"I didn''t break you out just to send you back to die," Selena''s voice was soft, almost tender.

    "Be good. Lay low for a while. I''ve remembered everyone who''s wronged you. If you want revenge and to walk away clean, you have to follow my lead. Do exactly as I say, and you''ll get everything you want."

    Her tone was soothing, but carried a chilling, almost hypnotic undercurrent.

    Tina trembled, her teeth chattering. "But I don''t want to stay with these people..."

    On the other end, Selena calmly took a sip of red wine. "They risked their lives to get you out. A small token of gratitude is the least you owe them."

    Tina''s face was drained of all color.

    Selena continued, "Treat them right, and they''ll be your sharpest weapons. Tina, you need to learn to adapt. That''s all for now. When the time is right, I''ll bring you back to Halewick."

    Before Tina could respond, the phone was yanked from her hand.

    She barely caught Selena''s final, unsettling instruction, "Be gentle with my niece."

    The line went dead.

    Then came the hands, reaching for her, all at once.

    "Aaaahhh!"

    Her scream tore through the night like a banshee''s wail, then was swallowed whole by the darkness, sinking into filth and silence.

    ...

    The next morning, Vespera woke at eight after sleeping a full 12 hours.

    Finally, truly rested. Even her skin looked more radiant.

    Whether it was pure exhaustion or the quietfort of knowing Dominic had stayed the night, she''d managed to sleep dreamlessly for once.

    In the kitchen, herpetent, all-purpose male siren had once again made her breakfast.

    "Vera, do you like cats?" Dominic asked casually, handing her a ss of juice

    "Yeah, I do," Vespera replied, raising an eyebrow.

    What was that about? Was he trying to make small talk?

    Dominic gave a knowing little smile. "No wonder you love to sleep so much." Vespera said nothing.

    Was heining because she''d gone to bed earlyst night and didn''t "summon" him?

    Vespera let out a dryugh. "Well, I didn''t have time for a nap yesterday... But you really shouldn''t nap so much either. It''s dangerous. You could get taken advantage of."

    This time, it was Dominic who went quiet.

    After a beat of silence, he leaned in. "Vera, you care about me that much, huh? Then how about this... Let''s

    nap together at noon. You can

    protect me. I''m vulnerable on my own."

    Vespera took a calm sip of juice, ignoring his shameless flirting. She smiled

    sweetly. "Two people are even more dangerous."

    And with that, she kissed his cheek, grabbed her sandwich and juice, and made a run for it.

    Before he could try to steal her juice.

    ...

    "Did you hear? Nancy resigned."

    "No way. Shested only two days?"

    "Damn, I bet on her winning!"

    "Ms. Gildon is terrifying. She took out

    Ms.

    knocheno in Ashford, now she''s

    out Mr. Reid''s ex in just two

    days. Even Mr. Reid Senior and,

    Reid backing her didn''t help."

    "Scary. Straight-up scary."

    ...

    News of Nancy''s resignation set every department group chat on fire.

    That''s when Vespera finally believed what Dominic had said yesterday. He really had kicked her out.

    Interrupting his nap? Yeah, apparently that was a capital offense.

    Nancy gave herself a graceful exit, iming she''d suddenly decided to go abroad

    for further study. That it wasn''t about anyone or anything.

    But everyone who knew anything knew exactly why she left.

    Vespera was in a great mood.

    So was Gerard.

    He''d been mentally preparing for tomorrow''s business trip like it was a march into hell, expecting to walk onto the ne and straight into a drama war zone.

    He''d even stocked up on heart medication and calming pills.

    At around 4:00 pm, Vespera walked into Dominic''s office to ask for time off. "Yaz invited me and Ba to a g tonight. I need to go home to change, just asking for an hour."

    Dominic looked up from the documents in front of him. "A g? Who''s hosting it?"

    Vespera opened her mouth, then hesitated. "Uh... The invitation''s with Yaz. I think it''s Mrs. Dawson? Yaz said it''s mostly Halewick''s socialites and wealthy women attending."