That same night, after hearing her aunt and uncle's conversation, Sienna Gray could not sleep peacefully again. She remained seated by the window of her room, watching the dark garden of the Gray mansion while organizing every detail in her mind.
She had learned something important in her previous life as a police officer... never act without sufficient information.
Impulsiveness killed.
Information saved lives.
And now her life was at stake again.
First she needed to confirm one thing... how much time she had.
During the following days she began to ask questions with extreme care.
She never interrogated directly.
She never showed excessive curiosity.
She did it as if she were a confused young woman trying to remember things after the accident.
One afternoon, while having tea with one of the oldest maids, she asked in a soft voice...
"Aunt said something about... an engagement... right?"
The woman nodded enthusiastically.
"That's right, miss. A great honor for the Gray family!"
Sienna tilted her head slightly.
"But... it's not official yet..."
"No, miss... First will come the final negotiations with the Bridge house. Then the formal announcement."
Sienna pretended to think for a moment.
"When will that happen?"
"Probably within about six months."
Sienna held the cup calmly.
But inside something relaxed.
Six months.
It wasn't ideal.
But it wasn't a short time either.
In six months she could do many things.
Investigate.
Prepare.
And above all... stop being weak.
The first reality she faced was her own body.
Sienna Gray had lived in the countryside with few comforts, but even so her body was fragile compared to hers in her previous life.
She lacked strength.
Endurance.
Balance.
But she had something in her favor.
Muscle memory.
Her mind perfectly remembered every exercise she had practiced as a police officer.
So she started with the basics.
Every morning before dawn.
When most of the inhabitants of the mansion were still asleep.
She went out to the back garden.
First she walked.
Then she ran.
The first days were terrible.
Her lungs burned.
Her legs trembled.
More than once she ended up sitting on the lawn trying to catch her breath.
"This body... is really weak..." she muttered one morning between heavy breaths.
But she didn't give up.
Because discipline was not something easily forgotten.
Day after day.
Week after week.
She began to do push-ups leaning against the garden wall.
Then balance exercises.
Self-defense movements... adapted to not raise suspicion.
And little by little something began to change.
Sienna's body responded surprisingly well to the training.
Her muscles strengthened quickly.
Her endurance improved every week.
It was as if her body had been waiting to be used correctly.
One morning, after finishing her routine, Sienna noticed that she was no longer breathing with difficulty.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Much better."
But that was just the first step.
The second step was much more important.
The Gray mansion.
If she was going to survive what was coming, she needed to fully understand the place where she was.
So she adopted a role.
One that she had played many times during undercover investigations.
The silent and submissive young woman.
During the day she walked through the mansion with her head slightly lowered.
She responded gently.
She never argued.
She never questioned.
Her aunt and uncle seemed satisfied with that.
Especially Sarco Gray.
The man looked at her as one looks at a useful tool.
Nothing more.
One afternoon, during dinner, Sarco Gray commented in a cold tone...
"Sienna has always been a quiet girl. That's good for a wife."
Lady Gray nodded pleased.
"Exactly. Important men don't like problematic women."
Sage Gray gave a small laugh.
"Even less so the Duke Bridge."
Sienna simply lowered her gaze.
On the outside she seemed obedient.
On the inside she was observing every gesture.
Every look.
Every word.
And when no one was paying attention... she listened.
The servants talked a lot.
Especially when they believed that "poor Sienna" was not important.
Thanks to that she learned several things.
The Gray family had hidden debts.
Sarco Gray had lost money in failed investments.
The marriage to the Duke Bridge was not only convenient.
It was necessary.
She also discovered something about Sage.
The favorite daughter was not as perfect as she seemed.
She had a cruel temperament.
And more than one maid was afraid of making mistakes in front of her.
Sienna stored all that information carefully.
Like evidence in an investigation.
One night, while walking down the hall, she heard two maids whisper...
"Do you think Miss Sienna will survive the Duke?"
"I don't know... they say the second duchess died in strange circumstances."
"Shh... don't talk about that."
Sienna kept walking as if she hadn't heard anything.
But inside her thoughts became more serious.
The two previous wives of Duke Julian Bridge.
That was the greatest mystery.
And probably the greatest danger.
At the end of the first month, Sienna was clear about her goal.
She was not going to reject the marriage.
That would only cause problems.
Instead... she would accept it.
But she would do it prepared.
Strong.
Informed.
One afternoon, she paused by the side of the road, silhouetted against the horizon like a vision rescued from a dream of another time. Her hair, a light brown that caught the reflections of the sun, fell straight and silky to her shoulders, breaking into soft, rebellious waves just at the ends, which danced with the breeze. She wore her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, a hairstyle that, far from detracting from her elegance, accentuated the loftiness of her neck and the firmness of her features.
Her clear, bright and analytical eyes possessed a depth that seemed to see beyond the obvious... there was no trace of fear in them, only an absolute confidence in her own destiny. She wore an impeccable empire-waist design, a dress that fused the delicacy of pale pink with the freshness of mint green, a combination that highlighted her porcelain skin. Without a hat to hide her face or unnecessary ornaments to distract the gaze...
She seemed fragile.
Harmless.
Exactly as everyone thought she was.
"Six months..."
Six months to discover the truth.
Six months to prepare.
Six months to find out if Duke Julian Bridge was really a murderer... or if someone else was pulling the strings.
Her reflection in the mirror looked like that of a docile noblewoman.
But inside a police officer still lived.
And this time... the investigation had just begun.
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