I stand there for a second after the door closes, then head back out. Sitting still is useless.
From a distance, it still looks like a wedding morning. Chairs straight. Flowers set. Staff moving across the lawn with trays and boxes and garment bags. Music equipment near the chapel steps. If I didn’t know better, I could almost believe yesterday was just a bad interruption.
I know better.
I’m halfway across the terrace when I see Yuri. He’s coming toward me from the side path near the hedges, and I know immediately something is wrong. He’s not a man who rushes unless he has to.
I meet him before he reaches the steps. “What is it?”
He stops in front of me, lowers his voice, and says, “We found something.”
“What?”
He glances once toward the lawn, making sure no one is close enough to hear. His eyes come back to mine. “There’s someone on the guest list who shouldn’t be here.”
“Who?”
He hesitates again.
I’ve known him too long not to understand what that means. If Yuri is dragging this out, it’s because the answer is bad enough that he is measuring how to say it.
“Who?” I ask again.
He lowers his voice. “Mikhail Voronin.”
For a second I think I heard him wrong.
Then I realize I didn’t.
My mouth goes dry. “No.”
Yuri says nothing.
That silence tells me more than an argument would have.
I look back at him. “How did he get near this house?”
“That’s the part you’re not going to like.”
I stare at him. He actually looks uncomfortable now. Slightly. Enough for me to notice.
A worse sign than panic would have been.
“Say it.”
Yuri takes a breath.
“Your daughter-in-law invited him.”
20
SIENNA
I keep movingbecause if I stop, I’ll fall apart in the middle of the house.
That is the only thought keeping me together.
My clipboard is in my hand. My face is set. My voice works when people ask me questions. From the outside, I probably look fine. Tired, maybe. Busy. A planner having a difficult morning.