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.

Two weeks into filming and I can't tell where Jackson Crane the actor ends and Jackson Crane the character begins. The distinction blurs more each day, his method commitment bleeding into every interaction until I'm not sure if we're rehearsing or just existing in some heightened reality where the cameras happen to be rolling.


We're shooting a scene where my character breaks down over her failing marriage, and Jackson is supposed to comfort me. Philippe wants raw emotion, genuine tears, the kind of vulnerability that makes audiences uncomfortable because it feels too real.


"Again," Philippe calls after the fifth take. "Vivian, you're holding back. I need you to actually break. Not perform breaking. Actually shatter."


"You're protecting yourself. Stop protecting yourself. Let Jackson in. Let the character in. Bleed for me." Philippe waves his hand impatiently. "Take five. Clear your head. Come back ready to be honest."


Chapter 105 - Jackson Crane