The exit at the end had swollen shut in the damp, so she threw her body against it again and again until the lock gave way.

They fell together onto the wet garden grass as the flames swallowed the archive above them.

Lorelei’s notebook was still tucked inside Rosalie’s heavy coat.

They took shelter in an abandoned stone chapel at the edge of the property, where she set his dislocated shoulder while he watched her through the soot on his face.

“I agreed to marry you to save my ruined family,” Manuel said quietly, resting against the stone. “I thought I could stay distant, run the business, honor the deal. But I don’t care about saving a company or a reputation if it costs me you.”

Rosalie studied his face in the dim light. “My father will come back and offer you everything you lost.”