“Any idea why Casper is sitting outside in your car?” Leo asks as he holds his daily peace offering of coffee.

“Seriously? Are you sure it’s him?” Viviana asks, running outside to check for herself. She tosses her long ponytail over her shoulder and looks back at me with an incredulous look. “He is here, Milly. Did you know about this?”

I walk through the door, pretending nothing is out of the ordinary. Sure enough, Casper is sitting in the Audi, the steady bass of music thumping from inside. He even waves when he sees me. Jerk.

“Give me that,” I say, taking the cup from Leo. He’s so shocked, he raises both brows.

I didn’t mean to give up the coffee battle, but I’m going to need caffeine to get through this day.

“Why’s he in your car?” Viviana repeats Leo’s question.

“It’s his car, technically,” I remind them both. “Pay him no attention. Let’s go. We’re late for training.”

I catch the shared look of surprise between the two of them, but ignore it, and scoot into Leo’s bmw without saying another word. As soon as we get moving, the Audi follows close behind.

Oh, Jesus.

Apparently he meant what he said about gluing himself to my side.

I pull out my phone to text him.

Didn’t you mention something about a job waiting for you in New York?

I look out the back window, noticing that he waits until we’re at a stoplight before texting me back.

Not safe to text and drive. If you’re anxious to talk to me, don’t worry. I’ll see you soon.

The nerve. For months I’ve been trying to get over him, and suddenly he shows up with a declaration of love? Does he just expect me to fall into his arms as if he didn’t abandon me when I needed him most? And now he’s going to stalk me—again? This is ridiculous.

I guess I shouldn’t worry though. With his track record, he’ll be gone before dinner.

Today’s training session is intense. I suspect Viviana was right about Sergio going easy on me because all the sweetness is gone. No more babying. No more politeness. He makes all three of us put in more effort than usual. By the time we leave, I’m sweaty and tired.

On the way to the car I take a long gulp of water, slitting my eyes at the Audi waiting in the parking lot. Casper is leaning against the driver’s door, on his phone. He sees me and waves again. I ignore him and get in the car. My phone buzzes as Leo starts up the engine.

I don’t want the job in New York if I can’t be near you. I’ll find one here.

I turn off the screen, trying not to let his words get to me. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him know Viviana and I already had plans to move to New York.

Leo turns down his car stereo. “Did either of you think Serg seemed a little…much today?”

I answer without thinking. “It felt like he was trying to kill us.”

Viviana laughs. And then we all go quiet as we realize what I did. I never speak directly to Leo. Or at least I haven’t, not since the wedding. Today I took his peace coffee, and I spoke to him—quite a leap in our relationship.

He clears his throat. “Agreed. Maybe he was in a bad mood.”

Viviana cranes her head around from the front seat to look at me, giving me a knowing look. “Gee, wonder what got into him.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t pin this all on me.”

Her gaze travels to the back window. “Casper is following us,” she says, staring behind me. “How long is he going to keep this up?”

I shrug. “How should I know?”

She scrunches her brow, her forehead lined with worry. “You doing okay?”

This one was hard for me. I cried in her lap a few times, the same way I had in high school when it had been Noah. To her credit, she never hit me with any I told you so’s. Just another one of many reasons I love her so much.

“I’m fine.”

Casper follows us all the way home. After we park, I go straight inside the house, refusing to even look in his direction.

My aunt and uncle are on their way out as we’re coming in, dressed all in black, suitcases in hand.

Carousel says, “Hugo and I have decided to attend Alessandra’s funeral.”

“But…why?” Leo asks her. “It’s too risky. None of us need to go, Care. People will understand.”

The two of them exchange a worried look. Hugo answers this time. “Both Lorenzo and Adriel are going. We’re calling a rendezvous between brothers. We also want to look into Alessandra’s death, and keep it low key.”

“Then I should be there too,” Leo insists, his jaw tightening.

Hugo shakes his head, reaching for the suitcases. “We want the three of you to stay here. Make sure your sisters stay safe, Leo. Keep the alarm activated. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary or go anywhere you don’t usually go.” He holds the door open for Carousel, sighing. “And please…all of you, take this seriously.”

