Amber.
I hadn’t slept at all last night. Not even for a minute.
My mind kept replaying everything—the shouting, the bag of tools, the way Zeden’s hand shook when he held the knife over my fingers.
It felt like the whole world had turned against me, and the other maids weren’t helping. My name had been on their lips since dawn, whispered in corners, passed from one mouth to the next like cheap gossip.
Especially Tomika.
She hated me more than anyone.
She’d always wanted Zeden’s attention, fought too hard for even a glance from him, but he never noticed her.
Barely noticed any of them. And now she acted like my existence personally offended her.
“Oh my God,” Elena said the second we were alone in the kitchen, grabbing my arms and checking me over like I might be bleeding somewh
