t. Cordelia stood in the hallway, the silence of the grand estate

o start. The deepest, most

a

oss a mile of marble floors. In her past life, she had treated him like an inconvenience, an accessory to a life she was too

or and stopped. It

man who had been with the Hamiltons for twenty years, her loyalty to Chandle

said. The title was

Cordelia said, her voice

ton instructed that Master C

wall around their son, protecting him from her. The entire es

. She would have demanded, threatene

d Cordelia

he repeated, her voice bare

tle Bell. The housekeeper's eyes narrowed, a flicker of

just enough to peek throu

r hear

rnoon light. He was six years old, but he looked smaller. He was clutching a worn

er fault.

ked Bell in the eye. "Please," she said, the word tasting f

llway, stunned. It was the first time in five years the housekee

en't enough. Words were meaningless. She needed a stage. She needed irrefutable pro

one and dialed her pu

that scene at the lawyer's of

e steady and clear. "Get me on th

e? You've refused that reality show a dozen times. The public hates you ri

I have to do it. It's the only way to show

nsane Hail Mary. A 24-hour, unblinking

added, her stomach twisting into a kno

ied of his own shadow. And Chandler would never, e

o me," Cordelia s

s time, Bell was there, but she simply watched

her, his small body flinched, a tiny, almost imperceptible movement that felt like a

heart aching. She sank to her knees, m

er tears. He'd seen them too many

en. "I know I haven't been a good mothe

nd wary. He'd heard this before, too. The apolo

he explained, her voice trembling slightly. "It would mean cameras... people watching us. But it would also

power. The choice. Some

de him. He was silent for a long, long time. She saw something in his eyes she'd never noticed before.

lf-pitying sadness he was used to. It was

re?" he asked, his voice

t know, sweetheart," she answ

d from her face to the tablet and back again. Fi

he whi

r, so powerful it made her dizzy. She fought the overwhelming urg

ve him a small, wate

oor, dutifully reporting the day's events: Mrs. Hamilton's

unreadable, dismissing it all as

s office and saw the e

ine was a pun

ase Hamilton to join 'T

broken family for public sympathy and media attention. It was

ase to agree? The boy coul

atened him. Bribed

ttled in his gut. He pictured Case's terrified eyes, the way he practically became mute around strange