the first part of my p

t wing, a place he rarely used but kept locked because it housed s

prenatal vitamins in your old study, the one near the conservatory. Could you possib

, always eager to

ry, and how the door to that wing was sometimes left unlocked by the staff. I also made sure the key to the stu

s the west wing, I made an excuse to

later, a sma

"Sera? What are you doing in he

e sound, my heart beating

oked artfully flustered, a hand to her chest, her

was just admiring the conservatory, and the door to this wing was open. I must ha

, caught in the headlights. A

ted. He always had a weakness for a damse

his voice softening. "No harm done. Th

iumph for a millisecond before

full of concern. "Ava, are you alright? You look tired. I was just telling Ethan earlier how

. Seamlessly transitioning f

ed on it i

does need extra care. And you have such an interest in these things

ily. "Oh, I wouldn'

id gallantly. "We in

expecting my gr

an. That' s very kind of Sera. We

he mast

It' s quiet there, and conveniently close to your home office, Ethan. Th

y thin wall with Ethan' s main home office,

and the appeal of her "expertise," t

of surprise and suspicion, but

. You' re too k

ly in the henhouse, plac

dy fawning over Sera, discu

ting to their past betrayals; I was orchestrating their p

was about survival, for me and for my child. They had tried to erase us. Now, I would ens

t would all belong to my child, untainted by h

make sur