summoned a nervous young maid, Maria. She pressed

mmanded, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Sh

ekly. A moment later, Chloe, sitting on the edge of her dusty bed, heard the fai

dle. Locked solid. She felt no surprise,

p to the manicured lawn below, where security guards were alread

nded on an old-fashioned metal hairpin lying

her touch light and sure. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head, listening to the faint clicks and shifts o

er, a soft thunk signaled he

ck. The hallway was empty. Slipping out, she quietly relocked the door from the outside

the labyrinth of servants' passages with practiced ease. She emerged in the back of the estat

buy a plain black hoodie and a pair of jeans from a cheap department store. Her next stop was a party

giving the address o

river of limousines and sports cars. The air hummed

ine of catering staff heading towards a service entrance, her nondescript appearance

main, brightly-lit terrace and circled around to the shadows of the meticulously landscaped gardens. From a spot hi

Two familiar voices drifted do

Victoria was saying, her voice a pe

a broken-down country girl with a ruined face. What's she going to do? Helena

sweet, poisonous sou

the darkness, a cold, mocking

tepped out of the shadows, and