Burning His Empire For My Sister

ine Co

ttled in my bones like a permanent chill. Jax p

bauble she flaunted on social media the next day. Meanwhile, the experimental treatment Kiera' s doctors had rec

had casually mentioned she thought the rolling hills would be a perfect place for a vineyard one day, and she d

, explained away, now lined up like soldiers,

garden of the local conservatory, her favorite place. The air was sweet with the scent of blooming flowers, a sickening

was

My assistant didn' t tell me. I' m

the local paper. He hadn' t heard because he hadn' t been looking. He hadn' t cared enough to

, but he was persistent. Finally, I an

o you wa

egan, his voice thick with a performance of grief

scaping my lips. "You were the one who divert

instantly defensive. "Brooklyn' s dog, he.

each word a piece of sharpened ice. "Tell me, in what world is a

didn' t think... Brookly

in the background, cooing his name. "Jax, hone

like gasoline on th

I said, my voice

, wa

ther second of his lies, not with he

apers my lawyer had drawn up months ago, during a fleeting moment of clarity after I' d first suspecte

a fool'

years ago. He' d said it was a private ceremony, just for us, to keep things simple and out of the public eye while his business wa

capped a pen. The signature was

mailed it to my lawyer with a simpl

st a building filled with ghosts and broken promises. I only went back for one reason: Kiera' s paintings. S

my ribs. As I approached on foot, I saw his car, a low-slung, obsce

anted to get Kiera' s things and leave without a confrontation. I crept

ass doors of the liv

her hair, his mouth devouring hers. It wasn' t a gentle kiss. It

ter, my body trembling. The sight of them, in my home, in the space where

shut, trying to b

rd the rose garden Kiera had helped me plant. Jax had his

her voice carrying on the still air. "But th

as thinking the same thing. We' ll tear it

same words he' d

arms around his neck, kissing him

re her laughter still echoed in the hallways if I listened hard e

ings in the attic. Kiera' s soul, captured on canva

er, my knee scraped against the rough terracotta. T

was e

r my foot. Both their hea