SIENNA POV
"Don't move," I whisper to Julian, my hand gripping his arm in the darkness. "She can't know we're here together."
The singing continues. Closer now. Footsteps in the kitchen.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."
Julian's entire body is tense against mine. "That's Vanessa. But she's not supposed to be here until tomorrow. And why would she—"
"Shh." I press my finger to his lips. His breath catches. Even now, in the middle of this nightmare, I feel the electricity between us.
Focus, Sienna. Someone tried to kill him two hours ago. Now his crazy ex-wife is in the house singing creepy lullabies in the dark.
This is not how I planned this summer.
The footsteps stop. The singing stops. Silence so thick I can hear my own heartbeat.
Then—light. The kitchen light flicks on. We can see her now through the doorway.
Vanessa Cross stands in the kitchen holding a knife.
Not a big knife. Just a kitchen knife. But the way she's holding it—like she forgot it was in her hand—makes my skin crawl.
"Hello?" she calls out. Her voice sounds wrong. Too sweet. Too cheerful. "Julian? Mara? I know you're here. I saw the car."
Julian pulls away from me. "Stay here," he mouths.
Like hell.
I follow him into the kitchen. Vanessa's eyes land on us and she smiles. It doesn't reach her eyes.
"There you are!" She puts the knife down on the counter. Casual. Like she wasn't just holding a weapon in the dark. "I tried to call but nobody answered. The door was unlocked so I just let myself in. I hope that's okay?"
"Vanessa." Julian's voice is careful. Controlled. Like he's talking to a wild animal. "You're early. And you can't just walk into my house."
"OUR house," she corrects. "I lived here too, remember? Before you drove me away."
I watch her closely. She's beautiful—I'll give her that. All long legs and perfect hair. But there's something off about her eyes. They're too bright. Too focused.
She's looking at Julian like he's a meal she wants to eat.
Then her gaze slides to me. "And who's this? You're Mara's little friend, aren't you? Sienna?"
"Yes, ma'am." I keep my voice sweet. Innocent. "Nice to meet you."
"Ma'am." She laughs but it sounds like glass breaking. "God, that makes me feel old. You can call me Vanessa. We're all adults here." Her eyes drift over me. "Well. Most of us."
The insult is clear. I'm too young. Too irrelevant. She's already dismissed me.
Good. Let her underestimate me.
"Why are you here?" Julian asks again. "And why were you singing in the dark?"
"The power went out when I came in. Must've tripped a breaker." She shrugs. "And I was singing because I was happy. Is it a crime to be happy to see my family?"
"You left us." Julian's voice goes hard. "You don't get to call us your family anymore."
Vanessa's smile disappears. "I made a mistake. I'm trying to fix it."
"By breaking into my house at night? By scaring everyone?"
"I didn't break in. I have a key. Remember?" She holds up a key ring. "You never asked for it back."
Julian looks like he wants to argue but footsteps on the stairs stop him. Mara appears, rubbing her eyes.
"Dad? I heard voices. What's—" She freezes when she sees Vanessa. "Mom?"
"Baby!" Vanessa rushes forward. Mara doesn't hug her back. "I'm so sorry I'm early. I just couldn't wait another day to see you. You look so beautiful. So grown up."
"You can't just show up like this," Mara says quietly. "You scared us."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Vanessa is crying now. Real tears. "I've missed you so much. Both of you. This summer, I want to fix everything. I want us to be a family again."
I watch Julian's face. He's not buying it. Neither am I.
Because I saw something Vanessa didn't know I saw.
When Julian fell into the lake this afternoon, I was watching from the upstairs window. I saw someone standing at the dock. Someone with long dark hair and a blue dress.
Someone who pushed him.
Someone who ran away before I could see their face clearly.
But I saw enough. I saw a woman. And now, looking at Vanessa in her blue dress, her long dark hair perfect despite "just arriving"—I know.
She pushed him.
She tried to kill her ex-husband and now she's here pretending to want their family back.
The question is: why?
"It's late," Julian says finally. "You can stay tonight. Guest room. Tomorrow we'll talk about boundaries."
"Thank you." Vanessa looks grateful. Soft. Harmless.
She's not.
Mara goes back to bed. Julian shows Vanessa to the guest room—the one right next to mine. Perfect.
I wait until the house is quiet. Until I hear Vanessa's door close. Then I slip into the hallway.
Julian is standing there. Like he was waiting for me.
"We need to talk," I whisper. "Now."
He nods. Leads me downstairs to his office. Closes the door. Locks it.
We're alone. Finally.
"Tell me what you saw," he says immediately. "When I fell. You saw who pushed me. I know you did."
I take a breath. "It was a woman. Dark hair. Blue dress. I couldn't see her face but—"
"But you think it was Vanessa." He sits down hard. Runs his hands through his hair. "My ex-wife tried to kill me."
"Maybe. I don't know. But she's here now and that's not a coincidence." I step closer. "Julian, why would she want you dead?"
"I don't know. We've been divorced for five years. She took half my money and left. She got what she wanted."
"Did she?" I ask. "Or did she realize too late what she gave up?"
He looks at me then. Really looks at me. "You sound like you understand that. Realizing too late what you want."
My heart starts racing. This is it. This is my moment.
"I've known what I wanted for three years," I say quietly. "I've never been confused about it. Not once."
"Sienna—" He stands up. Warning in his voice. "Don't."
"Don't what? Tell the truth? We're past pretending, Julian. You felt it when I hugged you today. You noticed me. Finally."
"You're eighteen."
"I'm legal."
"You're my daughter's best friend."
"I'm also a woman who knows what she wants." I move closer. "And I want you."
He backs up until he hits the desk. "This can't happen."
"It's already happening." I'm right in front of him now. Close enough to feel his heat. "You can fight it. You can lie to yourself. But you can't change what's real."
"What's real," he says roughly, "is that I'm forty-two years old and you're barely an adult. What's real is that I'm Mara's father. What's real is that this would destroy everything."
"What's real," I counter, "is that someone tried to kill you today. What's real is that your ex-wife is sleeping twenty feet away and we don't know why she's really here. What's real is that life is short and we don't get second chances."
I reach up. Touch his face. He closes his eyes like it hurts.
"Sienna," he breathes. "If we do this—if we cross this line—there's no going back."
"Good." I lean closer. "I don't want to go back."
His control snaps. I see it happen. See the moment he stops fighting.
His hands grip my waist. Pull me against him. His lips crash into mine and—
The door handle jiggles.
We jump apart. Julian's eyes are wild. Mine probably are too.
"Julian?" Vanessa's voice outside the door. "Are you in there? I heard talking. Is everything okay?"
We stare at each other. Both breathing hard. Both terrified.
"Fine," Julian calls out. His voice is steady. How? "Just working. Go to sleep, Vanessa."
"Okay. Good night." Footsteps walk away.
We wait. Silent. Frozen.
Then Julian whispers, "She was listening. Testing. She knows someone is in here with me."
"How long was she standing there?" I ask.
"Long enough." He looks at me. "Sienna, this is dangerous. Not just because of Mara. Because if Vanessa really did try to kill me, and she thinks you and I are—"
His phone buzzes. We both jump. He looks at the screen and goes white.
"What?" I ask. "What is it?"
He turns the phone so I can see.
A text from an unknown number. Just two words and a photo.
"I KNOW."
The photo is us. From thirty seconds ago. Taken through the office window.
Someone was watching us kiss.