Defiant Absence

A WEEK LATER

The dining hall of the Mercer mansion buzzed with tension. The long table had more people seated around it than it had in weeks. Declan was at the far end, silently sipping from a glass of wine, his eyes occasionally darting toward the door. Gideon sat at the head of the table, stiff and unreadable, with Beatrice seated right beside him, her jaw tight. Jocelyn and Nadine sat opposite