Chapter 39

• Three days of silence felt like an eternity. Emma had perfected the art of avoidance—leaving Franklin's mansion before Alek's scheduled visits, screening his calls, responding to texts with clinical one-word answers.
• "This is ridiculous," Natasha declared, dropping a newspaper on the breakfast table. The gossip section featured the same restaurant photos, now with expanded speculation about the Mitchell-Volkov marriage. "You need to talk to him."
• "I'm busy," Emma replied, not looking up from her laptop where she reviewed team marketing proposals.