f her large bed. The sheets felt cold and foreign. She stared at t

on the door m

Martha's gentle voice f

yes, forcing the te

the edge of the mattress, the springs groaning softly under her weight. She h

o stroke Carley's hair. "You know how Barron is. He's blunt, but

ted copper. He doesn't care about the family. He j

now coming back is overwhelming. You left without

ns to escape this house was still alive and breathing in this room, a

, her voice trembling slightly. "Your father missed you terribly, even

eat burn her skin to distract from the pain in her chest. She was a fraud. She was the daugh

, squeezing Carley's knee. "J

leading eyes. Her throat tigh

ed Carley's forehea

stand. She couldn't drink it. He

y tossed and turned, the sheets tangling around her legs. Ever

a faint click echoed fr

th. The sound was tiny, but in the massive, s

old hardwood floor. She crept toward her bedroom

lock and pulled the d

nstairs hallway flickered on, casti

moved across t

aught in her thro

lked with silent, predatory grace out of Sterling's

her ribs. She pressed her face closer to t

d walked slowly up the grand staircase, his footsteps silent on the carpet.

ly weak, and she scrambled back to her bed. He

the dead of night. The realization hit her with blinding force: he wasn't going to stay away

publicly humiliated her, forced her to stay in this hous

streamed through the windo

the kitchen. Betty

kfast. He left for the office early. But he instructed me to prepare the mas

mily probably saw it as a sign of unity. They didn't know he was

ey's chest. The sadness burned away,

ed money. She needed a job. If she had her own income, Sterlin

. She threw open her closet doors. She bypassed the casu

was going to nail it, and she was g