Chapter 20. Breakfast Apart

Diana woke in the hotel she had chosen with Eva snoring faintly through the speaker.

For one lovely second, the evening before felt like a dream. Then she saw the envelope on the desk.

“Eva.”

A rustle. “I’m awake.”

“You were absolutely asleep.”

“I was providing emotional support in a reduced-power mode.”

Diana smiled into the pillow, then found she couldn’t hold the expression.

“He hasn’t called.”

“You told him not to.”

“I know.”

Eva was quiet for a moment. “Doing what you asked can hurt too. That doesn’t mean you asked for the wrong thing.”

Downstairs, Diana ate eggs and toast at a small table near the window. Chen sat by the entrance with a newspaper. He had asked where she wanted him, and she had chosen a place that let her forget him between glances.

She opened the envelope after breakfast. The amount and date matched Daphne’s photographs. There was no company name on the account, no suggestion that this had