Setting the Bait

Ever since Vivienne brought her into this house, Tamsin had made a habit of coveting everything that belonged to her stepsister. That unspoken rule naturally extended to the towering man currently standing in their foyer. If she had known a simple blind date would land Cordelia a billionaire, Tamsin would have shoved her aside and taken the seat herself. Everyone in this family knew the Drexels treated Cordelia like dirt. A marriage with zero foundation was just a ticking clock.

"Since she isn't here, I'm leaving." Gideon's deep voice cut through the room. He had zero interest in lingering, let alone entertaining Tamsin.

"Wait, did you and Cordelia get into a fight?" Tamsin stepped directly into his path, utterly failing to mask the thrill creeping into her pitch. Four years and no wedding ceremony—she was certain he despised his so-called wife. This had to be the divorce.

"No," he stated. He stepped around her, his broad shoulders angled toward the heavy front door.

Vivienne shot her daughter a sharp, urging wink from the staircase.

Tamsin hurried after him, her heels clicking rapidly on the hardwood. "Gideon, hold on. I can help you track her down. She'll definitely pick up if my dad calls. I'll get him on the line right now."

That finally halted his retreat. He paused with his hand hovering over the doorknob. "Okay. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. We're family." Tamsin practically snatched her phone from her pocket and dialed. "Dad? Cordelia and Gideon had a fight. Call her right now and find out exactly where she is."

Hundreds of miles away, the heavy landing gear of a commercial jet slammed onto the Valerius runway.

Cordelia shifted in her narrow seat, her neck stiff from the grueling eight-hour flight. She massaged her temples, staring blankly at her watch. Gideon had likely already stormed into the Vance house demanding answers. Part of her wondered if his frantic searching stemmed from actual worry, but she quickly crushed the thought. What a ridiculous notion.

The moment she switched her phone off airplane mode, the screen lit up with a barrage of notifications. Missed calls stacked up in a steady column—dozens from Gideon, followed by a handful from Tamsin and Orson.

She dialed her father first.

He didn't bother with a greeting. "Gideon is tearing the city apart looking for you. Be a sensible girl and call your husband back before this gets worse."

Cordelia listened to the frantic demand in total silence. She pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed the end button. Without missing a beat, she tapped Tamsin's name next.

"Cordelia? Where are you?" Tamsin answered on the first ring, layering her voice with a thick coat of synthetic concern.

"Are you with Gideon right now?" Cordelia asked, keeping her tone completely flat.

"Well, he is looking everywhere for you," Tamsin deflected, clearly dragging out the syllables to let the implication hang in the air.

Cordelia let a perfectly timed breath hitch in her throat. "Tamsin, I'm out of town on a business trip in Valerius. I left in a massive rush and completely forgot to arrange care for Marshmallow. Gideon is always working, and I simply don't trust strangers in the house. Could you please go feed him for me?"

"Of course!" Tamsin agreed instantly, fully aware that Gideon adored that fluffy Ragdoll cat.

A cold, razor-thin sneer touched Cordelia's lips. She forced her voice to crack, dropping it into a brittle, devastating whisper. "Tamsin, Gideon and I... I don't think we're going to make it."

She paused, letting out a measured, pathetic sniffle. "Please keep this between us."

"My lips are sealed. What exactly happened?" Tamsin pressed, sounding appropriately horrified while essentially doing backflips in her own head.

"I went in for that comprehensive check-up recently. The doctors think I'm infertile. Even if by some miracle I conceive, I won't be able to carry it to term." Cordelia manufactured another shaky breath. "I haven't told him. It's just not fair to trap him in a dead-end marriage. You're my sister, and he is such a decent man. I'd rather you be the one to have him than some complete stranger."

Over the line, Tamsin practically stopped breathing.

"Listen, this is your chance," Cordelia urged softly. "Stay over at the house tonight. If he asks, just say you're on cat duty."

Tamsin had tried and failed to invent excuses to crash at that mansion for years. "Don't worry about a thing, Cordelia. I will take exceptionally good care of Marshmallow. And Gideon."

"The front gate and door passcode is 365718."

"Got it. Leave it to me."

The call disconnected. Cordelia lowered the phone in the crowded terminal. Tamsin was completely brainless, meaning she would absolutely keep her arrival a secret to give Gideon a romantic surprise.

Cordelia simply didn't know if her dear stepsister was about to be mildly shocked or permanently traumatized. Because tonight was the exact night Mallory intended to show up at that house to claim her territory.