Chapter 94

Three hours later, Rose gazed out the window of a private dining room in Montreal’s most exclusive restaurant. Snow fell gently outside, illuminated by street lamps and café lights. Inside, candles flickered on their table, casting warm shadows across fine linens and crystal.

“You seem surprised to be enjoying yourself,” Herod observed, watching her over the rim of his wine glass.

Rose turned from the window. “I am, a little. I haven’t thought about anything but revenge for so long. It feels strange to just... exist.”

“Vengeance is consuming,” Herod agreed. “It leaves little room for ordinary pleasures.”

“Is that why you collect books? To remember there’s life beyond revenge?”

He considered this. “Perhaps. Though I began collecting long before Victoria Kane entered my life.”

Rose studied him in the candlelight. Without the hard edges of their planning sessions, Herod Preston revealed different facets, cultured, thoughtful, even charming in his pre