After Maya finished eating the warm chicken and vegetable soup Colton had brought her, she took a long, shaky breath. The weight in her chest had eased only slightly, but the ache in her heart still lingered. She pushed the empty bowl aside and quietly murmured a “thank you” to her brother.

Colton gave her a small nod, his expression still stormy. “Come on,” he said, standing up. “I’m taking you home. Mom and Dad need to see you.”

The drive to the Denovan estate was quiet. Colton kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting near the gear shift, his jaw clenched. Every few minutes, he...