Chapter 3

The next few days were a whirlwind of Eleanor' s planning. Dress fittings I wasn' t meant to enjoy, etiquette lessons I apparently needed.

She and Brie were often whispering in corners, their heads close together. I made it my business to be nearby, unseen.

"The sapphire necklace Papa Miller left for his daughter' s wedding," Brie whined one afternoon, "it would look divine with my new Dior. Since Savvy is the one... sacrificing... surely I deserve some compensation?"

Eleanor patted her hand. "Of course, darling. And that trust fund Colonel Miller set up for Savvy? We can... redirect some of it for your trousseau. After all, you need to maintain your social standing, even if Savvy is marrying into the Vanderbilts."

My blood ran cold, even though I expected this. Last time, they' d bled my trust dry, leaving me with nothing when the Vanderbilts eventually cast me aside.

This time, things would be different.

I called Maya Rodriguez. My best friend. Her mother had been our housekeeper for years, loyal to my father, and by extension, to me. Maya was fiercely protective, street-smart, and utterly trustworthy.

"Maya, I need your help," I said, keeping my voice low. "It' s about some financial documents. And possibly securing something valuable."

Maya didn' t ask too many questions. "Anything for you, Savvy. You know that. What' s going on with that witch and her spawn?"

I gave her a carefully edited version, focusing on Eleanor' s attempts to misappropriate funds.

"I' m not surprised," Maya snorted. "That woman would sell her own soul for a Chanel bag."

With Maya' s help, and leveraging a couple of discreet contacts her mother had – retired military personnel still fiercely loyal to Colonel Miller – we moved.

We obtained copies of my trust fund documents, highlighting the clauses my father had put in place to protect it, clauses Eleanor was clearly planning to ignore.

We also located the sapphire necklace. It wasn' t in the main safe. Brie had already wheedled it out of Eleanor and hidden it in her room.

Maya, with her uncanny ability to be in and out of places unnoticed, retrieved it.

"Consider it secured," Maya said, handing me the velvet box. "And I may have... accidentally... left a very obvious, very cheap cubic zirconia replica in its place in Brie' s little treasure trove. Along with a printout of an article about identifying fake gemstones."

A small smile touched my lips. "Maya, you' re a genius."

"Just looking out for you, girl. Someone has to."

The evidence of their attempted fraud was now safely in my possession, ready to be deployed when the time was right.

Eleanor and Brie continued their plotting, oblivious. They thought I was a lamb being led to slaughter.

They didn' t realize the lamb had grown teeth. And allies.