Chapter 34

Chloe’s POV

The first sign that something was wrong was the sudden change in the house.

It was subtle. Too subtle. The quiet shifted. Footsteps outside multiplied. Voices lowered. The calm routine I had grown used to cracked, just slightly, like glass under pressure.

I was in the sitting room when Mrs. Grace hurried in.

“Chloe,” she said softly, but there was urgency in her eyes. “Please come with me.”

My stomach dropped. “What is it?”

“There is someone at the gate,” she said. “Security is handling it.”

My heart started racing. “Who.”

She hesitated. “Your sister.”

The room tilted.

“Hilda,” I whispered.

“Yes,” Mrs. Grace said. “She is insisting on seeing you.”

Panic surged through me so fast it made my hands shake.

“How does she know where I am,” I asked. “This place was supposed to be hidden.”

“I do not know,” Mrs. Grace replied honestly. “She arrived alone. She said she followed a car.”