Lucien POV
She returns at 6:47 p.m., seventeen minutes later than usual.
I watch from my office window as the car pulls through the gates. Martin opens her door. Mara steps out, shoulders slumped, moving very exhausted.
She's been gone for eight hours. Sunday visits were part of our agreement.
I return to my desk, pulling up the security system on my computer. It's for her protection, I tell myself. The manor has cameras everywhere—perimeter, entrances, common areas. Standard for someone of my wealth.
The feed shows her entering through the front door. Mrs. Dahlia takes her coat. Brief exchange. I close the security feed and try to focus on quarterly projections.
The numbers blur on the screen.
I pull up a different camera angle—the one I had installed at her parents' building. Just
