SERENA POV
The flowers arrived at eight in the morning.
Rosa brought them into the east wing without a word. They were white, expensive, and simple. There was no family name on the card, just my name and one sentence: Some people deserve better than the rooms they are put in.
I was still staring at the card when I heard his heavy, familiar footsteps. I gripped the paper tight as Adriano appeared in the doorway. He looked at the flowers. Then he looked at the card in my hand. His face twisted into a sneer.
"Throw them out," he said, his voice like a whip.
I didn't move fast enough for him. He stepped into the room, his presence suffocating. "Are you deaf as well as incompetent? I said throw them in the trash. Now."
I picked up the arrangement, walked to the hallway, and dropped them i
