Once Lily disappears inside Dahlia’s car, Julian stalks me back to tonight’s ride—a vintage Jaguar two-seater like the one my dad was always repairing for the Hawthorne family. While my mom managed their wealthy lakefront estate, my father worked odd jobs around town to provide for us. Mechanic. Italian tutor. Firearms instructor, travel agent, and occasional bartender. The life he had in Lake Wisteria was a far cry from his extravagant upbringing, but my mom—a military brat who believed in law and order—didn’t want to expose a child to the Vittori lifestyle. Around the world, our surname is
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