Chapter 4

Delia hesitated for a fraction of a second, then looked at me blankly.

"Evelyn... I haven't seen Tessa."

She lowered her head and wiped her tears, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"The moment I entered, he... he attacked me. I wasn't thinking about an assistant."

She sounded injured and innocent, but the guests were not fools. Someone immediately spoke.

"That's right. Ms. Wynn clearly escorted Delia here to change. Where is she?"

I clenched my hands and searched every corner of the suite.

Tessa was gone.

So was Paige.

Even if Paige had failed to stop the scheme, she would never disappear without warning.

I drew a breath and turned to Dean Alvarez, who ran security for the Prescott estate and was standing near the door.

"Search the entire guest wing and the grounds behind it. Find both women immediately."

Alvarez hurried away.

Whispers rose again throughout the suite.

Delia's crying gradually softened.

She lifted her face, looked timidly at me, then at Adrian.

"Evelyn... I know this is painful for you, but it already happened.

"My reputation is destroyed. My entire future is gone."

Eleanor Prescott's color came and went.

After crying for another moment, Delia looked up at me through tears.

"Since everyone already knows, I won't hide it from you anymore.

"Adrian and I... met before tonight."

She lowered her head.

"Two weeks ago, when his unit returned to Ravenmere, the motorcade passed the Langford residence. I was outside with the neighbors when he stepped from the vehicle and looked at me."

Color spread across her cheeks.

"Later, someone delivered a message from him. It said he saw me for only one moment and could not forget me."

"Adrian, you told me you wanted me. Why are you denying it now?

"Is my place in the Langford family so shameful that you refuse to acknowledge me?"

The room exploded.

"So they've been involved for weeks."

The blood drained out of Adrian's face, then came back all at once.

He stepped forward, his voice frighteningly rough.

"What are you talking about? I never sent you a message."

Delia shrank when he shouted, and tears poured down again.

"But you said that day..."

"Enough."

A deep, cutting male voice came from the doorway.

The crowd separated automatically.

My father, Richard Langford, entered with a dark expression. Vivian Cross, Delia's mother and his longtime companion, followed him.

Vivian's eyes were already swollen. The moment she entered, she threw herself around Delia and began wailing.

"My poor daughter. You came here innocent, and now you've been treated like this."

My father's face was rigid, his lips pressed together, and his anger filled the room.

Vivian cried even louder.

"Richard, Delia's life is ruined. If the Prescotts refuse responsibility, how can she keep living? We may as well die here together."

"Stop it."

My father silenced her sharply, then turned toward Eleanor Prescott.

"Eleanor, how does your family intend to resolve this?"

All color had left Eleanor's face.

She opened her mouth, closed it, then looked toward her husband.

Charles Prescott stood behind the crowd with his face burning red, yet no words came.

My father gave a cold laugh at their silence and turned toward me.

"Evelyn, your engagement to Adrian..."

I knew what he intended to say.

He wanted me to surrender Adrian to Delia.

My fingers curled inside my sleeves until my nails broke the skin, and warm blood touched the lining.

My eyes burned, but I refused to cry.

I raised my head and looked directly at my father.

"Wait until Tessa returns before you decide anything."

"Wait for what?"

Vivian screamed through her tears.

"Delia has been violated, and you still want to delay. Do you want her dead?"

"Vivian."

I held her gaze and spoke carefully.

"My assistant entered this suite with Delia and then vanished. Doesn't that concern you?"

Vivian's lips trembled, but she could not answer.

Delia began crying again.

"Dad, I can't live with this. I only want Adrian to acknowledge what he did. I don't want money or status. I need a name that protects me, or I may as well die."

My father looked at her, then at Adrian's bloodless face and the silent Prescott parents, and finally spoke in a heavy voice.

"Major Prescott, given what happened, if you refuse..."

Before he finished, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

"Ms. Langford. Ms. Langford."

The voice was hoarse and broken by sobs.

Everyone turned toward the door.

Tessa stumbled inside.

She dropped in front of me, catching herself hard on one knee.

"Ms. Langford, I failed you. I lost sight of Delia, but someone knocked me unconscious."

The suite became completely silent.

Tessa shook from head to foot and shouted through anger and fear.

"I escorted Delia inside to change. She asked for tea, and when I turned, someone struck the back of my head.

"I woke inside the estate's rear storage building with my mouth covered and my hands and feet tied. Ms. Langford, someone planned this."

After speaking, she turned and stared at Delia with hatred.

Delia's face became white in an instant.