She Tried to Bargain With My Mother's Death
I looked at Don.
He looked back at me without blinking.
The room had gone very still again, but this silence felt different from the one in the chapel. That had been shock.
This was choice.
Madam Laurent had something.
Or wanted us to believe she did.
A medication ledger.
My stomach tightened.
If it was real, it mattered.
If it was fake, it still mattered.
Because either way, she was moving.
Trying to control the next scene.
Trying to drag me back into a room where she could shape the terms.
No.
Not this time.
"She doesn't see me alone," I said.
The guard at the door waited.
Don's gaze stayed on mine. "Agreed."
That one word steadied me more than it should have.
Vera folded her arms. "If she has a ledger, I want eyes on it immediately."
Rowan closed his notebook. "And copies before she breathes on it too long."
I exhaled slowly.
"Fine," I said. "Bring her in."
The guard nodded and stepped back.
A few seconds later, Madam Laurent entered theI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.