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Prologue

WARE House

Jordan gave the Long Island mansion a cursory inspection as she slammed the taxi door behind her The overcast sky shrouded the place in even ray stones, the three-story structure her great-great-grandfather had built looked as ht it could have served as the setting for the Gothic novels she’d enjoyed reading as a young girl The kind of house that held lots of secretsAt least thatelse in her life had

When pain squeezed her heart, Jordan rubbed her fist against her chest You’ve gotten this far You can get through the rest

Seven days ago, two policemen had come to her apartner Eva Ware, had been killed by a hit-and-run driver as she’d crossed the street to her apart

Her mother was dead

A week had gone by and she was still struggling to accept that Eva should be with her right now They’d always coether But her ain

Closing her eyes, Jordan ordered herself to take a deep breath She couldn’t fall apart She had too much to do It would be her responsibility to acy lived on

A quick glance at her watch confir of her hts, her strength Turning, she began to pace on the flagstones in front of the huge entrance door

You can get through this

And she could Hadn’t shearrangements for the funeral? Her Uncle Carleton and Aunt Dorothy had insisted on helping her with that

Jordan had been both grateful and surprised when they’d contacted her because her mother and her uncle hadn’t been on the best of ter as Jordan could remember

From what her randfather’s will Carleton and Eva had each inherited half of Ware Bank, half of Ware House and half of his stocks, bonds and cash Carleton had wanted his sister to invest her share in Ware Bank, the fa her cash into her fledgling jewelry design business

To Jordan’s way of thinking, it had turned out to be a wise decision since Eva Ware Designs was one of the most exclusive jewelry stores in New York City Eva had tried to placate her brother’s feelings byhim have the place to himself Her Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy and cousin Adam had lived there ever since, but the strain on family relations had never quite faded Every time she and her mother visited, the chill in the air was so noticeable that her mother had rented a room at a small inn in nearby Linchworth when ever they intended to stay overnight

In spite of all that, her aunt and uncle had been helpful in planning the funeral Dorothy Ware had a great deal of expertise when it ca social events, and Eva Ware’s funeral had turned out to be just that Thousands had coner

But the one person Jordan had wanted there hadn’t been able to come—Jase Campbell, her apartment mate and closest friend

She and Jase had firsther freshman year at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Jase had been a senior and they’d met by accident when they’d both shown up to rent an off-caet it, they’d o when Jase had left the navy to start up his own security business in Manhattan, they’d becoain But for the last three and a half weeks, he’d been in soe situation She hadn’t even been able to talk with him via cell phone

He didn’t even know that Eva was dead

And he certainly didn’t know about the other big change in her life She’d acquired a sister

Edward Fitzwalter III, hernews on the day after her mother’s funeral Even now, Jordan was tehtmare that she could just wake up from

She had a sister she’d neverhere today for the reading of their mother’s will

Each tiht about it, her heart took a little leap and nerves knotted in her stoh she prided herself on her efficiency and adaptability, she wasn’t sure she had