Severed Ties

Valerie's slender fingers flew across the keyboard. True to her seasoned skills, she finished the photo retouching tasks in a mere twenty minutes. The images of Rowan's recent catwalk were flawless. With plenty of time to spare on her son's ticking timer, she minimized the editing software and switched her laptop screen to check her inbox.

A new email sat at the very top. It was from the legal co