Serena

“He was nice to look at, wasn’t he?” I settle into my four-poster bed as Eudora fluffs the pillows behind me. It’s not like I need her to. I’m not helpless. But she likes taking care of me. She always insists. “I mean, he has arrogant lawyer written all over him and I think he’s allergic to smiling, but he was nice enough.”

Eudora’s face is pinched. She’s keeping her opinion from me.

“Come on,” I say, pulling the covers into my lap. I love to tease her because she can be incredibly uptight. “Be honest.”

“There’s no denying he’s a handsome man. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t think too highly of him.” Her words are rushed and her eyes won’t meet mine. She points to the lamp on my bedside table, and I nod. Clicking it off, she glances around the rest of the room.

“Any particular reason?” I bait her.

Eudora stops fussing and flitting about, rests her palms along her sides, and exhales from thin, red lips. Her gray eyes find mine in the darkness, and her round face tilts to the side.

“I’m just protective of you. That’s all.” She clucks her tongue. “Some tall, dark, and handsome lawyer in a fancy suit waltzes in here, and you’re lonely and heartbroken and well-to-do, and to me, that just creates a recipe for the unspeakable. You’re not like other girls, Serena. I’ve been telling you that your entire life. You can’t be too careful. You have to guard yourself against men like him.”

Men like him.

We both know she’s referring to my ex-fiancé. I don’t know Mr. Rosewood yet, but I know enough to assure her he’s nothing like Keir Montgomery.

“You’re sweet to worry like that.” I sink back into the carefully arranged feather pillows behind me. Eudora has been with our family since I was eight, the year my mother passed. “But I was only appreciating his looks, not sizing him up as a potential husband.”

At times, Eudora’s been the closest thing I’ve had to a mother. And that’s why it pains me to look into her eyes and refuse to offer her an ounce of my trust. Veronica has her on speed dial, and I’m absolutely positive Eudora keeps a record of my daily goings-on and reports back. She’s nothing more than an extra set of eyes and ears—a dutiful minion with a paycheck.

But I can’t blame her. She needs this job, and Veronica pays her generously.

My father is approaching his late eighties and losing his mind one marble at a time. The day he married Veronica three years ago, she took over managing his staff and gave them all generous pay raises and additional holidays and vacation allowances.

They’ve been eating from the palm of her hand like baby birds ever since.

Eudora’s only doing what she’s told. But it’s truly unfortunate, because until Veronica came around, I loved Eudora like family.

She was my family.

“Do you think I was too hard on him? God, he’s probably thinking all kinds of colorful thoughts about me now.” I chuckle, amused.

“You give everyone a hard time the first time you meet them.” Eudora shrugs. “It’s what you do, Serena. You test them. See how much you can get away with. You’ve been doing it since you were a little girl. Believe me. I speak from experience.”

Eudora runs her hand along my forehead, as if my supposed condition is physical and not psychological.

“Goodnight.” I pull the covers up to my neck.

She chuckles, amused. “It’s only four o’clock, dear.”

“Goodnight for now.”

“I’ll wake you around seven. You’re due for your medication then.”

I close my eyes and pretend to sleep until I hear the click of the door. A quick run of my hand beneath my pillow, and I find the tablets from earlier. I meant to flush them, but when Eudora came bursting in here to tell me my new attorney was here to see me, I never got the chance.

I’d completely spaced on my meeting with Mr. Rosewood, but to be fair, it wasn’t intentional. These meds sometimes make me forgetful.

Eudora insisted on sending him away, but I wouldn’t allow it. Someone from “the outside” is a godsend these days.

Waiting another minute to be safe, I sweep the pills into my hand before tiptoeing to the en-suite and depositing them in the pristine toilet. A quick flush and they’re gone forever, lost in the antique bowels of this ancient mansion.

Skipping the last dose made me feel slightly more coherent, like my wits are coming back piece by piece. And I want my wits. I need my wits. I can’t stay holed up behind these stone walls like some criminal any longer.

I have to get out of here. I have to get my financial freedom back. My independence. My good name. And I’ll do whatever it takes.