Lila's P.O.V
The phone felt heavy in my hand long after Caleb hung up, his words looping in my head. Watching the house. Picking up the letter before it even hit the mail. It should have unsettled me more than it did, but mostly I just felt numb, like I'd been holding my breath for months and finally let it out. I stayed on the floor by the wall for a while, knees drawn up, staring at nothing. Madam Lavigne's tray sat untouched on the side table, the tea going cold.
Eventually I dragged myself up, splashed water on my face, and went downstairs. Serena was in the sitting room, flipping through some old ledger from the estate office, but she looked up when I came in. "You alright? You look wrecked."
"Long story," I said, dropping into the armchair across from her. I told her the gist—Cale
