The streets were growing colder as October settled in, a crisp chill biting at the air.
Lizzy had rushed out earlier in the day, and now, as dusk turned to night, the temperature had dropped even further.
She pulled her coat tighter around her body, quickening her steps as she made her way back to her apartment, ignoring the longing eyes that Merriman cast her way as he stood watching from a distance.
Back in her room, she pushed past the growing discomfort in her body and flipped open her laptop, only to be greeted by a flood of disheartening emails.
Several investors, whom she had once thought of as friendly contacts, sent her cold, formal rejections.
One of them, however, gave her a subtle heads-up. Eric had spread the word that anyone who helped Lizzy would be an enemy of the Aust
