AUTHOR’S POV
"She is not a transaction, Lucas. She is a human being whose world was shattered long before you decided to pick up the pieces for your own benefit."
Nicholas Carter’s voice was thin, but it held a resonance that forced Lucas to pause. They stood in the shadows of the mezzanine, overlooking the ballroom where the winter-forest theme was in full bloom. Below them, the elite of the city moved like colorful koi in a dark pond, but up here, the air was cold and filled with the scent of Nicholas’s medicinal tea and old wood.
Lucas adjusted his cufflinks, his expression a mask of bored stone. "She is a Carter now, Grandfather. That was the goal, wasn't it? You wanted her protected. I’ve given her the most impenetrable shield in the hemisphere."
"You’ve given her a name, but you’
