As evening settled over Cedar Ridge, Ethan’s voice wouldn’t leave Millie's head.
See me later tonight in my study. And that’s not a request, Amelia.
The words looped through her mind like a pulse she couldn’t silence.
By the time she reached her room, her body felt like lead. She sank onto the bed, every muscle screaming from the day. The thin mattress dipped under her weight, and she stared up at the ceiling, trying to breathe through the exhaustion that clung to her bones.
She and Clara had spent the entire afternoon scrubbing—the east wing bathrooms first, then the guest room in the west. The smell of bleach still burned faintly in her nose. Her hands ached, her knuckles raw from the scrubbing.
But none of that compared to the knot of unease twisting in her stomach. Sneaking out of
