---- Chapter 13 It was as if Charles were caught in the grip of some unfathomable, fatal dilemma. His expression faltered-confused, adrift. "Mindy," his voice came from behind me, low and hoarse, "it shouldn't be like this. Even if you're in love with my brother... we look so alike. Why don't you feel anything for me at all?" I didn't stop walking. Didn't even glance back. Aman like him-perhaps someone like him could live his whole life without ever truly understanding what love is. He had imprisoned himself in the past, wrapping it around him like a safety blanket, too afraid to see that it was already threadbare. But me-I wanted to move forward. Inside the inner hall, Madam Mankin was already waiting for me. ---- She lifted her face slightly, then stroked the cross in her hand. When she heard my footsteps, her fingers paused. "Mindy," she said gently, "I've always known... you were just a child back then. What happened- it wasn't your fault." I stared at her, expressionless. Not a flicker of emotion moved through me. Maybe I had signed that contract with selfish intentions. But over the years, I'd come to see that nothing about this had ever been as simple as it looked. And this woman in front of me-she wasn't grieving for Grayson. Not really. "Madam Mankin," I said, voice flat, "I'm here for the agreement. I've come to take it back." She looked surprised. ---- "You really don't feel anything for Charles? If you're willing... I can permit your entry into the Mankin family." That made me laugh. "T'm not into self-destruction," I said. "And while we're being honest-why do you think my mother's first love showed up that day? Why did Grayson just happen to return to the country then? And why did my father, usually so composed, lose control all of a sudden? Madam Mankin, don't you know the answers to those questions better than I do?" I took a step closer, each word landing like a quiet, measured threat. "Do you really think it's safe to keep a ticking time bomb like me close by?" At that, she turned around, shocked. Her hands, still gripping the cane, trembled ever so slightly. ---- "What do you know?" she whispered. I shook my head slowly. "| just want the agreement back. I'm flying to France tomorrow, and I'm not coming back. Ever. As for everything else... I'm willing to forget." She looked at me then, really looked-and in her gaze, I saw something shift. Cold. Calculating. Murderous.