin silver device which was a biometric override. Courtesy of R

linked green

nd a thick blac

ANCE TERMINA

'this is it', she thou

der which had page

her father's signature was there and be

ped, signed

appeared at the bo

: T

and bene

s breat

ere, He took part in signing o

ite. Every memory of his touch, his stare, that

just reven

as per

it to her encrypted drive, returne

she turned

hts fli

. Tw

n... da

system died. The door behind her hissed shut

id a voice fr

out from beh

is mid forties. The man had a scar abov

eak out files before, but yo

ink. "You should

exactly what your father

lood

?" she asked

he mess your father left and I've be

didn't

you even quoted the flower line. Some bloom eve

thudded. She

ed. "You're going to drop that drive, walk o

efore he co

the bullet grazed the edge of her jacket. She slammed his wrist

lun

om the nearby desk and plunged it in

e

eycard. The

footsteps. No alarms. Just her b

e elevator, the doors closed, and s

in her purse to be sure it w

-

ss couldn

lace dancing in its surface. Something wasn't right, he knew his

te La

hell w

he saw no past records, no school, no fingerpr

ords she said at the ball

long sip o

la

-

the flash drive plugged into her laptop. She scanned the files carefully, taking

der, an encrypted message

r: UN

I Know Wh

it after which a sing

fire, Raelyn, Damien

displaying her at the ballro

he backgroun

Valeria wa

in a painting on the

d stolen and hun

at the screen,

y peopl

hing her fro

she have before

op, stood up, and w

at her looked flawless,

ad a question burn

playing this close...

y, a priest re

a's father. Handed

er once. You'll he

the p

lyn and a new one. Celeste L

riest

yer for the sins that