Chapter 1 1

The shove was harder than necessary. Sera stumbled, her heel catching on the edge of the thick Persian rug, but she didn't fall. She wouldn't give them that satisfaction. She righted herself, smoothing the front of her worn denim jacket, and looked up.

The Quinn family living room smelled exactly as she remembered it: expensive lavender potpourri masking the rot beneath the floorboards. It had been five years since she had stood here, five years since she had been anything other than a monthly expense on a ledger.

Jerome Quinn sat at the head of the mahogany table. He didn't look like a father. He looked like a bank manager dealing with a bad loan. His face was flushed, a vein throbbing in his temple as he tapped a manicured finger on a stack of papers.

Sign it, Sera. Now.

Sera walked to the table. She didn't sit. She looked down at the document. Prenuptial Agreement and Debt Cancellation Confirmation. The title was bold, black, and final. A bitter taste flooded her mouth, metallic and sharp.

Lydia, her stepmother, drifted into her peripheral vision. She was holding a porcelain teacup, the steam curling up like a snake.

We're doing this for you, sweetie, Lydia said, her voice dripping with fake syrup. You should be grateful. This marriage secures your future. And the family's legacy.

Sera ignored the tea. She looked straight at Jerome.

And if I don't?

Tiffany, lounging on the velvet sofa, didn't even look up from her nail file. The sound of the file against her nail was a rhythmic, grating rasp.

Then you're useless, Tiffany said. You were born to pay off debts, Sera. It's the only value you have.

Jerome slammed his hand on the table. The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.

"If you don't sign this and marry Harrison Sterling, I call the care facility in ten minutes. Thanks to the medical guardianship I was granted when you abandoned her, I have the full legal authority to make this decision. I tell them to pull the plug on your mother's life support. We stop paying. She dies tonight."

Sera's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. Her vision blurred at the edges. The air in the room suddenly felt too thin to breathe. She dug her fingernails into her palms, welcoming the sharp bite of pain to keep her grounded. She couldn't kill him. Not yet.

She forced her shoulders to slump. She widened her eyes, letting the moisture gather there. She had to be the lamb.

If I sign... Mom stays on the machines? Her voice trembled perfectly.

Lydia exchanged a smug look with Jerome.

Of course, Lydia said. The Sterlings are paying a dowry that covers everything. She'll live like a queen in that vegetable state of hers.

Sera reached for the pen. Her hand shook, not entirely an act. She pressed the tip to the paper. The ink flowed, black and permanent. She signed her name, pressing down so hard the pen tip tore through the paper on the final loop of the 'a'.

This is on you, she thought.

Tiffany stood up and kicked a garment bag across the floor. It landed at Sera's feet.

Wear that. It's my old one. I'm not letting you buy a new dress on my budget.

Sera picked up the bag. She walked past Tiffany, her shoulder checking the other girl's arm hard enough to make Tiffany drop the nail file.

Hey! Watch it, you clumsy idiot! Tiffany shrieked.

Sera kept her head down. Sorry, she mumbled. But her eyes, hidden by her hair, were dry and cold.

Inside the guest room, she locked the door. The transformation was instant. The tremble in her hands vanished. She stripped off her t-shirt, revealing the long, pale scar running down her spine-a souvenir from her last "lesson" in this house.

She unzipped the garment bag. The dress was hideous, a puff of excessive tulle and lace, but the skirt was voluminous. Perfect.

She reached into the lining of her battered backpack and pulled out a small leather roll. Inside were twelve silver acupuncture needles, thin as hairs. She knelt and unfurled the roll, carefully attaching it via a series of small, powerful magnetic clasps to the innermost layer of the crinoline skirt. The kit lay flat and invisible against the fabric, the slight weight against her ankles a cold comfort.

A horn blared outside. It wasn't a celebratory honk. It was a low, mournful sound, like a funeral dirge.

Let's go! Jerome shouted from the hallway. Don't keep the money waiting!

Sera walked out. She felt like a doll stuffed with sawdust. She walked out the front door into the rain.

A line of black Lincoln Town Cars sat in the driveway, engines idling. The exhaust mixed with the rain, creating a gray fog. A man in a black suit stood by the rear door of the lead car. He didn't smile. He didn't say congratulations. He just opened the door and waited.

Sera paused. She looked back at the Quinn mansion, glowing with warm, expensive light.

I will burn it down, she promised herself. Every last brick.

She slid into the leather seat. The man in the suit leaned in, not to close the door, but to present a sleek tablet. On the screen was a document. "A final formality, Miss Quinn," he said, his voice flat. "The digital marriage license. Your thumbprint finalizes the contract and your change in status."

Sera pressed her thumb to the screen. It glowed green. Accepted. Mrs. Sterling.

The door thudded shut, sealing her in a vacuum of silence and air conditioning.

She wrapped her arms around herself. Her mind began to race, pulling up the dossier she had mentally compiled on Harrison Sterling. Blind. Reclusive. Rumored to be mentally unstable. Disfigured. A monster in a castle.

The car moved forward, the tires hissing on the wet asphalt. Sera reached down and touched the hem of her dress. She felt the cold steel of a needle against her fingertip.

She wasn't a lamb. She was a wolf in a wedding dress.