The mention of "WBEQ" snapped Michael Helwart's focus into razor-sharp clarity. The rest of Elara Vance’s self-aggrandizing pitch, fame and fortune, legacy, viewers, faded into a meaningless buzz. That television station. That was where Linsy had burrowed herself. Where she was typing stories and brewing coffee, pretending the last seven years hadn’t happened.

His gaze, which had been skimming over the aggressive reporter, sharpened. She was all polished edges and hungry eyes, the kind who ...