EN

  For a few seconds, the mansion outside Chicago became quieter than a church after a funeral.

  For one long moment, the Harrington mansion forgot how to breathe. The candles still burned.

  For a moment, the whole mansion stopped pretending. The music faded. The guests stopped whispering.

  Jonah looked at the photograph. For a moment, the noise of Magnolia Street disappeared.

  For a few seconds, the entire restaurant forgot how to be elegant. Forks stopped above plates.

  For several seconds, nobody breathed. The rain tapped softly against the restaurant windows.

  For a few seconds, no one moved. The heat trembled above the runway. The engines of Julian Vance’s

  For a long moment, nobody moved. Not the young men by the pool table. Not the bartender with a

  Tyler stared at the listing as if the paper itself had betrayed him. For once, he did not reach for numbers.

  Derek laughed once. Not because anything was funny. Because men like him laugh when they still