Chapter 47 Locked In
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Sadie carried the fish–shaped lantern. Instead of joining the carnival throng, she slipped through a side path into Flora Park’s Lotus Shrine.
Inside, novice monks usually kept silent vigil, so the marble floor gleamed. Saffron drapes and tiered lotus lamps hung from a painted ceiling.
She slipped a few silver coins into the chest, requested an eternal lamp, and cradled its small flame as though it were a heartbeat. The offering was for the girl she once had been, lost in another lifetime.
In a hard voice, Adonis barked, “Sadie, have you lost your mind? It’s your birthday, yet you insist on lighting a funeral lamp. Eternal fires are for the dead. Must you drag ill luck onto us?”
Daisy glided forward. “Let me snuff it for her,” she offered.
Before Sadie could shield the flame, Adonis seized her arm. Daisy puffed her cheeks, leaned in, and blew- the wick died with a hiss.
Sadie stared at the smoking ember. A heartbeat later, she swung the brass lamp at Daisy’s head. “Are you trying to die? You never extinguish someone else’s eternal light!”
Daisy yelped, clutching her head, and fled into Oliver’s arms, sobbing as though the world had ended.
The three Francis brothers stood frozen, disbelief stamped across their faces.
Recovering, Oliver shoved Sadie so hard she staggered. “Are you insane? Striking your own sister over a lamp? We can relight it. There is no cause for this hysteria.”
Sadie hit the polished floor. Head bowed, she crouched in the half–light, fists curling so tight her knuckles blanched.
She had asked for nothing more than a single lamp to honor the little girl who had never known a shred of family tenderness. Yet Daisy, spiteful as ever, dared to blow it out.
Neville planted himself before Daisy and snarled, “She asked us to come apologize, but clearly you do not deserve it. You are an ungrateful wretch–treating you kindly is a waste of affection.”
“Please, brothers, stop.” Daisy sobbed. “It was my fault. I acted without asking Sadie. She had every right to strike me. Do not blame her.”
Seeing her pallid face and frail body tremble like a leaf, the brothers felt pity for her.
Oliver gathered Daisy up with aching tenderness. “You are too gentle, that is why Sadie bullies you.”
Turning a cold gaze on Sadie, he added, “From this day on, Daisy is my only sister. Your fortunes are no concern of mine.” With that, he strode away.
Adonis exhaled heavily. “You have disappointed me, Sadie. When you return, write a ten–thousand–word apology and hand me your allowance for the month. Learn the difference between right and wrong.”
Once they left the shrine, Oliver slipped the wooden bar across the outside doors.
He spoke in a grave whisper. “Daisy is our treasure. We would not bruise even her finger, yet Sadie struck her. Let the girl stay here tonight and reflect on her sins.”
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Chapter 47 Locked In
Adonis nodded. “May she repent and become herself again, or even I will cease to forgive her.”
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Inside the shrine, the air was filled with the scent of incense and melted wax. Sadie’s eyes burned red, yet no tears escaped. She had acted on raw impulse tonight–striking someone in a way Talulla would never call ladylike–but she felt no regret.
She lifted the fallen Everlasting Lamp, coaxed the wick back to life, and set the steady flame before the shrine. Only then did she calm down. She smoothed her robe, tucked loose hair behind her ears, and let the wildness drain away until she looked once more like the poised girl everyone in the Gates Estate believed her to be.
A soft chuckle drifted from the darkest corner. Sadie turned. Behind a low writing desk sat a youth in a white robe, as fresh as snowfall, with a posture as straight as a pine. Half his face lay hidden beneath a green mask, and the nine–tier lantern above him swung lazily, its changing glow momentarily revealing a vermilion mark between his brows. It was Madison, The Duke’s second son.
Sadie had always feared Madison, yet being caught tonight in the midst of her secret rebellion sent her blood racing with defiance, washing away the old terror.
“I never knew you enjoyed spying on women,” she said.
He swept a hand toward the desk. “I have been sitting here all along, reading fortunes. You were simply too distracted to notice, so tell me. How does that make me the voyeur? Since we are both idle, would you like to draw a card?”
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Scored Heire Second Life: The Rebirth That Made My Brothers Weep
Chapter 48 Moon Behind Clouds
