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That’s the problem.

I don’t know anything.

I only know Delaney Cross’s name because Charlotte was whispering about her, said she was Samson’s newest fling.

Samson always seemed the most obviously dangerous of the three brothers.

Brutal.

That’s the word the staff use when they think no one important is listening.

Nathaniel is different. He smiles. He apologizes. He kisses your hand and tells you not to flirt with an old man in a voice that makes your knees quiver. But he has an agenda, for sure.

I used to wonder why any woman would go near any of the Vexleys, besides their obvious physical attributes.

Now I do. After Nathaniel.

I understand how Delaney Cross might have looked at a Vexley and seen something other than the warning.

Maybe she did something awful.

Maybe she got involved in something she shouldn’t have.

Maybe she’s dangerous too.

I have no idea.

But she could also be innocent.

She could be exactly what I am right now—a woman standing too close to a Vexley secret without knowing which lock she’s already opened.

I can’t let something happen to her because I’m scared.

I move quickly down the corridor, away from Nathaniel’s study and toward the older east hall that connects to a narrow gallery no one uses.

I know every corner of this house.

There’s a hall near the old guest rooms that gets almost no foot traffic. A row of busts lines the wall there—dead Vexleys, mostly.

Arthur Vexley’s bust sits at the end. Not dead but already immortalized.

He’s handsome, even in stone. Strong brow. Straight nose. Mouth curved just enough to suggest mercy he clearly doesn’t possess.

Behind the bust is a narrow ledge where the wall panel doesn’t sit flush. I found it months ago while dusting.

Perfect.

I glance over my shoulder.

No one.

My heart pounds anyway.

I pull the burner phone from my pocket and flip it open. No new messages.

I turn the phone off, and the screen goes black. Then I reach behind Arthur Vexley’s marble head and slide the phone into the space between the bust and the wall.

I turn away from Arthur’s bust and head back toward the servants’ wing.