The Heiress of Shadows

ption wa

on a fogged canvas. Valeria moved through it like a ghost in silk-smiling when required, raising her champ

d masterpiece from the Casa Moretti atelier, but

eremony played over and over in her mind like a broken reel-Dario's pixelated image on a

a sip of champagne that

c. Bittersweet.

drink would taste different. She hadn't eaten, her nerves were frayed, an

wore on, her wo

andeliers seemed too bright. The voices too far away. She reached fo

e the di

d the back of a chair to steady herself, blinking rapidly. Her he

es searched for Gianna instead, and found her standing near the bar, l

her head slightly and crossed the room with the casual

. Her perfume was overpowering-sharp, floral

pond, but the words

lips brushing Valeria's e

dar

ain. The music faded, the lights disappeared, and

h the taste of i

clinical, unforgiving. She groaned and turned her head, but even the slight movement sent a stab of pai

struggling to bring

e and unfamiliar. The sheets were crisp, pale, and scented faintly with somethin

n't her

asn't

it. The room spun, and she gagged, the iron taste still thick on her tongue. Her head

gs over the edge of the bed. The marble floor was ice against her skin. A t

re

hap

d they

ved and carefully laid out, as though by someone trying to be respect

ail hit harder

what she wore. Someone had taken her body-unco

like bile i

s that clung to her like a second skin. The handle was brass, polish

She stood with perfect posture, hands folded, eyes downcast. At

in accented English. "W

ria

u call me?"

said you would need time to adjust. Breakfast is being pr

omach

ans, no mention of travel-no discussion at all. The last thing she re

t dr

this?" Valeria

question. "You are in Athens, ma

Not Milan. Not

slow. The rushed wedding, the champagne, the missing groom, the forged consent, the blurred lines between il

d been

said, trying to keep h

t," the maid replied softly. "He pre

rse he

ing her. Her breathing was shallow. She was alone in a foreign country, married to a man

showed a pale, trembling version of herself. Her eyes,

r, buried beneath the fog and

de

t

move her, cage her, and she would

Moretti was

anym

ag