Damian did not answer immediately.
“Who was her father?”
The question struck me harder than it should have.
“His name was Noah Bennett.”
“What did he do?”
“He repaired electrical systems.”
“In Baltimore?”
“Wherever the work took him.”
Damian’s gaze sharpened.
“When did he die?”
“Three years ago.”
“How?”
I looked toward Lila.
“A warehouse fire.”
Damian’s face became unreadable.
“Which warehouse?”
“Near the harbor. The police said faulty wiring caused the fire.”
He looked away.
The movement was small, but I saw it.
“You know something.”
“No.”
“You do.”
Damian’s jaw tightened.
“I know many warehouses near the harbor.”
“Then why did you react to that one?”
He stared at the rain sliding down the windows.
“Because three years ago, one of my warehouses burned.”
My skin prickled.
“Noah never told me who owned the building.”
“He would not have.”
“What does that mean?”
Damian’s gaze returned to mine.
“It means your husband may not have been there to repair electrical wiring.”
The floor seemed to shift beneath me.
“Noah was not involved in crime.”
“I did not say he was.”
“You implied it.”
“I implied that men sometimes take dangerous work without telling the people they love.”
“He had a daughter. He would never—”
“A daughter changes what a man is willing to risk.”
There was something in Damian’s voice. Something personal.
I stepped closer to the bed.
“What happened in that warehouse?”
Before he could answer, Viktor entered.
“We found the nurse’s uniform.”
“Where?”
“In the laundry furnace. Partially burned.”
“And the woman?”
“Gone.”
“How?”
“We checked the gates. She did not leave through them.”
Damian’s eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“The old passage.”
Viktor’s expression hardened.
“I thought it was sealed.”
“So did I.”
Grayhaven House had been built more than a century earlier by a shipping magnate who feared kidnapping. Hidden corridors ran behind several walls, allowing servants and guards to move unseen through the mansion.
Only senior members of Damian’s household knew about them.
Which meant the fake nurse had help.
Damian ordered Viktor to search the passages.
As the guard turned to leave, Lila suddenly stood.
She pointed toward him.
Everyone looked at her.
Viktor paused.
Lila walked closer. Her eyes settled on his left sleeve.
Then she touched her nose.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What does she smell?” Damian asked.
I signed to her.
Lila pointed at Viktor’s cuff, then toward the discarded syringe on the tray.
Same.
Viktor looked down.
“That is impossible.”
Damian’s voice turned dangerously calm.
“Take off your jacket.”
Viktor did not move.
“Now.”
Slowly, the guard removed it.
A small brown stain marked the white cuff of his shirt.
Dr. Petrov approached carefully and smelled the fabric.
“It has the same bitter odor.”
Viktor’s eyes widened.
“I searched the nurse’s room. I touched her medication case.”
Damian watched him without blinking.
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“Who was with you?”
“Two guards.”
“Names.”
