Johnny, Sebastian, and I sat in the back of the limo, all of us hastily dressed, all of us watching Connor with fear and concern. My fiancé sat next to me, staring out the window, his face blank and pale as a waxwork figure.Outside the window, the lights of New York City flashed by in the early morning darkness.“He had a heart attack on the way home,” Sebastian explained quietly. “His limo driver took him directly to the hospital, but… it was too late.”Connor just stared out the window. He didn’t say anything.“We don’t have to do this now,” Sebastian said. “His limo driver identified him to the authorities, so there’s no reason to – ”“I want to see him,” Connor said, his voice monotone.“We could wait until later this morning – ”“I want to see my father.”Sebastian acquiesced. “Okay.”“Has anyone notified my mother and brother?”“Yes, the hospital did, but they’re out of town.”“He said that,” Connor remarked, like it was a mildly interesting fact he’d just now remembered. “He

Almost exactly a week later came the reading of the will. My father wasn’t even in the ground yet, and the vultures descended to pick over the carrion.To be fair, with a business empire that large, there were certain questions that had to be settled quickly. My father had been a day-to-day participant as CEO, not just a ‘once a month’ Chairman of the Board. Someone needed to head up the various companies that comprised the Templeton Group. Not to mention, the politics of the situation would be significantly altered depending on how his controlling share of stock was divided.Two weeks before, I wouldn’t have cared. I would have just assumed everything would pass on to Mother, with Vincent in the CEO role as a sort of puppet, and Miranda pulling all the strings.Dad had said essentially the same thing: We both know the truth. Your mother, strong as she is, isn’t a businesswoman. And Vincent is a weakling. Miranda will overpower them both and ransack everything for her own gains… which

Five hours later, we waited in a small visiting room at the police station: me, Sebastian, Johnny, and Bert Glasser, the best criminal defense lawyer in New York City. Connor was a personal friend of his; now he was a client.The door opened, and Connor walked in, escorted by a guard. Connor was wearing an orange jumpsuit. It pained me to see him treated as a criminal – this man I loved, who hadn’t done a damn thing. Worse than that, though, were the manacles around his ankles and wrists.The first thing that happened was Connor shot me a comforting smile. It’s okay. Don’t worry.The second thing that happened was Bert Glasser started yelling.“Is this really necessary?” he shouted, gesturing at the manacles. “That was a rhetorical question, by the way; the correct answer is no, it’s not. Unlock my client right now.” The guard looked uneasy. “I was told – ”“Let me tell you something. I had a client last week, charged with killing two people in a home invasion, and you guys didn’t b

Johnny and Sebastian were long gone. Thirty feet away, Bert was arguing with someone on the phone as we stood in front of police headquarters. Connor’s bodyguard Armin stood with me, scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. I thought about telling him not to bother, that if Miranda wanted me dead she would have had me poisoned at my own dinner party.But then I remembered that poisoning Connor’s father had evidently just been part of a giant Rube Goldberg machine to land Connor in jail. Miranda’s plans were impossible to predict, so I kept my mouth shut and let Armin scan away.A phone call came in – Anh, back in Los Angeles.“Lily, I just saw it on the news – is Connor okay?!”“No. We think Miranda’s framing him for his father’s murder.”“WHAT?!”I spent a few minutes running down the major details. Finally I ended with, “It’ll be okay. We’re going to find some proof that he didn’t do it, and it’ll all be okay.”I sounded more like I was trying to convince myself than her

Somebody was waiting for Sebastian and me on the courthouse steps at 7:30.“Johnny!” I cried out as I hugged him.“Anything?” Sebastian asked.“No,” my bodyguard said wearily. “I, uh… ‘dropped by’ all three guys’ places. None of them were home.”“None of them?” I asked.“Not a one.”I was disappointed – and yet somewhat relieved. I’d been imagining some pretty dark things since Johnny and Sebastian had stayed silent about him ‘questioning’ the three men.“Maybe they were asleep and just didn’t answer the door,” I suggested.Johnny smirked. “I didn’t let their doors stop me, Lily.”“You – ” I lowered my voice. “ – you broke in?!”Johnny gave me a Come ON, Lily kind of look. “Do you really think I was just going to politely knock at 3AM at the door of somebody who could have framed Connor?”“No,” I said, disturbed. “But – ”“It doesn’t matter. They weren’t there.”“Which means they could be dead, too,” Sebastian said.“That’s crazy,” I said. “You don’t really think she’d kill six people