“We will,” Viviana promises.

They leave, and a few moments later, Carousel peeks her head back inside. “Casper is sitting out there by himself.”

“He’s fine, Care,” Viviana says, pushing her back out the door.

“But it’s been getting chilly at night. You can’t just leave him outside—”

“Go on, auntie. He’ll be fine.”

Once they’re gone and the door is shut and locked, Viviana turns around, pursing her lips. “It is kind of chilly, you know.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I’m just saying—”

I throw my arms up in the air, heading for the basement. “Just keep him away from me, Vivvy. I should’ve listened to you the first time you tried to warn me off. There I said it. You told me so.”

* * *

I grind my teeth at the sound of their laughter. Both of them are traitors. I mean, I already knew about Leo’s evil streak, but I expected Viviana to always have my back.

They were friends before I came along.

But it doesn’t matter. The fact that Leo and Viviana are partying it up with Casper upstairs makes me want to scream. I bury my face into my pillow and do just that. It doesn’t help.

It’s just dinner.

Since Carousel and Hugo are gone for the weekend, Leo is staying here at the house. And Viviana, that turncoat, told Casper to come inside for dinner. Whatever happened to their precious saying, familia ante omnia? It sure doesn’t seem like it’s written in stone around here.

I try to keep myself busy by going through the box from Gran’s estate, reading through various insurance documents, and making sure everything is in order. Then I take a look to see what was sent from my storage. There’s a few personal mementos I couldn’t get rid of. A box of old pictures. Gran’s gardening trowel. Her jewelry box, which I open, looking through the different items. Inside are the pearls she always wore, her diamond earrings, and her wedding ring—I wince. It must’ve been hard on her, losing her husband at such a young age. She never wore this thing.

I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. The weather is cooler here in London, and I think it’s getting to me. I pop a few Advil, swig down some water, then go back to my search.

At the bottom of the box, I find something. A flash drive. Gran rarely used the computer. I plug it into my lap top to see what’s on it. Fifteen minutes later, I’m bored and yawning because I haven’t found anything important. I’m not sure what I’m looking for exactly. Maybe something about Gran’s adoption, something she’d been hiding from me. But all I find are receipts and a few of my old school photos she saved from her phone’s camera. Her phone. I rifle through the box again until I dig out Gran’s old cellphone. Since it uses the same cord as mine, I plug it in.

The email address assigned to the app on her phone isn’t the same email saved in her internet browser. In fact, I’ve never seen this email before. [email protected] I know Gran’s email by heart, and that isn’t it. There’s only one outgoing email, nothing else in the entire inbox. Strange. The recipient’s email is [email protected] Magenta and dark blue? Colors?

I read the outgoing email.

Dark Blue,

I thought it was my job to end the bloodline. You were my perfect protégé. We had a shared sense of purpose, and for that I will always be grateful.

But little Yellow is different. Full of light, and love, and smiles—she’s not like the rest of the Reds. She has shown me how much good is still in this family. I don’t know, maybe with time, evil expels itself. Maybe as generations pass, we are cleansed again. Do you think it’s possible?

Therefore, my answer is no.

I know it’s not the answer you were hoping for, but I can no longer, in good conscious, participate in this mission. I love you, Dark. I hope you find peace one day too.

Magenta

My head spins. It feels like all the blood has drained from my body, and I’m weak everywhere, like nothing is working. I’ve never fainted before, but this sensation reminds me of how it felt when Casper choked me.

I’m going down for the count. I step toward my bed, but don’t quite make it. I fall to the floor, my back against the side of my bed. I try to lift my arm, but it’s heavy. Everything is heavy.

This isn’t like being choked.

This feels like…this feels like I was drugged.

My eyes drift around the room, wondering what it was. How it got into my body. The Advil? That doesn’t make sense. My eyes land on the water bottle from my gym bag. It’s the only thing that left the house with me, and I used it to take the Advil.

I try to call out, but my voice doesn’t work. “Casper,” I whisper, hearing the sound of his laughter up above me.

My eyes flutter. I can’t stay awake. White spots dot the space in front of my eyes until I lose touch. The last thing I feel is my head slumping forward.