Irena stood on the marble landing of the grand staircase. She looked down at the massive entrance hall. Jada Wray was standing in the center of the room. Jada held a white lace handkerchief pressed against the corner of her eye. She was sobbing loudly, complaining to the stiff-backed head butler.

Watching Jada's fake tears, a different memory forced its way into Irena's mind. It was a memory of a much larger, much more dangerous performance.

It was the night of Eleanor Barton's seventieth birthday gala. The memory was vivid. Irena felt the tight, uncomfortable fabric of an outdated borrowed dress scratching her skin. She remembered hiding behind a large marble pillar in the crowded ballroom. The air smelled of expensive perfume and roasted meat.

She saw Evertt Barton across the room. He was surrounded by politicians and wealthy businessmen. He looked untouchable.

The memory shifted. She saw her own hands shaking as she handed a thick stack of cash to a young waiter. She watched the waiter pour a colorless, potent sedative into a glass of sweet fruit wine. She watched the waiter carry the tray through the crowd. She watched Evertt take the glass and drink it.

Minutes later, Evertt rubbed his temples. His face was pale. Two large security guards escorted him out of the ballroom and up the stairs to a private lounge.

The original Irena had waited in the shadows. She counted the minutes. Then, she slipped past the security cameras. She opened the door to the lounge.

Evertt was sitting on a leather sofa. His eyes were closed. His tie was pulled loose. He was fighting the effects of the chemical.

Irena remembered the physical terror. Her stomach was in knots. She walked toward him. She grabbed the collar of her own dress and ripped the fabric down, exposing her shoulder. She messed up her hair.

Then, the door burst open.

The memory was blinding. Flashbulbs from cameras exploded like lightning in the dark room. A crowd of reporters and socialites pushed into the doorway. Irena screamed and curled into a ball on the sofa.

Evertt's eyes snapped open. The flashbulbs lit up his face. He looked at Irena. His eyes were completely dead. He looked at her like she was a corpse.

That night destroyed the original Irena's reputation. She became the biggest joke in the capital. But the plan worked. Eleanor Barton forced Evertt to marry her to stop the scandal from ruining a massive military contract. Irena got her two-year protection deal.

The memory faded. Irena blinked. Her vision focused back on the present moment. She looked at Jada. Compared to the brutal, life-or-death trap the original Irena had set, Jada's little game with a crying child was pathetic.

Irena started walking down the stairs. Her heels hit the marble steps with a sharp, rhythmic sound. Clack. Clack. Clack.

The sound cut through Jada's fake crying. Jada looked up. When she saw Irena's cold, beautiful face, Jada's eyes widened. A flash of jealousy and panic crossed her features.

Jada quickly reached behind her and pulled a small, six-year-old girl forward. This was Peggy. Jada pointed a finger up at Irena.

"Why did you do it?" Jada yelled. Her voice was shrill and loud. "Why did you break Peggy's favorite doll yesterday? You are a monster!"

The maids and footmen in the hall stopped moving. They stood against the walls, holding their breath. They were waiting to see the hated wife get humiliated again.

Irena reached the bottom of the stairs. She walked straight toward Jada. She did not look at the angry mother. Instead, she bent her knees and crouched down so she was at eye level with the little girl.

"Peggy," Irena said. Her voice was soft but carried a heavy weight. "Where were you yesterday afternoon?"

Peggy bit her bottom lip. Her small hands shook. She looked up at her mother, terrified.

Jada stepped forward and tried to block Irena. "Do not speak to my child! You are scaring her!"

Irena stood up slowly. She smoothed the fabric of her sleeve. She looked Jada directly in the eyes. Her expression was full of mockery.

"I find it very interesting that I broke a doll in the garden yesterday," Irena said clearly, making sure every servant heard her. "Especially since I was lying in my bed with a high fever all day. Dr. Hudson, the family physician, was sitting next to my bed."

Jada's face froze. The color drained from her cheeks. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She had not checked Irena's schedule.

Before Jada could think of a lie, the heavy front doors of the mansion swung open.

