FIFTEEN

ELISE’S POV

I wasn’t fully asleep when Miguel entered the room. The scent of alcohol clung to him, and I wondered where he had been all day. We had barely spent time together since we got married; he was either too busy or too tired.

I peeked at him through my half-closed eyelids as he stripped off his clothes and headed into the bathroom.

The door clicked shut, and for a moment, silence swallowed our space whole.

Then, his phone chimed. I darted my gaze toward the bathroom, my heart racing as it chimed again.

Curiosity clawed at me. What had he been up to? I reached for his phone, the screen lighting up with a message from Joe:

[There’s been no sign of Kiera.]

Suddenly my heart tumbled, as several lines appeared on my forehead.

Why would Miguel be looking for Kiera? Contempt simmered within me as I thought of her. She had always been papa’s perfect girl, his golden child, while I was left in her shadow. Despite all the hell Mom and I put her through, Kiera always seemed to come out on