SHATTERED GLASS AND SILK: THE NIGHT THE FAÇADE CAME CRASHING DOWN AROUND A BROKEN FAMILY

Lily shrank back against the concrete pillar, clutching a small plastic button she had found on the floor and crying out, "Mommy! Make the bad man go away!"

Elena thrashed harder against the guards holding her, the diamond necklace snapping and scattering glittering stones across the dusty concrete floor like artificial stars. "Don't you touch her, Arthur! If you lay a hand on my daughter, I swear I will burn this entire empire to ash!"

Arthur stood up, dusting off his immaculate trousers with a look of mild amusement. "Elena, your dramatics were tiresome at society galas, and they are entirely ineffective down here. Julian signed the guardianship transfer papers over to the board three hours ago, right before the hotel gala began."

Elena’s head snapped toward her husband. Julian stood staring at his polished leather shoes, refusing to meet her gaze, his white tuxedo jacket looking more like a straitjacket of shame with every passing second.

"You signed her away?" Elena choked out, the betrayal tasting like copper and ash in her mouth. "You traded our flesh and blood for a seat on a dead man's board?"

"It was the only way to keep the creditors from seizing our personal accounts, Elena," Julian muttered defensively, finally lifting his head, his eyes hollow and defeated. "If they took everything, we wouldn't even have enough to feed Lily for a month. This way... this way she stays with people of means. Safe."

"Safe?" Elena laughed, a harsh, hysterical sound that echoed off the damp concrete walls. "You handed her over to human traffickers in tailored suits, Julian! There is no safety with them!"

Arthur turned his back on them, signaling the two guards to lift Lily into his arms. The toddler shrieked in absolute terror, kicking her patent-leather shoes and screaming for her mother as Arthur carried her toward a heavy steel bulkhead door at the back of the laboratory.

"Take Mr. Vance to the upper docking bay," Arthur commanded without turning around. "He has completed his services. As for Elena... lock her in the server cooling vault until the transport is safely underway."