Chapter 12

Sophia's POV

Neither of us slept much. Sometime past midnight, while Miranda dozed fitfully on the couch and I sat staring at the black roses I still hadn't found the nerve to throw away, my laptop chimed with a new message.

I almost ignored it, certain it was nothing more than a company newsletter or a stray notification. It wasn't.

The subject line read simply: So you'll understand what you're dealing with.

No sender name. No signature. Just a long document attached beneath it, the kind of thing that looked like it had been compiled rather than written, a history someone wanted me to have.

I woke Miranda, and the two of us sat huddled over the screen together, the glow of it the only light in the room, and began to read.