Page 143 of Barinov

“Woo!” August shouts from his table.

A few people laugh. Haley lets out a soft chuckle on stage, rolling her eyes.

Roman’s lips twitch faintly before he continues. “But I’ve learned she is so much more than that.” His voice steadies, dropping even deeper than before. “As a child psychology major at Wexley University, Haley has already been part of some of the most impactful research initiatives the school has seen in years.”

He glances toward her. “Isn’t that right, Haley?”

She gives a small smile, nodding.

“Your dedication to the growing mental health crisis among our youth is something I personally cannot thank you enough for,” he says to her. “The work you’re doing will change lives. Many, many lives. And I wanted to do something that’ll help your work continue.”

The room has gone quiet now.

“I’ve created the Isabella Moretti Scholarship, valued at twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“Holy shit,” Lex whispers.

“And I would like you to be the first recipient.”

Haley gasps, her hand flying to her mouth as the weight of it lands. Tears spill before she can stop them.

Roman steps forward, offering her an obsidian plaque. She takes it with shaky hands and closes the distance between them, pulling him into a quick and emotional hug.

“Thank you,” she whispers, too soft for most of the room to hear.

Roman nods once, steadying her before stepping back.

“Haley Rosethorne, everyone.” Roman triggers the applause, a sweeping wave that pulls the entire room to its feet in a standing ovation.

“That’s my girl!” Knox booms over the speakers as she makes her way back to her seat next to Ellie.

“Alright,” Roman begins again, his voice dropping into a richer, more resonant register.

“Before you all get back to poker and blackjack, we have one very important item that will be up for auction later tonight.” He runs his hands down the front of his tux once before striding to the front of the stage, motioning to my sister.

Ellie stands on cue, moving between the tables giving every man and woman in here a 360-degree view. Every head turns to follow the light bouncing off her neck.

“As you can see, Miss Whitmore was kind enough to sport the item for us,” Roman continues, gesturing toward the concentrated fire at my sister’s throat. “It belonged to the grandmother of my Isabella Moretti, for whom this foundation was named. It is a ten-carat, pigeon-blood ruby on a twenty-four-karat gold chain.”

Gasps and oohs erupt from around the room.

“We will start the bidding at one point five million dollars. So get a good look everyone, we’ll begin in under an hour.”

Chapter 36

ZEKE

Atrum Fortuna

58 days since I got my sister back.

“Shit,” I mutter into my comms. “I’m coming back out.”

“What for?” Ivan asks, parked a few blocks away.

“Just hold on. I’ll be right there.”

I weave my way back through the service area, up the back stairwell, and dip out into the shadows to head toward the car before anyone can see me. My hand clamps around my arm as the burning from whatever poison Luca jammed into it before we left increases. The damn thing flames hotter with each beat of my racing heart.