The Wrong Bride
And.
“And the fourth,” Julian said softly, watching me count. “The fourth was never a Hart, Mrs. Hart, and that is the punchline of your magnificent life. Rosa’s ledger... the real one, not the Swiss one... lists the night’s deliveries in order of price. Clara: kept, then drowned. Celeste: sold to the highest bidder, who was Eleanor, though Eleanor never knew the seller was her own nurse. Me: retained as an investment. And you...” He opened the freezer. Frost exhaled like a held breath. Inside, in organized racks, were hundreds of labeled vials. On the lid, taped in plastic, a ledger page. “You were the overage. The fourth heartbeat nobody ordered. Adrian did not want you. My father did not