The Heir's Ruthless Obsession

hing that shiny. Most visitors arrived either in rusted-out trucks or rattling taxis, looking for a way out

om window, biting the inside of

ens aren't going t

harp and bitter. She shoved a basket of wet sheets into my chest. The weight was sudden and heavy, the cold water soaking into my apron immediately

y hood further over my brow until the world was

ked up from the older girls. She was the kind of person you don't want

eached out. Her fingers caught

to scream against the dull backdrop of the laundry. It was a deep, bruised red, the color of a fresh w

ggers my nerves," I lied. My voice

that looked like hunger. "She thinks that hair makes you a miracle. I think it makes you a target. You look like one

e floor like a heap of dead skin. I couldn't fight back. I know better than to create a scene. I just st

oak doors at the end of the hall groaned on their hinges.

s back into the dark wool of my hood. My skin felt

sual, her hands vibrating with a slight tremor. She was followed b

idn't belong in a room that smelled of bleach and poverty. Her

ked like she was choking on the name. "This is

w, the skin pruned and white from the wat

me Beaumont

ty I usually got from the rich ladies who visited on Sundays. She looked at me the way a person looks at a winning lottery ticket they'd found in the t

er than usual. As I took the instrument out, several thoughts flooded my head. I wondered why she wanted me to play, I wondered

they didn't

elody that always sat at the base of my skull, something

d, a ragged sound that broke the silence. She t

It's Elena's silhouette. If I can see it, Viktor V

ded. Her fingers worked her rosary beads

ugh. "The Volkovs have eyes in every gutter. Sh

envelope into my damp hand. The gold wax seal fel

n't an offer. "Everything, the clothes, the story, the p

red. "I don't think I have that talent

e who think you're dead are currently throwing a party. I'm going to ruin it. But listen to me: the Volkovs will be watching. Especially the

ind her. The sound of her heels faded, leav

d dropping into her hands. She started to cr

ed her I'd keep you hidden. I pro

p and white-hot pain spiked behind my eyes. For a split second

y shoulders, her grip bruising. "She told me to never let the w

oked at the envelope. It felt like a heavy wei

front of the cracked mirror in the washroom and pulled the hood back. I stared at the red

e past that should remain dead. And for the first time i