ELLA
I watched Lily from the top of the staircase, her small form moving slowly across the living room, Alice’s tiny fingers gripping the edge of the sofa. She hummed quietly, oblivious to my gaze, completely unaware that every step she took in this house—every decision, every glance—was now under my control.
I smiled faintly. This was why I was here. Why I had to be the one in this house. Everything that mattered—Ace, Alice, the family, the legacy—was slipping through my fingers, and it was all because of her. Lily. A soft-spoken, obedient little nothing who somehow wormed her way into the heart of everything I’d worked for.
I tilted my head as she bent down to straighten Alice’s blanket. The girl’s small back curved like a question mark. That child… so innocent. So irritatingly trusti
