Blackw

th arsenic. "You must have suffered so much, all these y

ern. I managed just fine." My calm, even tone seemed to throw her off. She ex

linch internally. "You're back now, so you'll follow our rules," he said

able. "Look at her clothes. She probably bought the

tty barbs were like gnat

n backpack onto my lap. It was a small mercy that Hayden's men had retrieved it from the Mirewood sidewalk before we fled. From it, I pulled the small, square package

voice steady. "A gift

tempt, clearly expecting some pathetic, handmade trinket. He

bed of black velvet,

chandelier. The needle was tipped with a sliver of sapphire, and

ion was just bored. Then, hi

from slumped and dismissive to ramrod s

w that

alth and influence were legendary. Their global logistics empire was so vast, so critical, that even powerful Al

d it from the box as if it were a holy relic, turning it over an

s commissioned only once a year for their most valued partners. Its wo

ntirely different. The indifference was gone, replaced by

ch my lips. "It was a gift from my ado

thought, "They heard I was coming to visit you. They ins

whispered, her fork frozen hal

They had built their entire narrative around me being a pathetic orphan, taken in

mation was complete

toppled over and rushed to my side, his f

?" He clapped a heavy, unfamiliar hand on m

ed, his voice dripping with false warmth.

left, the seat of honor. The seat that was

were priceless. Their masks of civility had cr

o hide the stiffness of my injured arm, as if I hadn't noticed the sudden

e compass in his hands. He peppered

they've been good to you? A rema

dly. Greedy, p

crafted innocence. Georgiana tried to interject, to steer the conversation toward my life, my experiences,

he was being overshadowed. And I could see in her eyes, she recognized the threat I now

ust won the