Novels by Sophie King

Julian’s POVSophie ate two slices of toast and most of a bowl of fruit. She hadn’t eaten like that in weeks.I’d slept maybe two hours. I had a cup of coffee in front of me and I hadn’t touched it. Sophie had pushed hers away when Marta offered it and said she couldn’t have it now.“You’re not eating,” Sophie said.“I’m not hungry.”“You should have something. You’ll make yourself sick.”“I’m fine.”She put her toast down. “Did you tell anyone yet?”“Davis. I went to see him yesterday afternoon. My parents after that.”“What did they say?”“My mother wants you to see her doctor this week. She’s sending a car.”“That’s nice of her.” Sophie smiled at her plate. “I’ll call my parents myself later. I’ll tell them myself.”“Okay.”“I was thinking we could turn the blue room into a nursery.”“It’s nine weeks, Sophie.”“It’s never too early to plan.”After eating a bit, I left for the office. I got to the office at nine and my private investigator was waiting in the lobby with a folder unde

Francesca’s POVWhen I got into my apartment, I locked the door and double checked the house to be sure no one was in it. Afterwards I sat on the couch with the sketchbook on my knees and went through it page by page. Who could have brought this here?After a while I called Alessandro. “What happened?”“Somebody left my sketchbook outside my door this night.”“The one from Julian’s house?”“Yes.”“How come? Does anyone from that family know where you live?”“I don’t think so. I haven’t spoken to anyone since I left, so there’s no way they could know where I am.”“Okay. I’m on my way.” “No,no. There’s no need for you to come back.”“I’m coming, Francesca. Just wait for me.” he said and hung up.He was there in twenty minutes. He looked at the envelope on the table, then checked the lock on my door and walked down to the stairwell and back.“Does the building have cameras?”“There’s one at the end of the hall. Mr. Bennett would know.”Mr. Bennett’s office was on the ground floor. I did

Sophie’s POVI woke up with a nurse holding my wrist and a light in my face.“There she is,” the nurse said. “Don’t sit up yet.”I sat up anyway. The room was small, with a curtain around the bed and a machine that kept beeping. There was a needle taped to the back of my hand and my head hurt.“Can I have some water?”She filled a plastic cup from the jug on the table and held it while I drank. “Don’t gulp it.”“What time is it?”“Almost eleven. You passed out at a party, do you remember that?”I remembered all of it. Odile asking me about the jewelry and me feeling hot.“The doctor will be in soon,” the nurse said, and pulled the curtain back on her way out.Marcus was in the chair by the window with his jacket across his knee, scrolling through his phone. He didn’t look up. “You’re awake.”“Obviously.”“They said it’s your blood pressure. You didn’t eat anything today.”“I was busy.”“I told you to eat.” He turned the phone over in his hand. “At least it got you out of that room.”“

Francesca’s POVI didn’t say anything back. Odile had told me not to say anything so I kept quiet.“You know each other?” Odile asked.“She’s my sister,” Sophie said. “We don’t see each other much.” Then she turned and held out her hand. “Madame Delacroix, it’s such an honor. I’ve loved your house since I was in school.”Odile shook it. “Marcus tells me you designed all of this.”“Every piece.”I held my bag in front of me with both hands. Alessandro stood a step behind me with his hands in his pockets.“Walk me through the necklace,” Odile said. “Start with the gold.”“Eighteen karat, yellow. The chain’s sixteen inches. The stone is oval, and I set it a little off center.”“Why?”“So it doesn’t look like every other necklace. I wanted it to look like a mistake.”“And how long did it take?”“A few weeks. It’s a lot of small work.”Odile nodded. “Is there somewhere quieter? I don’t like talking about work at a party.”“Of course,” Marcus said quickly. “There’s an office at the back.”H

Francesca’s POVImmediately I left the building I called Alessandro to fill him in on what happened. He answered on the second ring.“How did it go?” he asked “Well…, good and bad I think. She doesn’t fully believe me but she wants me to go with her to the launch of Hale & Wren.”“What, why?”“She said whoever has the sketch will be there and then she’ll know if I’m lying or not.”“That doesn’t make sense to me.” he said“I don’t fully get it either, but I’m suspecting my sister. So if she’s there, I’ll be sure she’s the one that stole it.” “Okay. Did she say anything about the founder or who has Hale & Wren?”“Yeah. She said his name was Marcus Barnes.” I said.The line went quiet. I checked the screen to see if the call had dropped. “Alessandro?”“I’m here. Sorry I was just a bit distracted.”“Ohh that’s fine.”“You know, I just remembered that I was also invited to the launch.” he said.“Oh. How come?” I asked “I don’t know, I got an invitation but I didn’t really think much of

Francesca’s POVIt had been three weeks since I moved into my new apartment and everything had been going smoothly so far. I’d set up my space and put everything where I wanted it to be. I had also been working on the pieces for Odile and I was done. I was brushing my teeth when my phone buzzed against the edge of the sink. It was ten past seven in the morning and the message was from Nadia, who never texted before nine.Is this yours? Please call me.Under it was a link. I spat, wiped my mouth on my sleeve, and opened it.The page was plain white with a name across the top. Hale & Wren. There was a photograph of a necklace sitting on a block of white marble.It was a thin gold chain with an oval shaped stone hanging from it. The stone was a little off center in its setting. And there was a small notch.I knew that notch. I cut it into every design I had ever drawn, always on the inside where nobody would look, because that was how I marked a drawing as finished.I carried the phone