The Weight of Regret

Vance

Beside me, Valerie’s jaw drops slack, and she whips her head around to stare at me in sheer panic. I have no idea what to tell her because the revelation has left me just as stunned—if not completely blindsided.

“You have got to be joking,” Valerie blurts out, her voice rising. “You actually own this place?”

Stella shares a brief look with the guy standing next to her, who shifts his weig