Page 87 of The Manor of Dreams

“Come in.” Rennie was sitting on the floor, looking up at the wall. She jumped up when Ada came in. “Do you think Ma would let me repaint my walls?”

Ada shut the door behind her. “Did you tell her?”

Rennie’s eyes widened. “What?”

“About me. And Sophie. Did you tell Ma about us?”

Rennie frowned. “No.” Ada knew she was lying. “Why? What’s going on with you and Sophie?”

“Come on, Rennie,” Ada snapped. “Stopputting on this act. You saw us. You were spying on us.”

“What?”

“You saw us that night in the garden,” Ada insisted. “And you went straight to Ma.”

“I didn’t.” Rennie shook her head vehemently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Rennie!” Ada’s voice came out sharper than she’d meant.

Her sister’s bottom lip began to tremble. “Fine! I just couldn’t sleep,” Rennie said. “I wasn’t trying to watch you, swear. I just saw, and thenyousaw me watching you—”

“You always do this,” Ada accused. “You always go to Ma about everything. Even when we were kids.” Rennie would trail behind her and Lucille and Sophie, crying to Ma when they didn’t include her. “But this is different, Rennie. This isn’t your secret to tell. Do you know what would happen if everyone knew?” Her voice rose. “If people found out? You ruined everything between me and Sophie. I hope you’re happy.”

Ada didn’t want to stick around and hear Rennie try to talk her way out of this. She turned to find Lucille in the hallway.

She had heard everything.

Ada pushed past her twin sister and went to her room, but Lucille followed her. “What’s going on between you and Sophie?”

Ada used to tell Lucille everything. But she looked at her sister’s mocking, expectant expression and realized she was tired of it. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What the hell? What is going on with you? Come on. Tell me. I should know.”

“Why?” Ada retorted. “Because you always think you deserve to be in my business? Because you want to control every part of my life?” Sheknew her words were sharp and she reveled in it. She’d never so much as raised her voice at Lucille. She heaved a breath. “Stop—pretendinglike you understand me.”

Lucille stood still. She opened her mouth, and then shut it. She heard Lucille slam the door behind her as she left.

SOPHIEhad never again touched the dried purple flower from her nightstand. And yet she was still in pain. She’d been trying to sleep, but night after night she couldn’t stop thinking about Mr. Lowell. Did his heart seize? Did it happen suddenly or over the course of hours? He was alone in his hotel room. He didn’t call for help. Did that mean he was unconscious at that point?

His last moments consumed her. She kept dreaming about him dying over and over, in front of her. Falling to his knees. Thrashing on the floor. Froth bursting from his lips. Sophie would wake up tangled in her sheets and shivering as daylight came.

She knew that Vivian had gotten a lawyer because she saw his business card on her desk. The others thought he was Mr. Lowell’s, just informing her of the terms of his assets and inheritances. Which A Yí got all of.

But Mr. Lowell’s family was closing in. The phone kept ringing. Her own mother answered it at one point and went to find Vivian.

“Tell her I can’t come to the phone right now,” A Yí said.

“It’s his mother. She’s been asking for you this whole weekend.”

“I can’t. I need my own time to process. Tell her I’ll call her later.”

“Okay.” Her mother set down her dishrag. “I’m going to pick up Rennie.” She turned. “Girls, get ready for dinner.”

Sophie watched all this from the kitchen counter, where she was trying to force down leftover rice. She couldn’t eat. The grandfather clock ticked, and her heartbeat knocked erratically with it. She watched Vivian, but A Yí didn’t even look at her. She couldn’t fathom the thought of this continuing. Tomorrow she would have to go back to work at the library. And then—?

Ada came into the kitchen, followed by Lucille. Sophie looked away and clutched her chopsticks tightly. She could feel Ada’s eyes on her.Sophie ducked her head and brushed past them. When she looked back, it wasn’t Ada staring at her, but Lucille.

Sophie shut herself in her room. Elaine had already gone back to San Francisco. She watched Bà out in the garden as the light fell. Her parents were so focused on taking care of Vivian’s daughters and making sure that the house was in order that Sophie slipped by, invisible to them. She had to stay that way, too; if they asked too many questions, she knew she would fold. About everything. She knew that. The pain pummeled her in waves, seizing her stomach. Her lips were numb and cold, but she was sweating. She went to the aspirin bottle and swallowed three more.

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