Chapter 1 - The Shattered Glass
The crystal flute left Clara Higgins’s hand before she even understood why.
One second, she was walking across the marble floor of the Moretti Foundation’s annual winter gala, her emerald silk gown catching the chandelier light. The next, a broad-shouldered guest slammed into her hard enough to send the glass flying.
It struck the floor.
Crystal exploded across the marble.
Clara fell to her knees.
A sharp shard cut her palm, and another caught the side of her gown, tearing the emerald silk from her knee to her thigh.
“Watch where you’re stepping!”
The voice came from behind her.
Clara looked up.
Dozens of wealthy guests stared.
Nobody moved.
Then Lorenzo Moretti crossed the floor.
He was the only person in the ballroom who didn't look embarrassed by what had happened.
He dropped beside her, black suit immaculate against the glittering floor.
“May I help you stand?”
Clara stared at his extended hand.
“Why?” she asked, her breathing controlled despite the blood running down her palm. “That hasn’t troubled anyone else.”
Lorenzo's expression changed.
“It troubles me.”
His eyes moved from her injured hand to the crowd.
Clara followed his gaze.
The guest who had shoved her was already disappearing into a cluster of older businessmen.
That was when Clara noticed something else.
Lorenzo's gold wristwatch.
The second hand had stopped.
9:17.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You knew about the audit...” she whispered.
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
A man near the ballroom doors quietly stepped backward.
Lorenzo noticed him.
Then he placed one hand carefully around Clara's waist.
“They used you to get to me.”
Clara looked directly into his eyes.
“Then let’s finish this.”
May you like
She didn't know yet that those words would change both their lives.
And somewhere beneath the ballroom floor, the truth they were looking for was already waiting.
