Chapter 1 - The Cold Gala
The air at the Sterling Estate tasted of expensive champagne, chilled oysters, and subterranean venom. Beneath a canopy of warm, twinkling string lights strung between hundred-year-old oak trees, the elite of Newport drifted across the manicured lawns. Men in crisp tuxedos clinked crystal glasses while women in silk gowns laughed at muted jokes, their jewels sparkling under the cool, cobalt twilight sky.
Clara Sterling did not fit in. She had never fit in.
At thirty-two, Clara moved through the crowd like a phantom in a tailored beige sleeveless sheath dress, her dark hair pulled back into a tight, elegant bun that exposed the sharp line of her neck. She ignored the polite nods and veiled sneers of her late husband’s family. Julian Sterling had been dead for six months—his car mysteriously plunging off the cliffs of Route 1—and ever since, the Sterling matriarch had treated Clara not as a grieving widow, but as an intruder who had dared to infect their pureblood dynasty.
Clara took a small sip of mineral water, her dark eyes scanning the perimeter of the garden. Something was wrong. The air felt heavy, charged with a cruel, silent anticipation.
"Looking for your little shadow, Clara?" a smooth, dry voice purred beside her.
Clara turned slowly to face Richard Sterling, Julian’s older brother. He stood six-foot-two in his tailored tuxedo, swirl-sipping a glass of vintage Pinot Noir, a faint, predatory smirk dancing on his lips.
"Where is Lily, Richard?" Clara demanded, her voice dropping into a dangerous, quiet register. "I left her with the nanny in the West Wing fifteen minutes ago."
Richard took a slow, deliberate sip, letting the silence stretch until Clara’s chest heaved with rising panic.
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"Mother thought the main gardens were getting a bit... overcrowded," Richard murmured, looking out over the party. "She felt it best that certain guests were kept where they belong. Out of sight."
Clara didn't wait for him to finish. She turned on her heel, her breath catching in her throat, and began to run.
