Chapter 17 New Boy

• The hallway smelled like bleach and secrets.
• I walked slower than usual, my heels clicking softly against the marble tiles as I made my way toward the east wing of the mansion. Something was different tonight. The silence wasn’t calm—it was *charged*. Like the air before a storm. Like someone was watching me.
• Luciano hadn’t spoken much since the night I found the note. I hadn’t told him. I couldn’t. Whatever was unraveling about my mother—I needed to figure it out on my own. Trust wasn’t something I could offer blindly anymore, even to the man who made my body crave ruin.