THEIR REJECTED DAUGHTER WAS THE LOST HEIRESS
She had simply retreated into herself, sitting on the cold flagstones with her spine straight, her breathing shallow and deliberate, as if she were already accustomed to small, airless spaces.
From the shadow of the second-story balcony, I watched her now as she walked across the inner courtyard. The sun hit her face, illuminating the pale skin beneath her cheekbones and the dark, violet-tinged shadows under her eyes. Every report I had read prior to coming to the Frostwood estate painted the same vivid picture: a manipulative, overly attached foster daughter who had grown bitterly jealous when the biological heiress returned. They described a girl who threw tantrums, threw accusations, and