Her attempt at boosting her own confidence failed. In truth, it was only her inability to pull her skirts in far enough that kept her where she was. There was no way she could fit behind that plant.

A soft sniffling sound stopped Lila before she could make the mistake of continuing her one-sided conversation. It wasn’t like her to flee at the first sign of danger; even less to self-soothe with a running dialogue. She was supposed to be the unflappable Vasquez sister, the one everyone else turned to in times of emergency.

In other words, the perfect one.

The sniffle sounded again, this time accompanied by a hiccupping sob. Her own worries cast aside, Lila picked her way out from her hiding spot next to the plant and surveyed the room. As far as she could tell, it was still empty. There was a possibility that sound might carry through one of the vents, but—

A small voice sounded behind her. “Are you a princess?”

For the second time this evening, Lila found herself whirling around, startled. This time, however, her gaze landed on a small girl standing just a few feet away.

The first thing she noticed was that the girl appeared to be wearing a dress that was identical to her own. Bubble-gum pink. Sparkles. Tulle. All things that made a grown woman look like she was one magic wand away from a starring role in The Wizard of Oz, but looked perfectly at home on a six-year-old.

The second thing she noticed was that the child had a pair of twin cochlear implants, one on either side of her elaborate updo. The small, purple-colored plastic pieces behind her ears attached to even smaller nodes via looped cords. They were, in Lila’s line of work, a fairly common sight. They were also a clear sign that this girl’s parents couldn’t be too far away.

Upstairs in the ballroom, probably. Where Patrick is.

“Oh, hello,” Lila said, somewhat taken aback. Surprise rendered her voice harsher than usual—a thing she regretted as soon as the words left her lips. The poor girl was obviously lost, staring up at her with wide, blue eyes that were swimming in tears. “I didn’t know there was anyone in here with me.”

The girl didn’t respond, her breath once more catching on a sob. Lila’s experience with children wasn’t vast—she was much more of a dog person than a kid one—but even she could tell that a situation like this one called for tact.