Chapter 1
The rain had already soaked through Maya’s thin sweater when she reached the iron gates.
Her legs trembled from the twelve-mile walk, and every breath scraped painfully in her chest. The mansion beyond the tall black bars glowed with warm golden light, so bright and distant it looked like a different world. Maya pressed her small fingers through the cold metal and forced her voice to rise above the wind.
“Please! I’m his daughter!”
The words sounded fragile even to her own ears. Her bare feet were caked with mud where her shoes had long since fallen apart somewhere along the dark road behind her.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the front door of the mansion opened.
A woman stepped out beneath a sleek black umbrella, her heels clicking sharply against the marble path. Elena Hartwell moved with the easy confidence of someone who already believed this estate belonged to her.
She stopped several feet away from the gate and studied the girl like she was inspecting something unpleasant left on the lawn.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing here?” Elena asked coolly.
May you like
Maya swallowed hard, clutching the small wooden box against her chest.
“My mom said… my dad lives here. Arthur Sterling.”
