Chapter 22: The Parasite's Ploy
The cold drafts inside the Sterling manor moved like running water along the polished floorboards, pooling around the curved balusters of the sweeping grand staircase. Nerida Finch stood in the shadow of the second floor landing, her stockinged feet tucked beneath the hem of her wool dressing gown to preserve what little warmth she had left. Through the ornate oak railings, she watched the glow of the massive flat screen in the drawing room below.
She had stayed out of sight ever since her panicked performance on the driveway two nights before, dreading the moment Harlan or Torin remembered how quickly she had tried to trade sides. When the excavators had first arrived at Alderwood Manor, she had assumed Rowan was the undisputed victor of Blackwood Crest,
