Page 48

“Not red.”

He nods. “Not red.”

I turn to Simone. “Same for her nails. Fingers and toes. Not red. Something elegant. Short. Not claws.”

“Yes, Mr. Vexley,” Simone says.

I gesture to one of the servants lingering near the parlor doors. “Elliot. Take Matteo and Simone to Ella’s room. Or Hazel’s. She might still be there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Matteo adjusts his case in his hand. “I’ll take good care of her.”

Elliot leads them toward the back stairs, and I watch until they disappear from sight.

I have a hundred things to do. I don’t have time for the petty jealousy I feel toward Matteo. He’s going to touch Ella. Handle her hair, her skin.

I turn toward my father’s office.

Not my office.

Arthur Vexley’s office.

His presence lives in the mahogany shelves, the locked drawers, the creepy flowers preserved in gold, and the faint smell of smoke embedded into the leather furniture though he rarely smokes inside anymore. It lives in the portrait above the fireplace.

I close the door behind me and head to the computer hidden behind the false panel in the credenza.

Not the obvious computer on the desk. That one is for business reports, board materials, contracts, and other sanitized documents people expect men like my father to keep.

The hidden one is for truth. I found it years ago by accident.

No, not accident.

Curiosity.

My father still doesn’t know I’m aware of the secret monitor.

The system monitors a separate security feed. Separate from the regular cameras. Separate from the staff who monitor the grounds, entrances, hallways, and perimeter. Separate from everything official.

Hidden lenses.

Hidden microphones.

Select rooms.

Select angles.

Nothing in the maids’ rooms.

Except Hazel’s.

It bothered me then, and it bothers me more now. Why? Why Hazel but not the other maids?

I didn’t know then, and I don’t know now. But I do take a look now and then. After all, my father is watching her for a reason. I’m not a creep. I’ve never watched her undress or anything. But I check now and then, though it’s been a while. I’ve never seen anything untoward.

Now, I hope against hope that Ella is still in Hazel’s room.

I open the system.