Act I The girl was so small she could barely see over the metal counter. Rain slid down her tangled brown hair and gathered at the ends like tiny beads of glass. Her…

Act I The rain had turned the city into a blur of headlights and broken reflections. Daniel Mercer stood beneath the awning of a closed pharmacy, his black leather jacket soaked through, his…

Act I The boy outside the restaurant looked like winter had swallowed him whole. He sat curled against the stone wall beneath the golden windows, his small arms wrapped around his chest, his…

Act I The little girl entered the lobby like a mistake no one wanted to acknowledge. Her sandals slapped softly against the white marble, too small and too dusty for a room built…

Act I The hallway went silent before Marcus even reached the lockers. At Westbrook Academy, silence was not unusual. The students had been trained into it from seventh grade: quiet shoes on polished…

Act I The boy did not belong in that ballroom. Everyone knew it the moment he stepped onto the polished marble floor, his worn sneakers squeaking softly under chandeliers worth more than his…

Act I The glass doors opened without a sound, but every head in the executive suite turned. There was something about the woman in the beige trench coat that made people stop typing….

Act I The red wine hit Sarah’s white dress like a wound opening in silk. For one breath, nobody noticed. The ballroom was too busy glowing. Crystal chandeliers burned above white linen tables….

Act I The first thing anyone noticed about the boy was the grease. It covered his hands, stained his hoodie, smeared across his face like war paint. He looked less like a mechanic…