Rachel forced herself to refocus. The bitter phantom pains of the past couldn't be allowed to derail her present. She had a project to launch, a family legacy to outmaneuver, and a point to prove. To secure that investment, she absolutely had to find Athan Gray.
Stepping back toward her sedan, she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number. She was calling her best friend, Anna.
The two of them had forged an unbreakable bond years ago, built entirely on the foundation of shared, brutal circumstances. Anna’s past was a horror story of domestic exploitation.
Her mother had consistently mistreated her, favoring Anna's deadbeat brother in every conceivable way. Her childhood was defined by beatings and financial extortion.
The breaking point had come when her mother actively tried
