Chapter 3

Evelyn was sitting in my armchair when I came downstairs. She wore a brace on her wrist and Dante’s cashmere coat over her shoulders. A car waited outside while two of his guards carried in her luggage.

I tightened my hand on the banister. “Why did you bring her here?”

“She needs somewhere safe.” Dante took a list from the housekeeper. “Julian might come looking for her.”

My stepsister’s husband raced on the underground circuit. Three years ago, she’d run off with him and left me to deal with the wedding and both our families. Now she was bringing her supposedly injured wrist into my home.

“Elena, I hate to put you out.” She got up and came toward me. “But every time I closed my eyes last night, I could feel his hands around my throat.”

I stepped away from her reaching hand. At our father’s funeral, she’d cried against my shoulder while pressing a brooch pin into my back. Everyone had noticed her tears. Nobody had noticed me flinch.

“The guest rooms are in the west wing,” I told the housekeeper. “Leave my room alone.”

Dante frowned. “Elena, she can’t be on her own right now. The master suite has an adjoining room for a nurse.”

For a moment, I looked at him, wondering how he could say that to my face. Then I realized there was nothing left to argue over.

“My bags are packed. Give me ten minutes before you send anyone in.”

He kept hold of the list. “You meant it? What you said about moving out?”

“When did I say I was joking?”

“Because I’m taking care of her?”

“Because I’d like a say in who lives in my own home.”

His gaze dropped to my bare ring finger, and his expression closed off. There was an edge to his voice that wasn’t quite anger. “You’ve even taken off your ring. Have you just been waiting for an excuse to get away from me?”

“Well, if she wants to leave, that works out perfectly.” My stepmother jumped in before I could answer. “Seeing her reminds Evelyn of that awful wedding. Her doctor says we have to avoid anything that might upset her.”

I let out a short laugh. “Were you worried about upsetting me when you drugged my drink?”

The room went silent. Evelyn gasped and clutched her chest, as though my words had cut off her air. Dante steadied her and turned a cold look on my stepmother. “Enough. Nobody needs you bringing up the wedding.”

But when he turned back to me, he still said, “Let the nurse get her settled. I’ll arrange an apartment for you by the water.”

“Don’t bother. I’ve found somewhere.”

His face tightened. “When did you arrange that?”

“Before you decided where she’d be sleeping tonight.”

Upstairs, I texted Nora to confirm my driver’s name. I switched off the family’s shared location service, packed my laptop, and put Mom’s photographs into a waterproof sleeve.

Dante followed me into the dressing room and stopped at the sight of my old suitcase. I’d packed clothes, my laptop, and a few books on restoration. The gowns, handbags, and jewelry were still in their cabinets.

“You can take those things.”

“Nora will arrange for the rest to be collected.”

He looked from the cabinets to my bag.

“You’ve already spoken to her about that?”

“Yes.”

He put a hand on the lid of the suitcase, then slowly withdrew it. “If you don’t want to stay here, I won’t stop you. We’ll talk when this is over.”

He sounded as though he were agreeing to a short vacation. I didn’t correct him. I zipped the case and went downstairs, where Evelyn’s bags already waited outside the master bedroom. My stepmother was giving the staff instructions as if she owned the place.

Nobody asked where to put my belongings. They’d made room for Evelyn before I’d even carried my suitcase out. I walked past them without stopping to check whether Dante had noticed.

I was a few steps from the front door when Dante called me back. “Leave the nightingale brooch.”

My hand went to my coat collar. A miniature portrait of my mother sat behind the little glass window at its center. “Why?”

Evelyn lowered her eyes and twisted the hem of her blouse. Dante looked at me, then glanced away for the first time.

“It was supposed to be her engagement gift. Her name’s engraved on the back.”