Sneaking into his room brought pleasure and pain. So much had happened between these four walls. Soft whispering. Sweet, innocent hand-holding, and then, as they’d gotten older… kissing. They’d tumbled around on his black satin sheets, clueless and fumbling. They’d spoken in breaths, fingers tangling into hair. Raven had been surprisingly gentle, considering the warnings Edwin had passed down about boys, and every touch had been a revelation. Maybe that was why it had hurt so badly to see Raven kissing someone else. She’d found a way to trust him, in spite of the fear festering inside her.

And he’d broken her heart.

Belle lay down on Raven’s bed, trying to breathe through the tightness in her chest. She’d come so far since losing Raven. She’d started to trust someone again. But every time she came close to letting Lily in, she saw a flash of Raven kissing Jack in the garden, and she shut down completely.

She shut Lily out.

Belle hugged a pillow to her chest. Being here wasn’t helping to calm the clamor in her head, the harsh, ringing voices that told her to trust no one, let no one in, keep your heart protected. She wished she could muffle those thoughts the way she’d muffled the voices of Raven’s parents when they fought in the master bedroom. All she’d had to do was press a pillow to the vent on Raven’s floor.

The vent.

Belle twisted to the side, leaning over the bed. Raven’s vent connected to his father’s bedroom. To Evelyn’s bedroom, where his father slept soundly each night, under the influence of sleeping pills. If Evelyn had found a way to imitate Arianna Holloway’s voice, she could’ve used the vents to make Raven think he was being haunted.

Belle raced out of the room. It took very little time to reach the master bedroom, and one glance out the window told her the driveway was still empty. She knelt beside the bed. The pale, elegant four-poster rose up beside her, with a white gauze canopy and matching sheets. It looked a lot like Lily’s bed—not that Belle had spent any time in it. She’d only been able to steal moments with Lily at the facility, little touches here and there. Soft kisses. Secret smiles. She felt a thrill at the thought of spending the night in Lily’s room, wrapped up in Lily’s arms, but that would never happen if Evelyn kept Lily locked away. Nothing would happen if Evelyn was allowed to reign.