The next morning, Beatrice walked into Alexander’s dressing room to find the bed empty and the closet open. Julian saw his mother come down the grand staircase without makeup, her face drawn and pale.

“Why are you so terrified, Mom?” he asked quietly.

Beatrice squeezed her phone until her knuckles went white. “Because the dead need to stay dead when an entire family’s fortune depends on it.”

And Julian realized that whatever was coming was far worse than a corporate scandal.

Chapter 3 — Maya Ross

Alexander reached the Columbia campus before six, though the ceremony wasn’t until seven. He brought no bodyguards. He wore no jacket or tie. He carried none of the arrogant confidence he’d spent his life walking into boardrooms with.

He carried only fear.