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Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY JAMIE BRENNER
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. PART TWO
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. PART THREE
  64. 59
  65. 60
  66. 61
  67. 62
  68. 63
  69. 64
  70. 65
  71. 66
  72. 67
  73. 68
  74. 69
  75. 70
  76. 71
  77. 72
  78. 73
  79. 74
  80. Acknowledgments
  81. About the Author
  82. What’s next onyour reading list?

“Elodie, Sloan Pierce. Sorry to call so late—I’m still at the office and just realized the hour. Here’s the deal: The team here is very excited at the prospect of the auction, but they do think we’re short on time if we’re going to get it launched during this centennial year. Publicity wants to start on the press release as soon as possible. Where are we with the paperwork?”

Elodie glanced out the window at the moonlit Cape Cod Bay. New York suddenly seemed very distant, and she felt a flash of anger at her father. Why had he tied her hands like this? What reason could he possibly have had to require she get her sister’s and her niece’s signatures before making a business decision? Or maybe it hadn’t been her father’s decision after all. Maybe the three-signature stipulation was something her mother put in place after his death. But why?

“I’m waiting for my attorney to get back to me,” she lied. “We should be wrapping it up shortly.” Tomorrow was a new day, and she’d figure out a way to apply pressure on Celeste. But that was only her first problem.

What was she going to do about Gemma? With no time to waste, how was she supposed to convince her sister to sign on the dotted line and then get Gemma to cooperate from three hundred and sixty miles away?

The answer was, she wasn’t.

She needed to find a way to bring the girl to her.

14

The storage unit in Weehawken, New Jersey, was five by ten feet. Gemma booked it online, and it was clear as soon as she looked inside that it wasn’t large enough to fit her workbench, tools, and supplies.

“You can’t take this stuff with you to your next apartment?” Sanjay said, surveying the situation alongside of her. She’d enlisted him at the last minute for help driving the U-Haul.

“Considering my budget, I’ll be lucky to find a room to rent that fits my bed.” The way things were looking, she might have to start living in the storage space.

“Okay, let’s do this,” he said.

They staged all the boxes outside the storage unit, arranging them by size before positioning them carefully inside. Sanjay made sure all the labels were facing out so she could find things when she needed them. Gemma was creative and hardworking, but spatial organization had never been a strength of hers, so she let Sanjay take the lead. While he took care of some of the heavier metalworking equipment, she bent down and checked the boxes labeled Photos and Press, sealing them with an extra layer of packing tape. They contained the things she was most reluctant to leave behind: photo albums, newspaper clippings, and magazines featuring her mother.