Cecelia’s POV
The footsteps faded past my room, leaving me alone with the quiet hum of the mansion, but I knew I couldn’t just sit there waiting for the auction to happen without taking any action. I waited until the middle of the night when the household was completely asleep, slipping out into the dark hallway with bare feet so I wouldn’t make a single sound on the cold floorboards.
My destination was Marcus’s private study on the second floor, because I knew he kept the automated security passkeys in the top drawer of his desk, which would grant me access through the main gates without triggering the perimeter alarms.
I pushed the heavy oak door open, finding the room illuminated only by the faint moonlight streaming through the large windows, and I hurried over to the massive desk
