Chapter 1 1

Lightning tore through the purple sky outside the Reeves estate, illuminating the study in a harsh, strobe-light flash. For a split second, the shadows in the corners of the room seemed to lunge forward, mirroring the tension that made the air inside thick enough to choke on.

Julian Reeves sat behind the mahogany desk that had belonged to Imogen's father only a month ago. His face was tight, the skin stretched over his cheekbones by a greed he didn't bother to hide anymore. He looked like a vulture that had finally found the carcass it had been circling for years.

Imogen Mooney leaned back into the tufted leather of the guest chair. She didn't look like a woman who was about to lose everything. She looked bored. She extended a slender leg, crossing her ankles, and reached out to flick the edge of the document sitting on the desk. The paper made a sharp thwack sound in the silence.

"It's a generous offer, Imogen," the family lawyer said. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes sliding away from hers. He was looking at a point somewhere past her left ear, unable to meet the gaze of the woman he was helping to disinherit. "Considering your... departure five years ago. The board is concerned about stability."

"Stability," Imogen repeated. The word rolled off her tongue, flat and dry. She didn't look at the lawyer. She kept her eyes on Julian.

Julian smirked. He opened the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a checkbook. The sound of him tearing the slip of paper was loud, like fabric ripping. He slid it across the polished wood.

"One hundred thousand dollars," Julian said. "A settlement check. For you to waive any and all claims the children might have on the Reeves trust. Take it, sign the waiver, and disappear. We don't want you embarrassing us anymore."

Imogen looked down at the check. The zeros looked like little nooses. One hundred thousand dollars for a legacy worth billions. It was an insult designed to draw blood. Her lips curved up, not in a smile, but in a sharp, dangerous arc.

The heavy oak doors of the study burst open.

Two small figures stumbled into the room. Leo and Mia. They were five years old, twins, their blonde curls a chaotic mess that defied the expensive styling someone had attempted. They looked terrified, their chests heaving as if they had been running.

"Leo! Mia!" Grace, Julian's daughter and the new darling of the Reeves empire, rushed in behind them. She grabbed Leo's arm, her nails digging into the fabric of his blazer. "You little brats, you can't just run in here. Daddy is working."

Leo yanked his arm back with a strength that surprised her. He didn't look at Grace. He didn't look at Julian. He scrambled across the Persian rug and launched himself at Imogen, Mia right behind him.

Imogen caught them. The impact of their small bodies against hers knocked the air out of her lungs, but her arms closed around them instantly. It was a reflex. A biological imperative. Her hands went to the backs of their heads, pressing their faces into her stomach, shielding their eyes from the room.

"Get them out of here," Julian sneered. He looked at the twins with the kind of disgust usually reserved for vermin. "I won't have those children running wild in my house."

The air in the room shifted. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

Imogen's lethargy evaporated. She didn't move fast, but the stillness that came over her was terrifying. She stood up, lifting Mia onto her hip while keeping Leo's hand firmly in hers. The lawyer took a subconscious step back.

"Careful, Uncle," Imogen said. Her voice was low, a vibration that could be felt in the floorboards. "Your blood pressure."

She reached out with her free hand and picked up the check. Julian watched her, expecting her to fold it, to put it in her pocket. He was expecting submission.

Imogen held his gaze. Her fingers tightened on the paper. With a slow, deliberate motion, she tore the check down the middle. Then again. And again.

She let the pieces fall. They fluttered down like snow, landing on the pristine desk, on the expensive rug, on Julian's lap.

"You're making a mistake," Julian hissed, his face turning a mottled red. "You walk out that door, Imogen, and you are nothing. You lose the name. You lose the protection. You'll be on the street in a week."

"I'd rather sleep in a gutter than breathe the same air as you," Imogen said.

She turned on her heel. Grace stood in the doorway, her mouth open, trying to pivot into the role of the peacemaker. "Imogen, wait, don't be rash-"

"Save it, Grace," Imogen said, brushing past her. "I hope you all choke on it. The money. The house. All of it."

The butler, old Mr. Henderson, stepped forward as if to block her path, but Imogen shot him a look so cold he froze in place. She walked out of the study, down the long hallway lined with portraits of ancestors who would be rolling in their graves, and pushed open the heavy front doors.

Rain hit her instantly. It was a deluge, a wall of water that soaked her trench coat in seconds. She didn't run. She walked down the stone steps, shielding Mia's head with her collar.

A black sedan was waiting at the curb, its engine idling, red taillights reflecting on the wet pavement. Imogen had ordered it twenty minutes ago. She opened the back door and buckled the twins into their booster seats.

"Mommy?" Leo whispered. His voice trembled. "Where are we going?"

Imogen wiped a raindrop from his cheek with her thumb. Her skin was wet and cold, but her touch was gentle. "Somewhere safe, sweetheart. Somewhere nobody can ever make you feel small again."

She slammed the door and climbed into the front seat. "New York City," she told the driver.

As the car pulled away, the imposing silhouette of Reeves Manor faded into the storm. Imogen reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone. Not her smartphone-that one was already in a trash can in the foyer. This was an encrypted satellite phone, sleek and anonymous.

She powered it on. The screen glowed with a soft white light. A single, encrypted messaging app showed one new notification.

She entered a complex alphanumeric key. The screen turned black with gray text.

A message from "Sterling" popped up: The asset is in play. Tonight. Whatever the cost.

Imogen's thumbs moved quickly. ETA 90 minutes. Secure the access codes.

Back in the study, Julian stood by the window, watching the taillights disappear. He picked up the phone on his desk.

"Cancel her cards," he barked into the receiver. "Freeze everything. The trust, the emergency accounts, all of it. She'll be crawling back here begging for scraps in three days."