They had spent the whole summer acting careful. My mother clipped coupons in front of me and sighed over grocery prices. My father shook his head when I suggested one quiet weekend away together, like I had asked him to buy a second house instead of share a motel room and a diner breakfast. “This summer we’re staying in,” Mom told me. “It’s just too much.” I believed her because believing them had become a reflex, even after years of little disappointments. They knew I kept one reserve account for emergencies, and they knew my health was the reason I guarded it like oxygen. At 3:08 in the morning, my phone buzzed hard enough to wake me. The notification said $9,860 had been withdrawn from my reserve fund. I sat up so fast the room tilted, opened the banking app, and watched my own life turn into someone else’s vacation. There were first-class flights to Mykonos. There was a luxury suite, a private driver, designer shops, spa treatments, and restaurant holds that cost more than my rent. Every charge use

The contraction tightened.

Audrey closed her eyes and breathed through it.

When she looked again, Julian had moved no closer.

Something in him had finally understood that apology did not grant access.

“What did Martin want from you?” she asked.

Julian swallowed.

“He wanted to know what you had received.”

“The video?”

“I didn’t know there was a video.”

“Then what?”

“He kept asking about a key.”

Diana’s silver key.

Audrey’s pulse quickened.

“What kind of key?”

“A storage key. He said Beatrice had taken it from the estate years ago.”

“Why would it be in Diana’s jacket?” Seraphina asked.

Julian looked confused.

“I don’t know.”

Audrey studied him.

“What is in storage room 314?”

Julian’s face lost what little color remained.

Seraphina saw it too.

“You know,” she said.

“No.”