Serena’s POV

My lips still tingled from Daniel Hawthorne’s kiss - bold, unexpected, a spark that had brought something dangerous inside me before I’d shoved him away and fled like a scared rabbit.

The red dress felt heavy now, the diamonds at my throat feeling like a mocking reminder of his world, so far from mine.

I climbed the creaky stairs to our apartment, each step a reminder of the crumbling life I was barely holding together. Victor Crane’s threats loom, Mia’s college ...