“You’d better go,” he says coldly. “Go before I say something worse.”
“Daniel—”
“Go,” he growls. “I don’t want to fight with you.” He pauses. “Don’t make me.”
“I’m not going to fight with you,” I say miserably. “Like you said, I’m not your mother.” He winces, hating his own words. I walk to the door, a mixture of grief and anger now bubbling over.
The phone continues to ring like an alarm, and just as I open the door, Daniel calls my name. I look back over my shoulder, and Daniel’s head is down. “Don’t trust Dad,” he says quietly. “Don’t trust any of them.”
Words that aren’t an apology are just another slap in the face. “Yeah, well,” I say. “You betrayed me. So it seems you’re the one who can’t be trusted, Daniel.”
He shoots me an annoyed look and then walks to the window with his arms crossed, staring over the grounds and shutting me out completely.
I slam his door and then jog down the hall, checking once to see if he’s going to run after me to say he changed his mind. I press the button for the elevator and watch his door. He doesn’t come for me. The hallway stands empty, the corridor endless from this angle. A hush has fallen over the world, a weighted pause that feels like it’s about to explode.
“Come on,” I murmur, pressing the elevator button again and again. When the doors finally open, I sigh out my relief and then let them close before selecting a floor. I should go to my father, tell him not only about the concierge, but about Daniel, too. Catherine has obviously clouded my brother’s judgment, but I can’t accept that he would let a girl destroy our relationship. We depend on each other. He wouldn’t abandon me without a good reason. At least . . . that’s what I’ve always thought.
And if I tell my father that, what would he say? He’s finally talking to us again. Will I screw that up if I go to him ranting about Daniel and the concierge? My father doesn’t exactly have a history of being understanding.
I take a steadying breath, trying to calm myself. Daniel said not to trust our father—anyone—but he’s the one acting crazy. My father will probably be waiting for me at the movie theater. I can head down there, check his temperament. I don’t have another choice. Now that Daniel has abandoned me, my father’s all I have left.
Kenneth isn’t at the desk as I come out of the elevator into the lobby. My nerves are shot, my head spinning with different explanations for my brother’s behavior. Ways I can convince him to leave with me anyway. There’s a crowd meandering outside the theater room, and I crisscross through the bodies until I get to the door. An attendant, more like a guard, stands near the entrance. He’s large, with dark hair and dark eyes, and he seems to grow bigger as I pass him. I can feel the weight of his stare on my back, and I wonder if all of the Ruby is watching me now because of Kenneth. Is this the sort of thing Daniel warned me about?
I let out a held breath when I enter the theater, struck all at once by the elegance surrounding me. A screen stretches the length of the back wall—at least twenty feet, with red velvet curtains draped at either side. The walls have burgundy and gold patterned wallpapers, sconces directing the lights into the perfect shadows, adding to the ambiance. Rows of plush red seats lead back from the screen, and are filled with people—many of them in shawls and dresses. I didn’t know this was a formal event.
Self-conscious, I smooth back my hair and glance around for my father. There is the smell of popcorn, and I turn toward the small bar set up in the back of the room. About a dozen stools sit at the counter, with important-looking men sipping from short glasses. There’s a popcorn machine and a rack of candy, little dishes filled with pretzels on the bar top. I expect to find my father there, but he’s nowhere in sight. I do, however, see the woman from the gift shop. She notices me and smiles brightly. Astrid wears a different blazer, with thick shoulder pads, and I offer a curt wave. After all, she did sell me those disgusting chocolates.