at the Kirkland coastal estate f

d of the table, isolated between two distant, lower-tier relatives who point

eated at the opposite end, placed in the

t of her. The briny, metallic smell hit her nose, and her stomach immediately ro

le, Catalina's eyes locked on

ng with exaggerated, syrupy concern. "Are you not eating? Do you

stopped. The low hum of c

d their heads, their sharp, judgmenta

d deeply, his wrinkles deepening with displea

breath, trying to calm the ne

. "I've just been having some stomach issues lat

a hand over her mouth, her

voice carrying clearly down the table. "I suppose growing up in your old neighborhood, you probably

sympathy. It was a direct, brutal strike

earby let out muffled,

k. She instinctively turned her head, her eyes see

e word from him. O

ilver knife in his right hand, slowly and method

ed profile was as cold and unmoving as a marble statue.

her stomach. The fallout from their argument last

e grew sharper. She picked up her cryst

announced cheerfully. "I want to propose a toast to my upc

the table, her eyes locking onto Fr

her plate. The condensation was dripping down the stem. If she drank

nded as the jealous, bitter woman tr

ed at Em

Emery raise

ight of the candelabras. There was no sympathy

aid, his voice devoid of any emo

physical blow. It was a death sent

reached out. Her cold fingers wra

ck and downed the free

n her throat and hit her s

cramp seized her abdomen. It felt

or, turning a sickly, ashen white. She bit down hard on her lower lip to kee

action, turning back to Hudson

e table. Surrounded by the laughter and clinking glasses of the K