A rush of cold wind blew into the hall. Evertt Barton walked in. He wore a heavy wool coat. His presence instantly sucked all the air out of the room. He stopped in his tracks, looking at the scene in front of him.

Evertt stood just inside the massive front doors. He pulled off his heavy wool coat and handed it to the butler without looking at him. His dark eyes scanned the entrance hall. He saw Irena standing tall and relaxed. He saw Jada looking panicked. He saw the little girl hiding behind her mother's legs.

Jada saw Evertt. It was like someone flipped a switch. Tears instantly flooded her eyes. She grabbed Peggy's hand and practically ran across the marble floor toward him.

"Evertt!" Jada cried out. Her voice shook with fake emotion. "Thank God you are home. Irena is out of control. She broke Peggy's favorite doll yesterday, and just now, she was threatening the poor child right in front of me!"

Evertt looked down at Peggy. The little girl's eyes were red. She looked genuinely scared. The hard lines around Evertt's mouth softened for a fraction of a second.

He lifted his head. His gaze locked onto Irena. The softness vanished. His eyes turned into sharp blades. He always assumed the worst about her. It was his default setting.

"Is your frustration with this marriage so deep that you need to take it out on a six-year-old?" Evertt's voice was low, but it carried across the silent hall. It was an accusation, not a question.

The servants standing near the walls exchanged quick, nervous glances. They all thought the young madam was finished.

Irena did not flinch. Her heart rate stayed perfectly steady. She did not cross her arms defensively. She just stood there, looking back at him.

"Yesterday afternoon," Irena said. Her voice was completely flat. It sounded like she was reading a weather report. "From two o'clock until five o'clock, I was unconscious in my bed with an acute fever."

She paused for one second. She let the words hang in the air.

"Dr. Hudson was in my room the entire time. He administered an IV drip. His medical log will confirm this." Irena shifted her gaze to Jada. A cold smile touched the corners of her mouth. "So, Jada, please explain to me how my unconscious body floated out to the garden to break a toy."

The silence in the hall was absolute.

Jada's fake crying stopped instantly. Her face turned chalk white. She took a step back, her high heels scraping against the floor. "I... I must have mixed up the days," Jada stammered. Her hands shook violently. "Or... or one of the maids saw the wrong person."

Evertt was not stupid. He heard the panic in Jada's voice. He saw the physical signs of a liar caught in a trap. The realization hit him like a cold splash of water.

He slowly turned his head to look at Jada. The pressure radiating from his body was terrifying. Jada shrank back, pulling Peggy tighter against her legs.

"This estate is not a stage for your pathetic dramas, Jada," Evertt said. His voice was dangerously quiet. "If you cannot teach your daughter to tell the truth, I have no problem cutting off your monthly family allowance."

Jada gasped. She started shaking from head to toe. "Evertt, please, I am sorry. I was just upset. I lost my mind for a second."

Irena watched the scene for another moment. She felt completely bored. She had no interest in watching Evertt discipline his cousin.

"Take your time," Irena said lightly. She turned her back on both of them. Her heels clicked against the marble as she walked toward the stairs. She did not look back once.

Evertt watched her walk away. The muscles in his jaw tightened. A hot, uncomfortable feeling flared in his chest. He expected her to gloat. He expected her to look at him and demand an apology. Instead, she threw the mess at his feet and walked away like he did not matter at all.

Irena disappeared around the corner of the second floor. The only sound left in the hall was Jada's quiet, terrified sniffling.

Evertt reached up and grabbed the knot of his tie. He yanked it down roughly. He turned to the head butler. "Have security escort Jada and her daughter back to the side wing. They are banned from the main house until I say otherwise."

The servants quickly lowered their heads. They suddenly realized the young madam was not someone to mess with.

Evertt stood alone in the center of the hall. He thought about the look in Irena's eyes. It was cold. It was clear. It was entirely indifferent.

The woman who had drugged him, the woman who had cried and begged to stay in this house, had vanished. This new version of her made him feel something he hated: out of control.

