Evelyn's POV:
The winter wind whistled through the timber eaves, and beyond the tree line, the first midnight fireworks erupted across the sky in thunderous cracks of crimson and gold.
I locked my phone screen, slipped it into the pocket of my overcoat, and met Adrian's gaze without flinching.
"Nathaniel Hawthorne is an attending trauma surgeon at Harborview in Seatal," I said, my voice cutting cleanly through the cold air. "He is Chloe's cousin. And he is the man who helped me build a secure, private life for Ella three thousand miles away from the Sterling family."
Adrian flinched, the words landing like physical blows against his chest.
"You used an outside family office to hide her," he rasped, his jaw tightening so hard the muscles jumped beneath his skin. "You let another man ha
