Chapter 5 - The Sanctuary
Two days after the chaos at the ballroom, the snow had stopped falling over the valley, leaving the mountain pines wrapped in a heavy, peaceful white blanket.
I sat near the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace in the living room of a stone cottage located twenty miles outside the city. The cottage belonged to Sarah Lin, my lawyer and oldest friend from law school, who had insisted that Lily and I stay somewhere secure while the media circus surrounding Mason's arrest blew over.
Lily lay on a plush sheepskin rug before the hearth, her tiny legs kicking happily as she swatted at a wooden mobile hanging above her. She was healthy, her lungs fully cleared, her cheeks pink and chubby.
The front door opened with a soft click, letting in a swirl of fresh, cold mountain air.
Thomas Vance stepped inside, setting a box of takeout coffee and fresh pastries on the kitchen counter. He wore a dark wool coat over his charcoal suit, his broad frame filling the doorway.
"How is she doing?" Thomas asked gently, stepping over to the fireplace and looking down at Lily with a rare, soft smile.
"She’s thriving," I said, handing him a mug of coffee. "Doctor says her weight is up two pounds since last week."
Thomas took the mug, his gray eyes shifting to my face. "And how are you doing, Rachel?"
"I haven't slept properly in six weeks, Thomas," I admitted, wrapping my hands around my warm cup. "Every time I close my eyes, I still hear the sound of his engine revving as he drove away in the snow."
Thomas’s jaw tightened. He pulled a chair up beside me and sat down, his presence steady and grounding. "He’s not coming back, Rachel. The judge denied bail this morning. Between the grand jury indictment for attempted murder and the federal fraud charges Whitmore’s legal team filed yesterday, Mason Sterling is looking at thirty to forty years in maximum security."
I let out a long, slow breath—a breath I felt like I had been holding since the night on the mountain. "What about Evelyn?"
"His mother is being named as an co-conspirator in the offshore accounts," Thomas replied. "Sarah filed an emergency injunction this morning freezing all of Evelyn’s liquid assets. The court has placed a lien on the family estate to cover the medical bills and your father’s stolen trust funds."
A soft chime sounded from my phone resting on the side table.
I picked it up. It was a text message from an unknown number.
Rachel, this is Claire Whitmore. I know I have no right to ask this, but I am standing outside your attorney’s office. I need to talk to you. Please.
I looked down at the screen, then up at Thomas.
"She wants to talk," I said.
May you like
Thomas nodded slowly. "Claire’s father withdrew every dollar his firm had connected to Mason. She’s taking it hard, Rachel. She really believed he loved her."
"I know how that feels," I said quietly, looking down at Lily. "I’ll see her."
