Hilda shrugged. "Do I need to spell it out for you, Miss Blake?"
She looked Vivienne dead in the eye.
"My father knows nothing about what happened between Jasper and me. And I have zero interest in telling him."
"Because I already died once. You and Jasper are nothing more than insignificant remnants of a life that's already dead and buried."
Vivienne's face flushed an ugly, mottled red.
"You—"
The driver pulled the car over to the curb. Hilda pushed the door open and left Vivienne with one final remark.
"I hope that after today, things go exactly the way you once told me they would."
"This is the last time we see each other, Vivienne. Keep yourself in check. And keep Jasper in check."
Jasper refused to give up. He cycled through phone number after phone number trying to get Hilda to meet him, and when nothing worked, he played his last card: Grandma Nora.
Hilda sat in the café, frowning at the man across from her. He'd dressed himself up to the nines, practically preening. She cut straight to the point. "Where's the necklace?"