Prologue
ALIéNOR
“I know he’s going out with Sara, but I think he likes me.” Raindrops pelted the windows and rolled down the glass. There was still daylight, but it was masked by the clouds and the storm hitting the city.
My sister was sixteen months younger than me, so close in age we always felt more like friends than sisters. We shared everything, clothes and jewelry and sometimes boys. “You get them how you lose them. Remember that.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s texted me a couple times.”
“Red flag.”
“Shut up, it’s fine.” She elbowed me in the side. “You’re just jealous.”
“Why would I be jealous when Ethan and I made out in the bathroom?”
Her eyes widened, and she almost dropped her phone when she turned to me. “You did what?”
I put my finger to my lips to silence her so the driver wouldn’t tattle on me.
She lowered her voice. “Aliénor, I can’t believe you.”
“I can,” I said with a smirk. “We’ve always been on and off.”
“And now you’re on again?”
“No,” I said with a shrug. “He just looked really hot today.”
We pulled through the gate of our villa, and she rolled her eyes. “And I thought I was boy crazy…”
We arrived at the main doors to the house, and we both hopped out with our bags. We headed inside, the smell of dinner in the air. We entered the main room and found Mom putting appetizers on the table and bottles of wine out to serve. “How was school?”
Laura and I looked at each other before we both spoke at the same time. “Fine.”
“Fine?” she asked, slightly playful. “I know what fine means.”
My youngest sister was already home from school, a couple years younger than me, so she wasn’t in secondary school. Her backpack was on the couch like she was about to do homework but got distracted by the TV.
“We have company for dinner,” Mom said. “So take your things to your rooms and get ready for dinner.”
We headed upstairs and did what she said, not asking who was coming because Dad always had people over. I wasn’t entirely sure what he did for work, but he had a lot of friends, and he seemed to work at night rather than during the day like my classmates’ dads.
My sisters headed down to dinner first because I was distracted by Ethan, who started to blow up my phone.
So…when are we going to do that again?
I don’t know. I played coy, and I did it well.
How about tonight?
Can’t. Family dinner thing.
Picnic on Saturday?
Wow, that’s pretty romantic.
So, is that a yes?
I continued to play it cool, keeping him on my string but not fully reeling him in. I’ll think about it.
I left my phone on my nightstand because it needed to charge and headed back downstairs. I passed my father’s study, but I stilled when I heard the heated conversation.
“This discrepancy didn’t just happen this week.
When we noticed it, my men started to do their own calculations for weeks on end, and every single time, about half the product isn’t accounted for.
” I recognized the voice of my father’s business partner.
He came over all the time, his family a part of our family.
They were usually jovial, laughing over drinks or making jokes only the two of them understood.
But now it was heated.
“Have you nothing to say?” he asked when my father didn’t say anything.
“I assure you there’s an explanation,” my father said calmly. “I don’t appreciate the accusation in your tone. How long have we been working together?”
“There’s no length of time to measure the greed of men.”
There was another bout of silence. A heavy pause.
The silence was so long I wondered if they’d both disappeared. That meant they were just staring at each other. I wanted to pass by the open doorway, but now I was afraid to make a sound.
My father finally spoke again. “Dinner will be ready soon. Let’s eat.”
“We’re a family after all.” He didn’t say it like he normally would. His voice was as recognizable as my father’s because I’d been hearing it all my life. But it was different now, veiled in a silent threat.
I heard their footsteps a moment later.
I tried to act inconspicuous and take several steps back before I started to walk again, like I’d just left the staircase and didn’t hear a peep.
“Hey, sweetheart.” My dad greeted me with a smile like nothing had transpired between them. His hand went to my shoulder, and he gave me a gentle pat. “Do you know what’s for dinner?”
I must have been as pale as a ghost, and words seemed to have fallen out of my head. “Um, I—I don’t know.” Instead of looking at my father, I stared at his business partner, a tremble in both of my hands.
He stared down at me, his eyes hard in a scowl because he didn’t pretend like my father did.
His usual warmth had evaporated, so distant it seemed like he’d always been a stranger.
After a long stare, he shifted his eyes to my father once more.
“You have a beautiful family, Claude. Have I ever told you that?”
My father continued to smile as he met his cold gaze.
I was scared. Scared as hell and I didn’t know why.
My father let the silence go on for several long seconds before he spoke. “Yes, Baptiste. You have…”