_Author's POV_
The plan worked exactly the way Rowena said it would.
Word of Rita's transfer leaked through the right channels at the right time. It traveled quietly through the network, passed from one ear to the next, shaped carefully to sound like information that had slipped out accidentally.
Just enough detail to be convincing. Just enough urgency to make Alice feel like she was running out of time, which she was in reality because Rowena didn't plan on taking it lightly with her anymore.
Her presence in the Asthorne mansion already irritated the living daylight out of Rowena and Kyra.
Just as expected, Alice made a fast move.
She always moved fast when she felt a window closing.
Rita slipped out of the Ashthorne residence just before midnight. The route had bee
