Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

The grimoire sits open on the table. Ancient pages. Handwritten text in multiple languages. Drawings that move slightly when I'm not looking directly at them.


This is old magic. Older than Helena. Older than the Sterling family. Older than most curses practiced today.


"Where did you get this?" I ask. Not touching the book yet. Afraid of what contact might reveal.


"It's been in my family for generations. Graves women have practiced magic since the 1600s. Protection spells mostly. Healing. Guidance. White magic." Helena's voice is sad. Regretful. "I was the first to use it for darkness. For revenge. The grimoire adapted. Became what I needed it to be."


"Books don't adapt. They're static. Fixed."


"Magical books adapt. They're alive in ways normal books aren't. They grow. Learn. Evolve with their users." Helena gestures to the grimoire. "This book knows what I did. What I created. It's complicit. And it will fight any attempt to undo the curse."


Chapter 56 - The Grimoire