The marble lobby of the Manhattan High Court was loud and busy with reporters and lawyers walking by, but the space around Clara and the Vane brothers felt completely frozen.

Victoria Vane stood tall in her expensive gray designer suit, her silver hair pulled back into a neat bun. Her face was as cold as stone, but a strange glint of hidden triumph danced in her sharp eyes. She held the thick sealed white envelope out toward Clara like a judge handing down a final sentence.

Clara looked down at the paper in Victoria's hand, her heart skipping a beat. After everything she had just fought through against Marcus, what...