Page 4 of Seeking Shadows

No... it's not whohe was.It's who he became after everything. After the lies, the silence, the weight of it all—he got hurt. And somewhere in the middle of that mess, he turned into someone else.

I shake off the thought and follow the scent of food like a possessed bloodhound, stepping into the dining area—only to freeze at the sight of theabsolute feastlaid out before me. Fruits, juices, cakes…Is this what royalty eats?

Before I can make a dive for the food, a woman approaches me with a no-nonsense expression.

Olga.

The head of the mansion. The unshakable force of order and intimidation.

I grin at her like an overenthusiastic puppy.

Iwillwin her heart. It's only a matter of time.

"Good morning, Olga," I say, beaming at her. "Did you rest well today?"

As always, I get nothing but a grunt in response. No words, no acknowledgment beyond the mechanical placement of my breakfast on the table before she turns on her heel and leaves.

I sigh, propping my chin in my hands as I stare at my plate. Olga is like a fortress, and I—determined little gremlin that I am—willfind a way in.

The strangest part of being here is how unfamiliar this part of the mansion feels. It’s like it exists in an entirely different universe from the damp, suffocating basement where I spent most of my life. The realization creeps in, slow but suffocating—my father didn’t keep me locked up because he cared aboutme.He did it so he wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of his own choices.

Whether I lived in a gilded mansion or a moldy dungeon didn’t matter to him. As long as I wasout of his way.

Before I can spiral too hard, Olga returns, this time holding out a phone. "For you," she says, and I take it with a skeptical glance.

"Mia," a familiar voice sighs on the other end.

I lean back, already feeling the headache coming. "Paulina, what a lovely surprise. What nightmare do you bring me today?"

"Your father asked me to return to the States to prepare you for your wedding—teach you things," she says, like I’m some stray dog that needs training. "But I’m very busy at the moment with other matters. So you’ll need to behave. Or Katie will suffer the consequences."

My blood goes cold.

"Your fiancé is a young man," she continues, voice laced with something smug. "So try to enjoy at least this."

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Wow, that’s some really motherly advice coming from the bitch who drugged me and threw me into yet another cage—just a shinier one this time."

Paulina’s tone sharpens. "Actually, you’re free to come and go. That was a demand from your fiancé. He wanted you to move in with him, but your father vetoed that idea for now."

My brows shoot up.Zane wanted me to move in with him?

"So," Paulina continues, "he’ll be moving into the mansion in two weeks. In the meantime, you’ll be going on dates. Try not to fuck this up. If I have to come to the States because of you, it’ll be to kill you and that fucking bitch."

And then she hangs up. Just like that.

I stare at the phone in my hand, my mind a whirlwind of chaos.

Three problems:

Ihaveto keep Paulina out of the States. Whatever shady business she’s up to, she’d recognize Zane instantly, and that would blow everything up.

I need to find Zane and figure out what the hell he’s doing.

I need toconvincehim to stop whatever he’s doing because, obviously, he haszeroself-preservation instincts.

He’s going to end up dead in this crossfire.

And the thought of that sends a wave of pure, blinding fury through me.

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