Jezebel Read Free Page A

to tell. We have six months! Let’s start with someone far more interesting. Celeste Fontaine.”
    Annabelle’s face scrunched up. “Who the heck is Celeste Fontaine?”
    “Oh, she was a girl I knew. A caretaker for a large chateau just outside of Paris. She had everything she ever imagined in life: blissfully happy parents who spoiled her rotten, friends she adored, and a man that made every woman on the planet jealous of her. But let’s go back to the very start shall we?”
    The woman had a mischievous gleam in her eye. Annabelle would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little bit curious about any story this woman might tell. She was a character for sure, and that meant she probably hung out with some interesting people before she ended up at Glenview. She probably had lots of good stories to tell. Hell, it beat wearing a hairnet and latex gloves in the kitchen. She shivered at the thought of cafeteria food, trays and dirty silverware. And hairnets.
    “Are you cold?” the woman asked, head cocked to the side.
    “No,” she answered, shrugging away the kitchen visual.
    “Are you ready to pay attention?”
    Annabelle nodded. “Excellent. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss things. Important things.” Annabelle cocked her head to the side and wondered what the woman was yammering on about. “Make sure you listen carefully, and try not to jump to conclusions until I’m finished telling you everything. What happens from here on out isn’t my responsibility. It’s yours, so take notice.” Annabelle scrunched up her nose in confusion and shrugged. The woman stared a moment longer at her before she nodded saying, “Alright then. Remember kid, the devil is in the details. Paris. Nineteen eighty-four.”

 
    Chapter 2
    Celeste
     
    Paris 1984
     
    Celeste smoothed the fabric of her dress. Her gown hugged her body in all the right places. The silk felt luscious against her skin. The gardens twinkled under the strand lighting as she walked through row after row of flowers, taking in their unique smells and blossoms. Her hair was massed on top of her head with a select few tendrils hanging down, framing her face. She had spent the better part of the afternoon at the salon with Mara perfecting their looks. Celeste felt like a princess at these affairs no matter how much she loathed wasting an entire night with the stiff crowds of the upper crust. She was used to it, yes, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t rather be elsewhere.
    At twenty years old, she wanted to be at a pub with Matteo and Mara, singing karaoke and not caring if her shoulders were squared, which utensil to use or whether or not she was behaving in a ladylike manner. She wanted to live in the moment. Be whoever she felt like that evening. Instead, she was here, at the Garden Gala, where her parents were raising money for new pharmaceutical research. FogPharm was one of the leading research facilities in the world. Her parents, both scientists, were passionate about their work and their company. She had been required to attend these lavish parties since she’d turned sixteen.
    She was thinking about her teenage years when he walked into the gala like he was walking the red carpet. Every woman in the room stopped and noticed him, no doubt hoping they’d be the one to catch his eye. Just the sight of him across the open space sent Celeste’s heart beating rapid-fire. He flashed a smile here and there as he walked. Smirking, showing a dimple, he shook hands with all the right people.
    Then, just five minutes later, she watched as he grabbed a champagne flute and chugged the contents in an empty corner of the garden. Suddenly, he looked miserable. She read his tension in the tight, bunched line of his shoulders. Although she wanted to be out with friends having a good time rather than here because it was expected of her, she wondered how anyone choosing to be here could be tense at this event eluded her. Lights twinkled. Music played. Drinks