Days passed before the move. When it happened, it felt nothing like a homecoming.The Stark Mansion was vast, cold, and too clean. The kind of silence that swallowed sound.

Zara stood in the hallway, staring at portraits of people who never smiled. Margaret was already in command, ordering staff, rearranging things that didn’t need rearranging.

“Keep the east wing closed,” she said to the butler, her tone clipped. “And make sure her things stay separate. The last thing I need is her ...