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“You absolutely are.”

I laugh and wipe beneath my eyes. “Mind your business.”

“Never.” He gives me a big cheesy grin.

By the time the shelter closes, the drugstore bag is tucked safely inside my purse. Nobody pays attention when I leave. Luka opens the SUV door, and the security detail falls into position. The routine continues exactly the way it always does.

The entire drive back to the mansion, though, my focus keeps returning to the purse resting beside me. The tests are inside. The answers are inside. And the closer I get to taking one, the more frightened I become.

Right now, uncertainty still exists. Right now, there are possibilities, questions, and what-ifs. Once I take the test, all of that disappears. The truth will be staring back at me. And whether I'm ready or not, everything will change.

As the mansion gates come into view, my nerves have worked themselves into a knot. The SUV rolls to a stop near the front entrance, and Luka opens my door before I can reach for the handle myself. I thank him, grab my purse, and head inside.

The usual sounds of the house greet me. Daisy's and Winston’s nails click across the floor. Somewhere down the hall, a television plays softly. Agatha’s voice floats in from the kitchen while members of the staff move through the house finishing the last tasks of the day.

For the first time since moving into the mansion, the place feels less intimidating than it once did. Not home yet, but no longer entirely unfamiliar either. Before I can dwell on that thought, a blur of dark curls comes racing across the foyer.

“Maggie!”

I barely have time to set down my purse before Ivy throws herself into my arms. I laugh and catch her tightly, holding her close while she wraps both arms around my neck.

“Well, hey there, sweetheart.”

“Winston missed you.”

“Oh, Winston missed me?”

She nods seriously. “He was very dramatic.”

As if on cue, a bark echoes from the hallway. I peek around Ivy's shoulder toward the guilty party trotting across the foyer.

“That sounds like Winston defendin’ himself.”

Ivy giggles, and the sound chips away at the worry that's been following me all day. Not enough to erase it completely, but enough to remind me there are still good things in the middle of all the uncertainty.

While Agatha finishes setting the table for dinner, I help Ivy carry crayons and puzzle boxes into the sunroom.

“So,” I ask as we settle onto the rug, “how was your feelings doctor today?”

Ivy carefully turns a puzzle piece in her hands. “She was nice.”

“Yeah?”

She nods. “Papa said I could tell her anything.” She pauses. “I told her about Winston and Daisy. And about my nightmares.”

Emotion swells in my chest. “Did it help?”

Ivy thinks about it before shrugging. “A little.” Then her face brightens. “She had a basket of fidget toys, and she said I can come back next week.”

A smile spreads across my face. “Sounds like a pretty good doctor.”

“She's nice,” Ivy says again, fitting a puzzle piece into place. “She said being scared after bad things happen is normal.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. Alexei really is trying to give Ivy every tool she needs to heal, even the things he can't fix himself.

I spend the next twenty minutes helping Ivy with a puzzle in the sunroom while Winston repeatedly attempts to steal puzzle pieces and Daisy naps nearby. The room glows with the warm light of early evening, and for a little while, everything feels almost normal. Ivy argues with Winston about puzzle ownership, and Daisy snores through the entire disagreement. I pretend not to notice when Winston wanders off with a corner piece hanging from his mouth.

Then Ivy speaks. “Papa says I don't have to go back to school yet.”