The figure at the door was a woman.

She stood framed in the doorway, dressed impeccably in a cream blouse and a navy pencil skirt, topped with a beige trench coat that tied her look together. Her lips were already curved in a polite smile as she began to speak the moment the door opened.

“Mr. Thorne, I’m sorry to come so suddenly, but—”

Her voice faltered the instant she saw Isabelle instead and her smile fell.

For a moment, the two women simply stared at each other ...