Ash sips his coffee, lost in thought, and I unfold the newspaper with a snap, looking for something comforting and familiar more than feeling any desire to read the news. I straighten out the pages, but before I even read the top headline I sit straight up, nearly spilling my drink down my shirt. There on the bottom left-hand side of the page is a photo with a caption under it that reads: Displaced lions confuse zoo workers.

“Uh, guys…,” I say, and spread the page out on the coffee table in front of me.

Ash immediately moves closer.

“ ‘London Zoo Lion Family Mysteriously Found in the Wrong Habitat,’ ” I say, reading the headline.

Aarya reappears in the doorway.

I continue reading out loud. “ ‘The much-adored pride of lions at the London Zoo were discovered at eight a.m. on Christmas Day as having swapped habitats with the antelopes. What is baffling the local authorities is that based on footprints, the swap seems to have been orchestrated by a single individual. “One man or woman moving four lions and six antelope alone without injury or incident is nothing if not astounding,” says the zoo director. “Even our best animal curator couldn’t accomplish such a feat.” The local police have reviewed the security cameras but have no clear images of this magical intruder. The animals have been returned to their rightful cages and are healthy and happy, the zoo director assures us, and then jokes that “It’s an odd day indeed when the prey supplants the predator.” ’ ”

Aarya leans over the coffee table, casting a shadow on the paper, and to my surprise, she starts laughing. “Oh my god, that’s brilliant. Tell me that was your father.”

I look up, not sure if I find this amusing or further disorienting. “Has to be, right?” I say, figuring if it were Layla and Matteo, they would have said something earlier. “It was timed so the story would run in the Sunday paper, which my dad and I always read together. But what does it mean?”

“Are you kidding? It’s a blatant warning to the Lions,” Aarya says.

“Obviously,” I say. “But what else?”

“The timing,” Ash says. “Your father killed the Regent and timed this to coincide with Jag’s new appointment.”

Brendan, I think, but I don’t say it.

I stare at the article. “So then he’s trying to provoke Jag.”

“Definitely,” Aarya agrees. “And clearly he wants it to be public. Well, not public public, but Strategia public. He’s taking a shot at Jag’s reputation, making the point that he’s not as untouchable as we all think. Your dad has flair.”

Does he, though? It’s not that I disagree with Aarya’s assessment, but the person she’s describing doesn’t sound like my dad.