Chapter 12

After returning home, Diane tore through every corner of the house once more.

The butler, Cameron, handed her a mechanical part he had found on the lawn—the very piece that had slipped out unnoticed when Ian shoved me down the stairs that day.

Back then, Diane had seen it but paid no attention.

Now, holding it again, she clenched her fist so tightly the shard nearly cut into her delicate palm.

She tossed the part onto the growing pile of "my" broken components, then froze.

Her gaze snagged on a tiny chip.

The moment she picked it up, her thoughts stalled. Before she could dwell on it, a servant rushed in, breathless with urgency.

"Well? What did you find?" she demanded.

"Madam Bouchard… perhaps you should come to the basement yourself."

Suspicion furrowed her brow. She had lived here for years and, of course, knew the villa had a basement. But she had always found it damp and gloomy, a place she disliked and rarely entered.

Still, she rose and followed the servant downstairs.