NICHOLAS'S POV
The cameras showed nothing. No shadows slipping down the hallways, no doors forced, no signs of Irene. I wasn't surprised.
The woman practically invented disappearing. If she wanted to vanish, she could dissolve into the goddamn wallpaper.
But the fact that she left something behind....that note.....meant this wasn't a clean escape. It was a theater. A stage play with Simone as her chosen audience.
And that was the part that made my blood run cold.
Simone paced the study like a caged rabbit, hair mussed from sleep, eyes too wide. Her fingers twisted at the hem of her shirt. I watched her, cataloging every twitch.
She was still shaken, but more than that...she looked violated.
Irene hadn't just escaped. She'd gotten close enough to touch Simone while I
