Chapter 4

A wave of murmurs swept the room. Chloe stared at the bracelet in her hand, then up at Henderson, a dawning hope in her eyes.

Bryce recovered quickly, his face darkening. "Fine. One down. But there are many more, Chloe. Many, many more. And the price just went up."

He gestured to the screen. Another image flashed – Chloe in a swimsuit, laughing on a beach. Innocent, yet in this context, lewdly suggestive.

"This next one," Bryce announced, his voice hard, "a hundred thousand. And we'll throw in some... audio commentary. Her own words, creatively edited, of course."

Liv giggled. "Oh, this is going to be fun. I always knew she had a dirty mouth under all that... art student innocence."

Chloe's brief moment of relief vanished. Her face was a mask of despair.

"Bryce, please," she begged. "These are private."

"Private? Darling, you shared them with me. And what's mine is... well, up for auction, apparently." He grinned, a predator's smile.

The assistant, Mark, leaned in. "Ms. Winthrop, the details of your mother's confinement are... irregular. The facility, Serene Haven, has a questionable reputation. Several lawsuits pending. It appears Arthur Sterling has power of attorney."

Arthur Sterling. My mother's second husband. Chloe's father. Liv's father. A man I'd always distrusted, with his too-smooth charm and avaricious eyes. He'd married my mother for her name and her access, then, it seemed, systematically dismantled her life.

My blood ran cold. He'd put my mother away. He'd cut off Chloe. All to control the Winthrop fortune that passed through my mother.

On the dais, Liv was taunting Chloe again. "Come on, sis. Surely you have another family heirloom? Or did your fancy sister Evie spend all the real money before she ran off to California to play with computers?"

Chloe flinched as if struck.

She reached into the pocket of her worn cardigan and pulled out something small. A single gold coin, dull with age.

"My grandmother... Mom's mom... gave this to me," Chloe said, her voice barely a whisper. "She said it was a Winthrop good luck piece."