Chapter 1

The air on the rooftop terrace was thick, heavy with the humidity of a July evening that refused to break, clinging to my skin like a second layer of silk. I adjusted the strap of my emerald green slip dress, the fabric cool against my sweating shoulder, and scanned the crowd. It was supposed to be a casual gathering, a neighborhood block party that had moved indoors—or rather, upstairs—to take advantage of the panoramic view of the city skyline. But as I pushed through the heavy glass doors, the noise of the party fading into a dull hum behind me, I saw him. He was standing alone near the far railing, away from the clusters of laughing couples and the clinking of beer bottles, silhouetted against the bruising purple of the twilight sky. Daddy. My heart did that traitorous stutter-step it always did when I saw him, a phantom echo of childhood that had somehow morphed into something far more dangerous, far more visceral. He looked impeccable, as always. He wore a crisp white linen shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms to reveal the subtle vein mapping of his hands, and dark slacks that fit his hips with