The piece of paper felt like a block of ice in Clara's hands. The date printed at the top of the contract stared back at her with brutal clarity, reminding her of the exact week her mother had lost her life in that terrible accident. And right there at the bottom of the page, written in clean, black ink, was Lucian Vane's signature.

Her heart broke into a million jagged pieces. All the warmth, the safety, and the deep love she thought she had found with the Vane brothers suddenly twisted into a cold, suffocating lie. Victor had not been lying at the bank. Lucian really had been buying stock...