While the consequences of Richard’s choices tightened around the Vance manor, Evelyn Vance sat alone on the terrace of her new penthouse, drinking a double espresso beneath the pale morning sun.

The residence occupied the thirty-second floor of Solis Tower, one

Fourteen-year-old Maya Vance stood in the lobby of the Elite Athletics Gymnastics Center, her cheeks burning with humiliation.

She was wearing her favorite rhinestone-studded leotard, her hair tied back in a perfect, tight high-ponytail. Around her, the other girls in he

The dining room of the Vance estate, which had once hosted elegant catered dinner parties for the city's social elite, now felt like a funeral home.

Richard sat at the head of the long mahogany table, staring blankly at a plate of cold, over-salted spaghetti. Chloe ha