Chapter 2: The Woman by the Gate
She went completely still.
Not the kind of still that comes from surprise.
The kind that comes from fear.
I felt it move through her whole body — the way her arms stopped squeezing, the way her breath caught, the way her hands dropped from my back like I'd suddenly become something she didn't want to touch.
I stepped back and smiled for the cameras.
Evelyn's face had changed.
The smirk was gone.
In its place was something I hadn't seen on her in six years.
Uncertainty.
Tessa was watching from across the yard.
She'd seen it too.
She set her glass down slowly.
Owen came up beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.
"You two okay?"
"Perfect," I said.
Evelyn opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then she laughed — too high, too fast.
"Katie was just being sweet."
But her eyes weren't laughing.
They were moving.
Scanning the guests.
Checking who was standing close enough to have heard.
That's when I noticed she was looking at one person in particular.
A woman near the back fence.
Someone I didn't recognize.
Someone who had not been on my guest list.
The woman was already walking toward the gate.
Evelyn took one step after her — then stopped herself.
She turned back to me.
And for the first time in six years, she looked like she needed something from me.
"Katie—"
"Enjoy the party, Evelyn," I said.
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What Katie whispered — and who that woman by the fence really was — changes everything.
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