The discovery of Marcella's betrayal had barely settled into reality before Zeraida felt her private phone vibrate inside her coat pocket. She pulled out the device, her expression tightening as an unfamiliar number flashed across the screen.
The text was brief, urgent, and ominous.
[Come to the old Winterland property alone. There is something important I need to tell you about Evelyn. Do not inform Xaviere.]
Her pulse quickened, hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her father had never communicated with her through such secretive channels, nor had he ever instructed her to hide things from her husband.
She immediately turned the screen toward Xaviere, allowing him to read the text. His dark eyes narrowed into thin slits as he absorbed the message line by line.
"This is an obvious trap," he noted, his voice dropping into a warning register.
