The way she said "assistant" made it sound dirty, like a lie presented as truth.
Isabella lifted her chin, finding courage in defiance. "It's not what people think."
"It never is in this house," Vera said, her eyes moving to the memorial with something that might have been satisfactory. "Did you know them? De Lucas?"
"No," Isabella replied quickly, perhaps too quickly. "I just found this place by accident."
Vera's dark eyes narrowed like a cat focusing on prey. "Curious that you found it so easily. Most people get lost in the maze for hours the first time."
Isabella's mouth went dry as desert sand. How had she known the way? How had her feet led her here without conscious thought, as if following a map written in her bones?
"Tell me, Isabella," Vera continued, her voice soft but dangerous as steel. "What do you know about this family?"
"Nothing. I work for Matteo. That's all." The lie felt heavy on her tongue.
