Chapter 75

Evelyn pushed open the creaky apartment door, the familiar scent of mildew and cheap perfume assaulting her senses. The place hadn't changed in five years - same peeling wallpaper, same cracked floor tiles.

She remembered her first day here.

"Meet your sister Sophia," Dad had said, patting the smirking girl's shoulder. "She's older, so she'll take care of you."

That night, Sophia "accidentally" kicked her out of bed. The metal bed frame left a gash on Evelyn's forehead that still tingled when it rained.

The bathroom door rattled.

"Faster," Nathan Kensington growled. His belt buckle clinked against the tiles. "God, you're perfect..."

Evelyn froze. The frosted glass showed two writhing shadows.

"Tell me," Sophia purred between wet sounds, "who's prettier? Me or Evelyn?"

"You. Always you," Nathan panted. "Now don't stop—"

"Then why chase her in London?" Sophia's voice turned petulant. "If I'm so much better—"

"Because you're fucking untouchable!" Nathan snapped. "Out of my league. Had to settle for her."

Evelyn's fingers tightened around her purse strap. Not from hurt - from the sheer predictability of it. Nathan's affection was as disposable as takeout menus.

She moved silently to her father's bedroom. The ID card lay exactly where he'd said - beneath Victoria Montgomery's silk scarves in the dresser. The scarves still smelled of that cloying Chanel perfume.

The bathroom moans crescendoed as Evelyn turned to leave.

"Got what I needed," she announced. "Don't let me interrupt."

The glass door shuddered as Nathan slammed against it. A choked gasp followed.

Sophia emerged wrapped in a towel, lips swollen. "Enjoy the show, slut? Heard you put on quite the performance yourself with Dominic Blackwood."

Nathan fumbled with his zipper, face flushed. "Eve—"

"Already soft?" Evelyn arched a brow. "And here I thought men in their twenties had stamina."

"You bitch!" Sophia lunged, but Nathan caught her wrist.

Evelyn smiled. "At least my man doesn't go limp when someone walks in."

Nathan's face darkened. He opened his mouth, but Sophia shoved him away. "Useless!"

The taxi ride blurred past storefronts. Evelyn leaned her forehead against the cool window. Nathan's words should have stung. Instead, they felt like removing a splinter - sharp, then numb.

Her phone buzzed.

"Family dinner tonight," Dominic's voice rumbled through the receiver. "My grandfather wants to meet you."

The line crackled with unspoken implications. Evelyn exhaled. "I'll be there."

She ended the call as the city lights began to flicker on, each one a tiny rebellion against the gathering dark.