He walked toward his study with heavy, angry steps. He needed to understand what had changed. The woman he thought he knew was suddenly a stranger. Something was wrong.

Evertt walked up the grand staircase. His boots hit the marble steps with heavy, angry thuds. He needed to get to his study. He had military contracts to review, and his mind was a mess.

Before he reached the top landing, he heard a small scuffling sound behind him.

"No! Let me go!" a tiny voice cried out.

Evertt stopped and turned around. Little Peggy had ripped her hand away from the butler's grip. She ran up the stairs as fast as her short legs could carry her. She crashed into Evertt's legs and grabbed the fabric of his suit pants with both hands.

Evertt looked down. His dark eyebrows pulled together. He did not like children. He did not like being touched. But he did not push her away.

He slowly bent his knees and crouched down to her level. He kept his voice low so he would not scare her more. "Why are you not going to the side wing with your mother?"

Peggy sniffled loudly. Tears ran down her round cheeks. "I don't want you to be mad at Mommy, Uncle Evertt."

Evertt let out a heavy sigh. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a clean, white silk handkerchief. He wiped the tears off the little girl's face. His movements were stiff and awkward.

"Peggy," Evertt said, looking directly into her watery eyes. "Tell me the truth. How did the doll break?"

Peggy looked down at the stairs. She twisted the fabric of his pants in her hands. She peeked over her shoulder at the bottom of the stairs, where Jada was being held back by security. Then, she looked back at Evertt.

"I broke it," Peggy whispered. Her voice was shaking. "I was running in the garden yesterday. I tripped on a rock and fell on it. It broke."

Evertt's eyes narrowed. The muscles in his neck went tight. "Then why did you say Irena broke it?"

Peggy dropped her chin to her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Mommy told me to. She said if I told you the bad lady broke it, you would make the bad lady go away."

The words hit Evertt like a physical punch to the gut.

He stood up slowly. He looked down the stairs at Jada. His eyes were so cold they looked dead.

Jada saw his face. Her knees gave out. She collapsed onto the marble floor, sobbing hysterically.

Evertt turned to the butler, who had run up the stairs behind the child. "Contact the Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland immediately," Evertt ordered. His voice was completely devoid of emotion. "Arrange for Peggy to be enrolled tomorrow. She leaves tonight."

Jada screamed from the bottom of the stairs. "No! Evertt, please! She is my baby!" She tried to crawl up the steps, but two security guards grabbed her arms and held her down.

Evertt ignored the screaming. He turned around and walked the rest of the way up the stairs. He went straight to his study and slammed the heavy oak doors shut behind him. The loud bang echoed through the house.

Inside the study, the air felt too thin. Evertt walked straight to the liquor cabinet. He grabbed a crystal decanter and poured three fingers of amber whiskey into a glass. He drank it straight down. The alcohol burned his throat and settled hot in his stomach, but it did not burn away his thoughts.

He walked over to his massive desk and sat down. He unlocked the bottom drawer and pulled out a thick manila folder. It was the old investigation report on Irena Frost and the Hendricks family.

He opened the folder. He started reading the pages again. He read every single word.

He read about her father's gambling debts. He read about her uncle's failing businesses. Then, his eyes stopped on a specific paragraph. It detailed a proposed marriage contract between Irena and Arthur Vance.

Evertt's stomach clenched. He knew Arthur Vance. The man was a monster. He had a reputation in the underground clubs for extreme violence against women.

Evertt leaned back in his leather chair. He stared at the ceiling. A terrible, uncomfortable thought crawled into his brain.

He had always believed Irena drugged him because she wanted his money and his status. He thought she was a greedy, manipulative snake.

But what if she wasn't?

What if she trapped him because it was the only way to escape being sold to a murderer?

The realization made his chest ache. He looked at the empty whiskey glass on his desk. What if the story was more complicated than he had believed? He pushed the thought away, his jaw tightening. It did not change the fact that she had drugged him. But for the very first time, a fracture appeared in his absolute certainty.