SIMONE'S POV
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the marble floors of Irene's mansion, but the warmth didn't reach the cold knot of dread in my stomach.
I had been pacing my room for hours, clutching the gun Nicholas had given me like a talisman, when a soft knock interrupted my restless thoughts.
"Come in," I called, expecting Henry with another attempt to lighten my mood.
Instead, Irene stepped through the doorway with the graceful hunting movement of a lioness approaching wounded prey.
She wore an elegant cream-colored dress that probably cost more than most people's cars, her dark auburn hair perfectly styled despite the early hour.
Everything about her screamed power and control.
"My dear," she said, her voice warm honey laced with poison, "I thought we m
