The Keeper’s words followed Elena long after they left Ashwood Manor.
You’ve spent thirty-five chapters protecting the wrong woman.
She heard them whenever she closed her eyes.
Wrong woman.
Decoy.
Heir.
The words had become a second heartbeat.
By dawn, Elena had stopped pretending she wasn’t afraid.
She sat at the back of the vehicle beside Adrian, staring through the window as the countryside passed.
Evelyn sat across from them.
She hadn’t spoken since they left Ashwood.
Not once.
Adrian noticed.
So did Elena.
Finally, Elena broke the silence.
“Say something.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
A faint, bitter smile touched Evelyn’s mouth.
“We don’t even know what the truth is.”
Elena looked away.
“Maybe the Keeper was lying.”
“Maybe.”
