the speed of a man who'd encounte

ompanied by the rustle of garment bags an

out everything." Hettie's

tood in the doorway, backli

with decisive force. "I've let them treat me like a fool. Like a weak woman who

, the brightness of the eyes, the way her hands had

she said

m glowed at the end of the hall, crystal chandelier s

eady claimed

ggested purity and new beginnings. Her makeup was subtle. S

t, carefully controlled. "I hope yo

e cut through the performance li

e, confusion creasing his foreh

able, leaving the head for Burnett. "We'll discuss

sat without adjusting her posture, her plain clothes a deliberate contrast to the fo

fork and cut a precise bit

n back. The girl was waiting for something-an op

he dress I sent. Was it-the wrong size? Or perhaps-" A delicate pause. "-the st

his mouth. "Emilie. Your sister

s loud in the quiet room. She reached for her napkin, wiped her mouth with

she said, "because I

e went whit

orward, her voice dropping to conversational intimacy. "You wore that dress to the Met Gala after-p

up her wine glass,

d your presence at this table inappropriate. Just as I find yo

loth like blood, dripping onto the white silk of her dress.

erged strangled. "

ply reached out and placed her knife-carefully, precisely-into the wooden t

are a placeholder. A clerical error. A woman who stole my

like thunder. "That's enough! Apol

of a woman who committed kidnapping. Who switched infants in a hospita

ettie's side, placing a ha

ut not your jaw. Ask her why Grandmother Kristyn favors her so-" Emilie's voice dropped to

d gone the color

erged rough. "Is ther

ng mascara across her cheeks. "I don't know what she's talking

cut through

mbled for it with hands that shook, glanced at the s

emerged from the speaker was aged but a

midnight tomorrow." A pause, weighted with implications Burnett clearly understood.

wly, as if it had beco

they want-" He looked at Emilie, then at Corie, and the despair in his eyes wa