Chapter Twenty-three

Sonya returns home with Anna and discovers Cleo has arrived a day early. Though the doors had been locked, Cleo entered when one opened on its own, then navigated the servant’s passage after the call bells rang and doors slammed. Frightened but steady, Cleo reports the chaos ceased as Sonya texted, and she credits her grandmother’s charm or Sonya’s return.

In the kitchen, Cleo recounts the incident while quickly bonding with Anna over her pregnancy. Conversation shifts to work: Sonya agrees to promote Cleo’s featured-artist event for Bay Arts’ May open house with social media and sales inserts. When the topic turns personal, Anna openly approves of Sonya’s growing relationship with Trey, then departs on friendly terms.

Sonya and Cleo begin unpacking. They find Cleo’s wardrobe already organized, deducing a helpful female spirit is tidying. A ringtone suggests the name “Molly,” confirming a friendly housekeeper-type presence who also moves coats to the downstairs closet. They plan a group outing to a band show and continue settling Cleo’s rooms and studio.

Up in the studio floor, pounding from the Gold Room resumes but Cleo refuses to be intimidated. In the closet Sonya discovers a portrait: a young, pregnant bride identified as Clover—Sonya’s paternal grandmother—clearly painted by Sonya’s father. Overwhelmed, Sonya reasons her father must have dreamed Clover and painted her; Collin likely acquired the work, mirroring earlier twin-connected art.

They move the portrait downstairs, replacing a still life so Clover’s image stands with Johanna’s. Sonya confirms with her mother that she has never seen the painting. Toasting Clover and Johanna, the friends finish the evening with a dog walk along the sea. The house quiets; at three a.m. Sonya sleeps through the hour, signaling a calm end to a strange but affirming first night for Cleo.