Davina's POV

“More or less,” she said. “He was offering me less of a life and more of an arrangement. I decided that I didn’t want that, so I moved out, back to my old apartment. I was lucky that Vanessa hadn’t sublet my room.”

“Vanessa,” I repeated, remembering Carlotta’s old roommate as though she belonged to another lifetime. I suppose, in a way, she did.

“How is she?”

“Dead.”

I nearly choked on my own spit. “Excuse me? Vanessa died?” I repeated. ...