Rose POV

I entered the hallway, my bare feet chilly on the wooden floor. "Victor?" I called once more, my voice resonating softly in the emptiness of his home. Nada.

I hurried down the stairs, searching the open living room for any trace of him. Two housekeepers were cleaning the shelves, and a sentinel stood at the entrance.

"Pardon me," I said, gaining the notice of one of the attendants. “Did you see Victor this morning?”

The young maid, with her hair neatly secured in a ...