Chapter 2The Silk Trap

After the funeral, I knelt before my mother’s casket in my mourning clothes, preparing for one last, private farewell.

The doors burst open. Alan Pierce strode in, dragging a young woman with him. He looked down his nose at me.

“Willow, this is your sister, Mariela. She’s a year older than you. From now on, she is the eldest daughter of this family. Do you understand?”

My face was a mask of indifference. “A kept man should really learn to—”

“Shut your mouth!” Alan yelped, cutting me off, his face panicked. He was terrified of his pathetic status being revealed in front of Mariela.

A cold, sharp smile touched my lips. “Then take your bastard daughter and get out. Don’t disturb my mother’s peace.”

“You insolent girl!”

His words were sharp, but his actions were weak. He scurried out of the memorial hall with Mariela in tow.

I returned to my vigil.

Half an hour later, Benson appeared at my side, his voice a low murmur.

“Miss Sterling, he’s hosting a party to introduce Miss Mariela to society. He couldn’t secure any prominent guests, of course, but he did manage to invite a few tabloid journalists with no scruples.”

“Let him,” I said, my voice flat.

Alan seemed to believe my mother was the great tree that sheltered me. With her gone, he thought he could finally control me, devour everything the Sterlings owned.

He was so, so wrong.

My mother wasn’t my shield. She was the rosary that restrained the devil in me.