A collective intake of breath stirred the air around the long dining table.

“Someone within our circle has been introducing arsenic into my daily tea,” I read, the words heavy and cold.

“I do not know which of them it is, but their ambition is limitless, and their eyes are already on my seat at your side.”

Celeste shifted in her chair, her manicured nails digging into the leather armrest.

“This is absurd,” Vivian muttered, though her face had gone pale under her expensive makeup. “Alexander, surely you don’t believe this madness.”

Alexander held up a single hand, his gaze never leaving my face.

“Go on, Elena,” he commanded.

“I have asked Elena to watch over Ethan,” I read, my voice tightening with the memory of those quiet, painful nights.

“She is the only one who knows the truth, and the only one I trust to keep our son safe from the predator in our midst.”

“She was my shield when I could no longer stand.”

“Do not trust the promises of those who courted you after my departure, Alexander.”

“One of them has my blood on her hands.”