Chapter 2: The Man by the Door
**— Part 2 —**
Evelyn was on her feet before I finished the sentence.
"What men?" Her voice dropped low.
"How many?"
"Two," I said.
"They've been following us for three days."
She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the side corridor, away from the guests.
"Does your mother know you came inside?"
"She sent me.
She said you were the only person she still trusted."
Evelyn stopped walking.
Something crossed her face — not surprise.
Something older than that.
Something that looked like guilt.
"How long has she been outside?"
"Since before the doors opened.
She wouldn't come in." I hesitated.
"She said you might not want to see her."
Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment.
"She thought I was angry with her," she said quietly.
"After all this time, she still thought that."
She turned toward the ballroom doors — then stopped.
A man in a dark coat was already standing just inside the entrance.
He wasn't a guest.
He wasn't staff.
He was scanning the room slowly, the way someone does when they're looking for a specific face.
His eyes landed on me.
Evelyn stepped in front of me without a word.
"Don't move," she said.
"And don't make a sound."
Her hand tightened around mine.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen — and went completely still.
The name on the screen was *Sarah*.
---
What Sarah said in that call changed everything Evelyn thought she knew.
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