Lucy took a sharp, stabilizing breath before the vanity mirror, wiping the chilling satisfaction from her face.
She let her shoulders drop, forced a tremor into her lower lip, and let her gaze glaze over with fragile anxiety.
When she turned the brass knob and stepped back into the sunlit hallway, the transition was seamless.
The predator vanished; the traumatized survivor returned.
She maintained a quiet, hesitant posture, her heels clicking softly against the marble as she walked back to the sitting room.
In the grand sitting room, Brian remained standing near the velvet sofa.
He hadn't dared sit down after the tycoon's explosive exit.
His mind was a chaotic storm trying to make sense of the whirlwind upending his life.
Five times his previous salary.
Enough wealth to change eve
