The small piece of paper burned in my palm as if it were fire itself. My heart hammered so hard I thought the guards outside Rafael's chamber might hear it. I slipped it quickly into the folds of my dress before anyone could notice. But even hidden, the words echoed in my head.
I can take you to Vargas.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. My father. The answers. Freedom. It was everything I wanted—and everything that could destroy me.
I forced my feet to move, calm, steady. Rafael's men were everywhere, their eyes sharp, their bodies still as statues. None of them saw the way my fingers clenched my skirts, the way my mind raced.
I returned to Rafael's chambers, my face composed. By the time he came back from his meeting, I was sitting by the window, pretending to read.
He walked in with the heavy presence that always filled a room before him, his dark eyes locking onto me immediately. I rose, forcing a smile.
